(07/07/2008) THE HOLY BIBLE Authorized Version — KJV BIBLE FACTS “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov. 30:5,6) 1611 1761 1863 1921

      The purpose of this article is to strengthen your faith in the Word of God. The words of the LORD are pure words: and God promised to preserve them forever to all generations of believers of every nation under heaven (Psa. 12:6; 33:11, 119:90; Acts 2:6,7). Jesus Christ said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17): and “his truth endureth to all generations” (Psa. 100:5). In this day of compromise, confusion and delusion, when fiction and fantasy is promoted as reality, when fables and commandments of men are preferred over truth, when many in the church world will not endure sound doctrine, when people's feelings mean more than facts, and when morals, values and theologies change with the wind, it is reassuring to know that we have an unmovable foundation, Jesus Christ the rock of our salvation, the faithful Creator whose words will never cease nor change – “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations” (Psa. 18:2; 95:1; Isa. 51:1; Mal. 3:6; Mark 13:31; Luke 6:48; John 1:1,14; Eph. 2:20; 3:9; 4:14; II Thess. 2:11; II Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14; Heb. 13:8; I Pet. 1:23; 4:19; Rev. 19:13; –Psa.119:89,90).“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Psa. 12:6). Some two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour chose apostles, disciples (Matthew, Peter, John and the others) to be witnesses “of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen” (Acts 1:1,2). And it was these same dedicated “holy men of God” who “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” whom God used to accurately record his words for all generations of believers to be able to read and know his will, “that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (II Pet. 1:21; II Tim. 3:16; Rom. 15:4).

      From the birth of the early church nearly two millennia ago, through century after century of persecution, to the present day church, God has always had a remnant of believers who kept his words and faithfully passed them from generation to generation. For “he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food [his word] and gladness.” (Acts 14:17; John 6:35). Jesus said, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4). Jesus said, “I am that bread of life.” (John 6:48). “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa. 55:10,11). On the day of Pentecost when the disciples of Jesus “were all with one accord in one place.... they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” And there were dwelling at Jerusalem “devout men, out of every nation under heaven” and “every man heard them speak in his own language.” (Acts 2:1-6). Note that “every man heard them speak in his own language”. The “pure words” of the Holy Ghost are not limited to one or two ancient languages. Bibles were written in several languages (Greek, Syriac, Latin, Gothic, et al) within a few years of the New Testament's creation, as the word of God grew mightily and multiplied and prevailed (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20; Col. 1:6). There are more than 5,000 authentic Greek New Testament manuscripts alone, some dating back to the first century A.D., still in existence today in museums around the world. Portions of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark) were recently discovered to have been written only thirty to forty years after the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. This unprecedented copying of the scriptures would play an important role in the preservation of the word of the Lord.

      In the early years of Christianity this marvelous proliferation of the Holy Scriptures benefited many people in numerous lands. In the first century after Christ the noble Waldenses in northern Italy (Vaudois) “were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before the Reformation, they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native tongue [the 2nd century Old Latin Itala; not Jerome's 4th century corrupt Latin Vulgate]. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them the special objects of hatred and persecution.... Here for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth maintained the ancient faith.... In a most wonderful manner it (the Word of Truth) was preserved uncorrupted through all the ages of darkness.” (Fuller, Which Bible?, p. 215). King David said, “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” (Psalms 119:50). “For thus saith the LORD.... As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:12,13). Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18), and, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). “It is written.... It is written.... it is written”, exclaimed Jesus (Matt. 4:4,7,10): “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matt. 24:35).

      The facts presented here support the Authorized King James Version of 1611 as the true Word of God preserved in the English language. In addition to the eighty-seven thousand patristic writings (citations by the early church fathers), lectionaries and versions, over 99% of the 5200 existing Greek New Testament manuscripts are in agreement with the text of the English Authorized Version of 1611. Upon examination of the historical records and the manuscript evidence the reader will see God's promise of the preservation of his word in the English Bible version known to us today as the Authorized KJV. Many people are apparently unaware of the fact that the term "King James Version" is a relatively new phenomena. First published in A.D. 1611, the Authorized King James Bible was actually entitled The Holy Bible for 300 years until around the turn of the 20th century when critics and jealous new version printers sought to rename it in their attempts to discredit the purity of its text and to make their own new versions appear more acceptable. Jesus said that “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat” (Matt. 13:24,25). It is hoped that this article will enlighten the reader as to the extreme importance of the bible versions issue, to arm the “good soldier of Jesus Christ” with the knowledge of the truth, to enable “the man of God” to discern between the wheat and the tares, and to encourage further research on the preservation and corruption of bible texts (II Tim. 2:1-7; 3:15-17).

      The first chapter of the gospel of John tells us that Jesus Christ is “the Word” (John 1:1,14). And we know that the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost “are one” (I John 5:7). Jesus said that “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit [“the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit”] and in truth [“thy word is truth”]” (John 4:23; 6:63; 17:17). The Bible says, “his name is called The Word of God.” “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Rev. 19:13; Psa. 138:2). The Bible reassures us that “Every word of God is pure”, and that God himself “shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Prov. 30:5; Psa. 12:6,7). Despite the clarity of the scriptures some people don't believe that God preserved his pure words. Some misguided bible “scholars” believe that God was able to preserve his pure words in ancient Greek or Hebrew but was unable to preserve them in English. But their “original only preservation” theory is just that — a theory. There is not a single scripture to support their claims. These “balanced” “believers” believe that there are no pure Bibles on the earth today. These “wise and prudent” theologians equate adherence to the pure preserved words of the Lord in the Bible to “worshipping the Bible” (Matt. 11:25; Titus 1:1; Zeph. 3:9). Their erroneous views are completely unfounded, based not on evidence, but on speculation, opinion and misinformation, as we shall see in the following chapters. We know from the scripture verses in the preceding paragraph that Jesus Christ and God are one and the same – The Word of God. The scriptures also tell us much about Satan's deceitfulness and his desire to be worshiped as God – “I will be like the most High”, boasted Lucifer (Isa 14:13,14). It would be naive to think that Satan (Lucifer) would not tamper with God's words, as this was the first trick he used to deceive man (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9). That old serpent first cast doubt on God's words saying, “Yea, hath God said . . ?” And then he tempted man to “be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:1,5). And this is why God gave us very clear and stern warnings not to “add unto” nor “take away from” any of his words (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Psa. 12:6,7; Prov. 30:5,6; Matt. 5:18; Rev. 22:18,19).

      Note that the first temptation of man was not to be evil but to be good, to “be as gods, knowing good and evil”; and “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Gen. 3:5; Deut. 12:8; Judges 17:6). Many of our modern-day bible theologians who refuse to believe that God preserved his pure words may have started out with good intentions. Adam and Eve's intentions were not wicked, but unfortunately, sin was the result. In essence, Adam and Eve became the first scripture interpreters as they hearkened to the lies of the devil and questioned God's words whether or not God meant what he said and said what he meant. And just as the serpent questioned God's pure spoken word in Eden the garden of God, thereby causing Adam and Eve to fall, there are many modern-day scripture interpreters in the church world today who are casting doubt on God's pure written word by questioning whether or not God said what he meant (“Yea, hath God said . . ?”) and meant what he said in our preserved English Authorized Version King James Holy Bible, thereby causing many believers to stumble and fall (Gen. 3; Prov. 30:5,6; Ezek. 28:13; II Thess. 2:3; Rev. 2:5). Eve, and then Adam, chose to “be as gods” and used their newly “opened” eyes to decide for themselves what was “good” and what was “evil” (Gen. 3:1-7). For thousands of years man has followed in the footsteps of his first parents, Adam and Eve, doubting “that which is written” in “the holy scriptures” and interpreting God's word at our will, “every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (I Cor. 4:6; II Tim. 3:15; Deut. 12:8).

      There are a number of theories and misconceptions regrading the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the forbidden fruit and the serpent. Jesus said that “every tree is known by his own fruit”, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Mat. 7:15-20; 12:33,34; Luke 6:43-45). He told us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing (Mat. 7:15). Jesus said to the un-converted, “Ye are of your father the devil”, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers” (John 8:44; Mat. 23:33). Jesus was, of course, speaking figuratively, comparing men to trees and wolves and serpents. In the beginning man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Satan was perfect in his ways from the day that he was created (Ezk. 28:15). Lucifer, Satan, the devil, was “in Eden the garden of God” “till iniquity was found in” him (Ezk. 28:13-15). Lucifer became proud and rebelled against God, and through pride he said, “I will be like the most high.” (Is. 14:14). Satan, as the serpent, tempted man saying, “and ye shall be as gods” (Gen. 3:5). Man took the bait and “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” (Rom. 1:21,22). The fall of man was not, as some would foolishly interpret, a necessary evil permitted by God to allow man to achieve “godhood”. The tree of knowledge of good and evil was not, as some would surmise, a cruel trick of God to entice man. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:13-15). Man was “made a living soul” with a free will (I Cor. 15:45). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Prov. 18:21). The Bible says, “God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” And now “the heart of the sons of men is full of evil” (Ecc. 7:29; 9:3), “for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23).

      If anyone claims that he, or she, cannot be tricked by Satan, they are deceiving themselves. The Lord warned us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”, and “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” (Jer. 17:9; Prov. 28:26). It would be foolish to believe that anyone is immune to deception. For instance, regardless of the apostle Peter's miraculous ministry and his great love for our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter was deceived by Satan at least twice. Even when Peter was in the presence of Jesus the devil was able to trick him; and Jesus “rebuked Peter” (Mark 8:32,33). Then later on in Peter's ministry God had to use the apostle Paul to openly rebuke both Peter and Barnabas because “they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel” (Gal.2:11-14). Like Peter, who believed that he was helping God by correcting Jesus' words (Matt. 16:22), many modern-day bible “scholars” and “teachers” believe that they are doing God's will by “correcting” the KJV and promoting new bible versions.

      The Lord said, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought [the smallest; jot or tittle; any part]  from it” (Deut. 4:2). Unfortunately, many Christians today have little or no knowledge regarding the issue of bible manuscript evidence and bible versions and translations. There are basically two streams of bibles and bible manuscripts that have come down to us through the centuries since the time of Christ: the thousands of true manuscripts of the majority texts that are in agreement with each other from which the KJV Bible was translated; and the corrupt manuscripts of the Alexandrian Eusebio-Origen text types that comprise only a minute fraction of the total number of bible manuscripts. These Alexandrian text types, or minority texts, not only disagree with the majority texts but disagree with one another in literally thousands of places: and it is from this corrupt text type that all modern bibles are translated (discussed in more detail shortly). This is why modern bible versions will often agree with the Jehovah's Witness New World Translation and the Catholic Douay/Rheims version.

      New bible versions on the market today have added, deleted and or changed scriptures. “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:” (Prov. 24:21). The enemy of souls is cunning and subtle: and Christians should not be ignorant of his devices or methods (Gen. 3:1-6; II Cor. 2:11). What may seem harmless to some can often end up having disastrous consequences. What may appear to be seemingly minor changes in new bible versions are in fact deliberate changes designed to steer the traveler off the straight and narrow path: “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Gal. 5:7-9). One drop of poison added to a glass of pure water will yield a glass full of poisoned water. God's people need discernment. There is a certain brand of rat poison that is ninty-nine percent grain; it is only one percent poison: lethal nonetheless. The Lord's people are as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore we ought to be harmless as doves and at the same time wise as serpents. We need to have our “senses exercised to discern both good and evil” “because many false prophets are gone out into the world” “to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect”; and because there are many bible versions which are based on corrupt manuscripts that are deceptively “pleasant to the eyes” and “to be desired to make one wise” (Mal. 3:18; Ezek. 22:26; 44:23; Heb. 5:14; Isaiah 8:20; I John 4:1; Mark 13:22; Gen. 3:6).

      The Apostle Paul warned, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.... For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11:3-15).

      John Wycliffe (1325-1384), who faithfully translated the Holy Bible into English in the 14th century, wrote, “I have often said that all the evil which was introduced into the human race stems from the erroneous perception of the sense of Scripture...Because the temptation of the first human being came about by means of Scripture... [‘Yea hath God said’].” “[T]he devil...deceitfully corrupts it...” through men who subtly change its meaning and sense....(Truth, p. 109 – In Awe Of Thy Word). But someone might say, “My pastor uses different bible versions, and people are getting saved in his church.” The Old Testament records many times when the nation of Israel was just one generation away from total apostasy. King James verses are still widely quoted by a generation of pastors and teachers who have memorized its passages. Many salvations are resulting from this. The new birth occurs from the KJV seed (I Pet. 1:23). When pastors unwisely give new converts alternative bible versions, though the spirit has been reborn, the spiritual growth will eventually be aborted.

      When Eve took her eyes off of God's word and focused instead on a “better” or “more accurate” translation, version or interpretation of God's word as presented by the serpent (Satan) through subtilty (skillful deceit), it was the beginning of man's troubles and sorrows. Man died that very day as a result of his sin: “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” “For the wages of sin is death” (Gen. 2:17, Ezek. 18:4,20; Rom. 6:23). In the beginning when “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27), man was without sin, as innocent “as little children” (Matt. 18:3). Created “in the image of God” refers, not to a physical resemblance, but to a spiritual likeness “of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15) – “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female.” (Deut. 4:15,16). “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” – “in the likeness of God” – “holy” (Gen. 2:7; 5:1; I Pet. 1:16). And since God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habak. 1:13), man had no good reason to know evil.

      To deceive Eve, it was not necessary for Satan to get her to doubt every word of God. If he could get her to doubt only one word he would then have an opening to move in and cause her to further disobey God's word. In fact, using God's own words, twisted ever so subtly, “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), deceived man in the beginning. God said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” (Gen. 2:16,17). The serpent said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? . . . in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods” (Gen. 3:1,5). God said, “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17). The serpent said, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). It is important to understand where Satan was when he first tempted man with unbelief – “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God” (Ezek. 28:13). Satan appeared to Eve, not as a foul mouthed reprobate, but as a wise creature who could quote God's word and interpret the “true meaning”. The Bible tells us that “the devil sinneth from the beginning” (I John 3:8). Jesus said that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning”, and that “he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44).

      When man disobeyed God's word (“to obey is better than sacrifice”(I Sam. 15:22), to obey the Holy Bible which is God's word “made known to all nations for the obedience of faith”(Rom. 16:26) and partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Rom. 5:12). From that day on “the eyes of man are never satisfied” and the mind of man is never content (Prov. 27:20; Philip. 4:1; Heb. 13:5). God said to “be content with such things as ye have . . . Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.” (Heb. 13:5,9). Who would have the most to gain by telling you to ‘question God's word’ and ‘do not be content with such things as ye have in the Holy Bible’ ? Who in heaven, or in earth, or in hell would have the most to gain by telling you that ‘you need an additional–alternative source because you don't have everything you need in that old KJV’ ? Who was the first to question God's word and then offer a “good” “pleasant” substitute? This is exactly what the serpent told Eve: first question God's word, “hath God said?”, then introduce an alternate source, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 3:1-6). Satan said ‘you can't always trust the KJV; you need more to make one wise’ (John 1:1; Rev. 2:7; II Cor. 11:3-15; I John 4:1).

      The Bible tells us that “Lucifer”, also called “Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Isa. 14:12-14; Rev. 12:9), is “the god of this world” who “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not”— them which believe not the truth of the scriptures where God promised to preserve his pure words (II Cor. 4:4; II John 1:7; Ps. 12:6). God said to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Jam. 4:7). Instead of resisting the devil, Eve conversed with the devil, and her mind became corrupted. As man's mind contemplated the words of Satan the father of lies (John 8:44), the tree of the knowledge of good and evil looked more and more appealing. And as the tree appeared “pleasant to the eyes” and “to be desired to make one wise”, Eve “took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened”— their minds “enlightened” (corrupted) by an “angel of light” (Satan), as they chose to “be as gods”, deciding for themselves what is “good” and what is “evil” (Gen. 3:5,6,7; Eph. 4:18; II Cor. 11:3-15). When we choose to do things our own way, whether out of ignorance or rebellion, or when our feet stumble off of the straight and narrow path and we turn to the right or to the left of God's word, “sin lieth at the door” (Gen. 4:7; Deut. 5:32; Josh. 23:6; Prov. 4:20-27; Isa. 59:2).

      Again, Paul warns us in Galatians, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Gal.1:6-9)

      King James the I of England was a virtuous, God fearing, evangelical Christian, who believed “all scripture is given by inspiration of God“. His love for the truth was not always appreciated, especially among many of the scribes, papists and hypocrites of his day. He, like “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus,” suffered persecution (II Tim. 3:12). England, recognizing the authority of papal Rome, prior to King James' ascent to the throne, “prohibited the translation or ownership of the English Bible”. Many English Bibles were being produced during the Reformation period by Christian translators such as Wycliffe, Tyndale and others. All of these godly men were persecuted, many were murdered, and their Bibles were burned because they unveiled too many secrets of the Roman church. The Pagan false doctrines of the “holy mother” church were being exposed by the light of the true Scriptures. As more and more people read the Holy Bible and heard the Scriptures being preached, many were set free from the anti-biblical system of papal rule priestcraft which plunged Europe into the dark ages for a thousand years (circa A.D. 500–1500). Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletion, the Saxons, the Danes, the Normans, Kings Henry the IV, V, and VIII, were among the many Roman emperors, English monarchs and others who destroyed scriptures made from the time of the apostles. “The charge against Christians and their scriptures was odio humani generis, Latin for ‘hate crimes’ (lit. hatred of the human race).” (In Awe Of Thy Word, p. 705).

      By the grace of God, King James narrowly escaped being executed in 1605. Several Roman Catholics “had taken an oath to assassinate him and the members of the House of Commons. Their pledge was sealed with a solemn communion service, served by a Jesuit priest, Father John Gerard.... On the morning of the plot's unfolding, urgent messages were to be sent to the pro-Catholic members of parliament calling them away from their unsuspecting presence in harms way.” The plot was discovered in the nick of time when “on November 5th, British security agents discovered the suspicious presence of Guy Fawkes (or, as he preferred, Guido Fawkes), a Catholic soldier of fortune, positioned outside the cellar door of Westminster Palace.” “Hidden beneath... the very spot where James would be standing in just a few hours, thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were uncovered by the astonished members of the King's secret service. A tinder box and matches were found on Fawkes' person.” When “summoned to face the council in the royal bedchamber at Whitehall Palace”, Fawkes “appeared unmoved”, expressing his only regret was that he had “failed to blow the Scottish king and his Scottish followers back to Scotland where they belonged.” Months of investigations revealed a circle of conspirators which included Thomas Winter, Thomas Percy, John Wright, Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, a Jesuit priest, Father Henry Garnet. Three of the collaborators died in a shoot out with authorities. The remaining conspirators were later tried and convicted of their diabolical scheme. (The Story of Civilization, Ariel and Will Durant, Vol. 7, p. 141; Tower of London, Christopher Hibbert, p. 86; Final Authority, William Grady, p. 188,189; The Men Behind The King James Version, Gustavus S. Paine, p. 88)

      Unlike the Roman Catholic church, who's official policy was to torture and murder those who rejected its authority and spoke out against its false doctrines, King James was against such sadistic practices, stating, “I will never allow in my conscience that the blood of any man shall be shed for diversity of opinions in religion, but I should be sorry that Catholics should so multiply as they might be able to practice their old principles upon us.”(Fraser, p. 38). Even before Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) became queen of England in 1553 (whose persecution of Christians was especially depraved) many Bible believing Christians suffered unimaginable cruelty and death. John Foxe (A.D. 1516–1587) who was perhaps the greatest Christian historian of all time, documented the diabolical persecution and execution of Christians (Bible believing martyrs). Tracing Christianity from the first century to the 1500s, Foxe describes person after person, burned at the stake for owning the scriptures in English (THE ACTS AND MONUMENTS). The “supreme pontiff's” loyal subjects confiscated thousands of English Bibles and burned not only the books but also many of the poor people who owned and read them. These fires of persecution burned the New Testament truths into the very hearts of the people.

      Change was on the horizon. The Lord was about to do a marvelous work and a wonder in the land which would soon span the globe. God's holy word would prevail, being translated, printed and sent to the four corners of the earth, “as the AV of 1611 was destined to reach ten times as many people as the "originals" could reach, and it would be responsible for results a hundred times more effective than the "originals" could produce....” (The "Errors" In The King James Bible, p. 10). William Tyndale was burned at the stake in October, 1536 for translating the Bible into English. Just before he died, he cried, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” God answered his cries. Not many years had passed when God appointed a true Christian king to the throne — King James the VI of Scotland & I of England, a devout man of faith who at the age of eight could translate the Bible from memory into numerous languages. He chose true Christian translators who spent five hours a day in prayer. The 1611 English translation of the Bilbe was a laborious seven year project. These dedicated godly men spent the first three years fasting in preparation for this important work which God had intrusted to them. With unsurpassed knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and English languages and their vast knowledge of divers tongues these forty-seven God fearing Christian scholars amassed a great number of Greek, Hebrew, and various language texts from numerous lands to translate the Bible into English. They knew full well the difference between the authentic texts passed down from generation to generation and the corrupt texts which were so prevalent amongst the Roman religious system.

      In the early centuries after Christ, unbelieving scribes carried copies of the original Bible manuscripts to Egypt where they recopied the Scriptures and altered the texts to agree with their own philosophical and mystical beliefs. The Gnostics, Manecheans, Ebionites, Arains, and other heretics sought to halt the spread of Christianity by putting out corrupt manuscripts. One of the world’s oldest papyri fragments, P66, dated about A.D. 125, reveals tampering by a deceitful sinister scribe. The fact that this earliest manuscript of the Gospel of John, P66, had 'corrections' on it, which change a KJV type reading to a new version type reading, shows that the KJV was anterior (earlier in time) to the corrupt minority type text. This ancient papyri vindicates the KJV readings and also exposes early corruption. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God“ (II Cor. 2:17). Attempts to corrupt the word of God began even before the death of Paul. Corruption of the original Bible manuscripts and its influence can be traced from the 1st and 2nd centuries through the days of Origen (AD 184-254)) and down through the committees responsible for the English Revised Version of 1881; American Standard Version of 1901; and all modern Bibles, including the NKJV, which depart from the Greek Textus Receptus (more on the Greek Textus Receptus later). Over the centuries, critics of the true scriptures would elevate some of these adulterated manuscripts to a place of adoration. Many of the books and articles listed below (at the bottom of this web page) are excellent resource materials for tracing the corruption of bible manuscripts and the preservation of the pure text from the earliest days to the present. Origen, being a textual critic, is supposed to have corrected numerous portions of the sacred manuscripts. Evidence to the contrary shows he changed them to agree with his own human philosophy of mystical and allegorical ideas. Thus, through deceptive scholarship of this kind, certain manuscripts became corrupt. Evidently from this source our modern revised version Bibles and paraphrases have come. Read pages 900-902, Vol. 16, 1936 edition Encyclopedia Britannica, and you will see that Origen taught that the Lord Jesus Christ is a created being who did not have eternal existence as God.

      The Apostle Paul warned, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:28-31; Rev. 1:5)

      Among the “wolves” in “sheep‘s clothing” (Matt. 7:15) who did in fact “corrupt the word of God” (II Cor. 2:17) through the centuries were Tatian (110-180 A.D.), Marcion (120-160 A.D.), Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-217), Origen (Origenes Adamantius, AD 184-254), Eusebius (AD 260-340), Constantine (AD 306-337), Jerome (circa 380 AD). Marcion did not believe that Jesus Christ was the one and only true God; so he removed what he didn't like from the scriptures (see Luke 11:2-4, et al). Tatian, a pupil of Justin Martyr (AD 100-165), came under the influence of Gnosticism after Justin's death and wrote a harmony of the Gospels called the Diatessaron where he notoriously corrupted the true Gospel of Christ. Clement of Alexandria, Egypt, a pupil of Tatian was also a Gnostic who expressed heretical views of the scriptures. Clement established a school in Alexandria for the dissemination of Gnosticism. Origen was Clement's pupil and took over the apostate school that he started and was the third in a line of heretics that corrupted the Word of God. Clement and Origen used the doctrines of the Greek philosophy of Platonism and Pythagoreanism in their interpretation of the scriptures. Origen believed that the pagan writings of Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Aristotle (i.e. transmigration of souls; reincarnation; purgatory; etc.) were inspired of God. Origen did not believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. He did not believe in the bodily second coming of Christ. He believed that God and the Devil would eventually patch up their differences and live happily ever after. (Matt. 25:41,46; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:10)

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (I John 4:3).

      At Constantine's urging, Eusebius copied some 50 Greek manuscripts from Alexandria, Egypt using manuscripts translated by Origen whom he erroneously believed to have accurately preserved the true texts. The Roman Emperor Constantine, who in 312 A.D. professed his “conversion” to Christianity, sought to unite paganism with Christianity and promoted Origen's corrupt bible in the Roman empire... and in 325 A.D. established the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Nicaea. Constantine's life and conduct were a mixture of Christianity and paganism. He had his eldest son, Crispus, and his second wife, Fausta, put to death. “Constantine the Great was the [Roman] empire's first ever ‘Christian’ Pontifex Maximus (the pagan title meant supreme pontiff or chief priest at Rome; this honor was retained by Constantine until his death and perpetuated in our day by... the ‘Holy Father’ himself)” (Final Authority, Grady, p.109). In 380 A.D. a Pope called on Jerome (a 4th century ‘scholar’ and promoter of Mary worship and celibacy of the clergy) to prepare a Bible that would favor the Roman Catholic teachings. Jerome translated from the corrupt manuscripts of Origin and Eusebius. Many modern bible ‘scholars’ have accepted some of the early manuscripts that were altered in Alexandria, Egypt. This has led to the confusing array of different modern Bible Versions.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (II Thess. 2:3,4).

      The title “Holy Father” appears only one time in the Scriptures and it refers to God, and God alone (John 17:11). The pope of Rome has, nonetheless, taken this title unto himself. But Jesus said to “call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matt. 23:8,9). When the Lord Jesus gave the apostle John the Revelation, he said, “I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy” (Rev. 17:3). In A.D. 1198, Innocent III became pope of the church of Rome and declared himself “the bridegroom”, a title belonging exclusively to our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 9:15; 25:1-13). “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour [official colors of the Roman Catholic church], and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” (Rev. 17:4-6). Pope Innocent III declared, “Yea, I am the bridegroom; for I have the noble, rich, and high exalted, yea, the honorable, pure, gracious, and holy Roman church for my bride.... I have espoused her sacramentally. This bride has not been wedded to me portionless, but has given me her rich dowry, namely, the fullness of spiritual and of temporal power.” Through this “temporal power” the “holy mother church” of Rome slaughtered millions of innocent people, including many Bible believing Christians, and became “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,” true believers who chose to suffer rather than corrupt one word of the pure preserved holy scriptures, faithful Christians who died rather than renounce their faith in Christ and submit to the dogma of the papacy. (Innocent. 3, in Consecra. Pontif., Serm. 3, page 19).

      During the reign of pope Innocent III (1198-1216) he wrote a letter to King John of England after John had agreed to give the pope both England and Ireland in return for release from the papal interdiction imposed on John's lands. In this letter Innocent III stated that “as every knee is bowed to Jesus, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, so all men should obey His Vicar [the pope].” Innocent III demanded that “all secular kings for the sake of God so venerate this Vicar [the pope]....” Continuing on his theme of absolute power, Innocent III said to King John, “you have decided to submit in a temporal sense yourself and your kingdom to him... so that kingdom and priesthood, like body and soul... might be united in the single person of Christ's Vicar [the pope].... so that those provinces which from of old have had the Holy Roman Church as their proper teacher in spiritual matters should now in temporal things also have her as their peculiar sovereign.” Innocent III concluded his letter saying of John “by a devout and spontaneous act of will... have offered and yielded, in the form of an annual payment of a thousand marks, yourself and your kingdoms of England and Ireland... to the Holy Roman Church and to us and our successors, to be our right and our property.” (Selected Letters of Pope Innocent III Concerning England, 1955).

      We see this theme repeated throughout history, the teachings of the church of Rome being in opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ. “My kingdom is not of this world:” said Jesus, “if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36). For centuries the church of Rome has sought to dominate the world both spiritually and temporally as revealed by history and in the Roman Catholic church's own writings. Moreover, many of the papacy's teachings continue to contradict the scriptures. While the pope of Rome expects his followers to bow or kneel before him, the apostle Peter, whom the Catholic church believes was the “first pope”, forbid anyone to bow before him: “And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.” (Acts 10:25,26; see also Revelation 19:10 and 22:8,9). Jesus said that “the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matt. 20:25-27). Jesus said to “Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;” (Luke 20:46). “But be not ye called Rabbi:” exclaimed Jesus, “for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matt. 23:8,9).

      The inquisition was a Roman Catholic court or tribunal established for the examination and punishment (gruesome forms of torture and murder) of those whom it deemed heretics. This court of inquisition was originally established by “father“ Dominic (1170-1221), founder of the order of Dominican friars, who was charged by pope Innocent III (1198-1216) with orders to excite Catholics to exterminate heretics, namely Protestant Christians, who either taught or believed any Christian doctrine other than that officially sanctioned by the Roman Catholic church. The accused were afforded virtually no rights, as a mere accusation against a defendant was deemed sufficient grounds for condemnation. Roman Catholics were commanded by the papacy, under threat of excommunication, to give immediate information, even of their nearest and dearest friends and relatives. During his reign as pope (1159 to 1181), Alexander III commanded the bishop of Lyons to exterminate the Protestant Christians of France for exposing Roman Catholic doctrines as un-scriptural. These Protestant Christians, known as the Waldenses, incurred the wrath of the pope simply because they dared to read the Bible for themselves which allowed them to see the superstitions and depravities of the Roman church. The Waldenses' only crime was that they exposed the gross errors of the papacy and sought to turn the hearts of the lost and misguided to the true unadulterated scriptures and the historical Jesus of the Bible. Some of the major tenets of these bold yet humble Christians included the following:  

      Roman Catholic historian, John Acton (1834-1902), commonly known as Lord Acton, wrote extensively about the Inquisition and the Catholic church. Commenting on the papacy's policy to suppress information, John Acton wrote: “The Council instituted the index of prohibited books, which is the fourth article in the machinery of resistance.... A German divine warned the Pope that if the fathers of Trent were allowed to read Lutheran books they would become Lutherans themselves, and such writings were accordingly forbidden even to cardinals and archbishops. The idea of drawing up a comprehensive list of all that no man should read commended itself to the zeal of Caraffa, having been suggested to him by Della Casa, who had published such a list at Venice.... A congregation was appointed to examine new publications, to issue decrees against them as required, and to make out catalogues from time to time of works so condemned. Besides this, censures were also pronounced by the Pope himself, the Inquisition, the Master of the Sacred Palace, and the Secretary of the Index, separately. In this way an attempt was made to control what people read, committing to oblivion the works of Protestant scholars, and of such men as Machiavelli, and correcting offensive texts, especially historians. Several such corrected editions were published at the time, and many things were reprinted with large omissions.” (Lectures on Modern History, ed. John Neville Figgis and Reginald Vere Laurence, London: Macmillan, 1906).

      In a letter written to Bishop Mandell Creighton in April 1887, John Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Acton had much to say about the official policy of the papacy: “The Inquisition is peculiarly the weapon and peculiarly the work of the popes. It stands out from all those things in which they co-operated, followed or assented as the distinctive feature of papal Rome. It was set up, renewed and perfected by a long series of acts emanating from the supreme authority in the Church. No other institution, no doctrine, no ceremony is so distinctly the individual creation of the papacy, except the dispensing power. It is the principal thing with which the papacy is identified, and by which it must be judged. The principal of the Inquisition is the Pope's sovereign power over life and death. Whosoever disobeys him should be tried and tortured and burnt. If that cannot be done, formalities may be dispensed with, and the culprit may be killed like an outlaw. That is to say, the principal of the Inquisition is murderous, and a man's opinion of the papacy is regulated and determined by his opinion of religious assassination.” (Letters to Mary Gladstone by Lord Acton, in Kerr, p. 235.)

      While the Dominican order was set up in the twelfth century to persecute Bible believing Christians and eliminate Protestant Christianity (which plan ultimately failed), the Jesuit order was established in the sixteenth century to infiltrate Protestant churches and institutions and undermine the English Bibles, the Bibles that were responsible for setting so many people free from the fanatical and tyrannical rule of the Roman Catholic church. The Jesuits, or the society of Jesus, so called, founded by “saint” Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) in Paris in 1534 (confirmed by pope Paul III in 1540) was a society known for their cunning in propagating their principles and using craftiness and deceit to persuade unsuspecting souls. The apostle Paul wrote about such deceitful men and warned us not to be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). “Dominant in the south of Europe, the great order went forth conquering and to conquer.... Jesuits were to be found under every disguise, and in every country; scholars, physicians, merchants, serving men;.. arguing, instructing, consoling, stealing away the hearts of the young... holding up the crucifix before the eyes of the dying.” The Lord again using his apostle Paul warned us: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats” (I Tim. 4:1-3). “About 1582, when the Jesuit bible [Douay/Rheims version] was launched to destroy Tyndale's English Version, the Jesuits dominated 237 colleges and universities in Europe. Their complete system of education and of drilling was likened, in the constitution of the order itself, to the reducing of all its members to the placidity of a corpse, whereby the whole could be turned and returned at the will of the superior.” (‘Father’ Dominic in 1234, and Ignatius Loyola in 1622, were canonized, made “saints”, by the Roman Catholic church.) (Which Bible?, Fuller, pp.233,234; Dictionary of Saints, p.298; The Footprints of the Jesuits, p.51).

      The fact that Jesuitism and deceit are synonymous is telling in and of itself. Webster's Dictionary defines Jesuitism as “Cunning; deceit; deceptive practices to effect a purpose;” (America Dictionary of the English Language, 1828, 1860, 1911; Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, 1998). History confirms that the Jesuit organization has well earned its corrupt reputation. Webster's Universal Dictionary says: “The power of the organization lies largely in its close scrutiny into affairs, its secret methods.... For the means it has sometimes employed to accomplish its purposes in statecraft it has been condemned as unscrupulous in intrigue and deceptive in purpose, tending to the subversion of legitimate government.” (Webster's Universal Dictionary, 1904). The Society was first established in the United States in 1807. In 1816 John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson stating, “I am not happy about the rebirth of the Jesuits. Swarms of them will present themselves under more disguises ever taken by even the Bohemians, as printers, writers, publishers, school teachers, etc. If ever an association of people deserved eternal damnation, on this earth and in hell, it is this Society of Loyola” (Secret History, p.75).

    Historian Edmond Paris commented on this secretive order: “It is the same today; the 30,000 official members of the Society operate all over the world in the capacity of her personnel, officers of a truly secret army containing in its ranks heads of political parties, high ranking officials, generals, magistrates, physicians, Faculty professors, etc., all of them striving to bring about, in their own sphere,“l'Opus dei”, God's work, in reality the plans of the papacy.” (Secret History, Paris, pp. 27,30). The Jesuit doctrine of “mental reservation” is the practice of saying one thing while believing another (i.e, telling lies). A short course in this deceitful practice is enough to “jar one's conscience free enough to enable him to say anything he feels a need to say, regardless of his true inner reservations.” (Final Authority, pp.18,199). This Catholic doctrine of “mental reservation” plays an important role in establishing the papacy's goal of convincing the world to accept the Roman Catholic church, if not directly, then at least through one of the many perverted doctrines and bible versions influenced by her.

      It is important to realize that the Douay-Rheims Bible was not issued to help Catholics, but rather to hurt Protestant Christians. It is this author's experience of spending nearly twenty years in the Catholic church without ever being encouraged to read a single verse out of the church's official Bible. One of the major goals of the Jesuits was to undermine the Protestant Christians' faith in the Authorized Version. “This Bible would have to be replaced with one which contained the pro-Roman Catholic readings of Jerome's Vulgate and the Jesuit translation of 1582. It would be necessary to ‘educate’ the Protestant scholars to believe that their Reformation Text was unreliable and that their Authorized Version was ‘not scholarly.’ Once thus programmed, the egotistical scholars would spontaneously attack their own Bible and believe that they were helping God.” (An Understandable History of the Bible, Samuel Gipp, pp.98,99)

      “No greater evidence exists for our present-day apostasy than the growing acceptance of Roman Catholicism by professing blood-washed believers. Such open ‘mollycoddling’ is a phenomenon unique to twentieth-century [and 21st century] Christianity.” Bible-believing pastors know from experience that “the quickest way to draw the ire of their congregation is to criticize either the church of Rome or her polluted Bibles (i.e, the modern English translations based on Vaticanus).” The Saturday Evening Post quoted Billy Graham saying, “The Living Bible communicates the message of Christ to our generation.” (Saturday Evening Post, March 1991). A high-profile pastor who endorses The Living Bible was quoted as saying, “Billy Graham and the Pope are great moral leaders and I'm honored to be in their presence.” As prominent Evangelical preachers are embracing such leaders, the sign posts are clearly pointing to the great “falling away” of the church prophesied in second Thessalonians (II Thess. 2:3). The popular Mother Teresa was not the Christian that many professing born-again believers have portrayed her to be. Why are Christian bookstores promoting someone like Mother Teresa as a spiritual role model for Christian young people? “Where are the Bible convictions of a person who would recommend a woman who declares: ‘If in coming face to face with God we accept Him in our lives, then we... become a better Hindu, a better Muslim, a better Catholic, a better whatever we are... What God is in your mind you must accept.’” (Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist, Dave Hunt, p.149; Final Authority, Grady, pp.190,191,192).

      From the first permanent English settlement in 1607 (Jamestown, VA), America was a distinctive Christian land, and it is a fact that for no less than three centuries the dominant expression of that Christianity was Protestant – Bible believing Protestants. But in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as the superstitions of the Roman Catholic church began to infect one community after another across the land, many people began to be influenced and eventually subdued by “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats” (A Prophet With Honor, The Billy Graham Story, p.43; I Tim. 4:1-5). Jesuit founder Ignatius Loyola wrote a book called Spiritual Exercises “which did more than any other document to erect a new papal theocracy and to bring about the establishment of the infallibility of the Pope.” (Which Bible?, Fuller, p.232). Pope Pius IX (1846-1878), who first announced the “Immaculate Conception” of Mary on December 8, 1854, declared himself “infallible” in July of 1870. (Grady, Final Authority, p. 224). Jesus Christ said, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ [from the Greek word christos meaning THE ANOINTED, a priest or prophet - divinely appointed by God]; and shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24:4,5). To this day the Catholic church continues to teach that the Pope “holds upon the earth the place of God Almighty” and “is Christ in office, jurisdiction and power” (Vatican Council of 1870). Noah Webster, Founding Father of American Scholarship and Education, wrote, “The pope pretends to be vicar of Jesus Christ on earth.” (An American Dictionary of The English Language, 1828, 1860, 1911, see ‘VIC'AR’).

      The 1802 edition of Nathan Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary states: “the power of it [the Inquisition] is exercised with all barbarity and cruelty against Christians, under the notion of heretics, and all that are not stanch Roman Catholics.” “As the power of the Popes increased, they extended their supremacy from things ecclesiastic to politics, and for several centuries influenced or regulated every kingdom of Europe, but happily that power is now on the decline, and perhaps nearly extinct.” Sadly, in less than a century “that power”, the “holy” Roman church, would undergo a resurgence and would once again infect and influence various nations of the world. Charles A. Goodrich, a Christian minister and writer in the year 1830, wrote:

      “The present depressed state of Popery, both in England, and on the continent [North America], is no proof that its leading principles [propagation of pagan doctrines, persecution of Protestant Christians] have been abandoned. By means of various revolutions, its power has been shaken, and, from motives of policy, it has been compelled to cease from blood [burning people at the stake];”but, in the language of a distinguished divine of our own country, ‘not a principle of the system has been abandoned. All the wiles of ages are put in requisition now, to heal the fatal wounds, which the beast has received, and to render the system still more powerful [influential] and terrific.’ To the American people, this subject presents itself with peculiar interest. Within a short period, the attention of the Pope of Rome has been directed to North America, and systematic efforts are now making, under his immediate patronage, and at his expense, to introduce and establish this corrupt system, in various parts of our land. Already, Catholic churches are erecting; Catholic priests and emissaries are arriving by scores; publications, designed to eulogize and recommend the system, are circulating abroad. The question presents itself to the American people: ‘Shall this system find encouragement, in the land of the pilgrims?’ We fear not, indeed, that Popery can ever greatly flourish on the American soil; but such a root of bitterness, we wish not to see planted here, much less spreading its branches to even the temporary injury of the Protestant cause. Yet, while the friends of truth should not be needlessly alarmed, neither should they sleep. A holy vigilance should guard well the approaches of an enemy, whose triumphs here would be the ruin of that fair fabric, which cost our fathers so much toil to erect. What friend of Zion does not tremble, at only the possibility that papal darkness and papal thraldom may overspread even a portion of our country.... It is only necessary that the volume [Foxe's Book Of Martyrs] should be carefully and candidly read, to convince [any one], that the papal system is not that harmless, innocent thing, which some would represent. We wish not, indeed, that the papists should be persecuted; we would say, protect them in their private capacity, wherever they exist in the land; but beware of so encouraging them, as to bring the American people, under their temporal and spiritual domination.... A Church, which pretends to be infallible, will always seek the destruction of those, who dissent from it;” (Book Of Martyrs, Charles A. Goodrich, 1830, pp 3,4)

      The battle for the Bible began in the early years of Christianity and continues unabated to this day. The church of Rome deceived and conquered people during the Dark Ages (circa A.D. 500 - 1500) by moving from a word based culture (the Bible) to an image based culture (statues, symbols, relics, etc.), and by telling the common man that in order to “really understand” the scriptures, a certain expertise taught only by authority of “the church” in a certain foreign language (Latin) would be required. Nevertheless, faithful Christians in various lands opposed the corrupt teachings of the Roman church and retained the true scriptures in diverse tongues (Greek, Syriac, Latin, Gothic, et al) throughout the centuries. In 1647 the American Colony of Connecticut along with the Colony of Massachusetts passed the Old Deluder Satan Law to prevent the abuse of power over an illiterate population ignorant of the true scriptures, as had been the case in Catholic countries in Europe and abroad. The law stated: “It being one chiefe project of that old deluder, Sathan, to keepe men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former time.... It is therefore ordered...[that] after the Lord hath increased [the settlement]... to teach all such children as shall resorte to him, to write and read....” (America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, p. 179).

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (II Cor. 4:3,4).

      Regardless of corrupt bible manuscripts and the flood of polluted bible versions brought in by the enemy of souls, the light of the true scriptures continues to shine bright as “a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (II Peter 1:19). The prophet Isaiah said that “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19). In his insightful book, Which Bible?, David Fuller writes, “The Scriptures of the apostle John and his associates, the traditional text [the Textus Receptus]... arose from the place of humiliation forced on it by Origen's Bible in the hands of Constantine and became the Received Text of Greek Christianity. And when the Greek East for one thousand years was... shut off from the Latin West, the noble Waldenses in northern Italy still possessed in Latin the Received Text [the 2nd century Itala]. To Christians such as these, preserving apostolic Christianity, the world owes gratitude for the true text of the Bible. It is not true, as the Roman church claims, that she gave the Bible to the world. What she gave was an impure text, a text with thousands of verses so changed as to make way for her unscriptural doctrines. While upon those who possessed the veritable Word of God, she poured out through long centuries her stream of cruel persecution.” (Fuller, Which Bible?, pp. 214, 215)

“And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:16,17).

      Many sincere Christians today are unaware of the true origins and history of their Bible text. Any version of the Bible that does not agree with the Greek Textus Receptus, from which the King James Bible was translated in 1611, is certainly to be founded upon corrupted manuscripts. Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Wordsworth, Westcott and Hort; in foot-notes and translations, have changed the Greek Textus Receptus in about 6,000 places. This is why we have so many changes and omissions in our modern Bibles.

      The line of ancient manuscripts and documents from which the King James Version was translated. The overwhelming majority of existing manuscript evidence is from this line. This is the line of manuscripts that Christians loyal to the Bible have accepted and preserved from the earliest days. It is also known as the “Traditional”, “Majority”, “Antiochian” and “Byzantine” Text.

      During the 1st century following the resurrection of Christ, God moved men to pen His Word (2 Peter 1.21). The result was a group of letters and books, written in Koine Greek (called the ‘original autographs’). God's choice of Greek as the language of the New Testament was obvious in that it was the predominant language of the world at the time. These letters and books were copied and recopied throughout the centuries and distributed throughout the world. These copies comprise the manuscripts of the New Testament. Over 5,000 of these Greek manuscripts have survived to this day. The great number of these Greek manuscripts supports what is called the Byzantine textual tradition, Byzantine because it came from all over the Greek-speaking world at that time. These Byzantine manuscripts make up what is called the Traditional Text of the New Testament. The best printed representation of this Byzantine text-type is the Textus Receptus (or Received Text). The vast majority (about 99%) of the 5200 extant (existing) New Testament MSS (manuscripts) are in agreement with the Textus Receptus. Compiled from a number of Byzantine manuscripts by numerous editors from the early 1500s, the Textus Receptus (as it later became known) was the text used by Tyndale and was among the vast number of texts used by the translators of the English Authorised (King James) Version of 1611.

      Dating from the first to the sixteenth century, there are over 5,000 Greek New Testament manuscripts that exist today in agreement with each other ranging from small fragments to nearly entire Bibles. “By comparison, there exists only ten quality manuscripts of Caesar's Gallic War composed between 58-50 B.C. Of Levy's History of Rome written between 59 B.C.-17 AD... a mere 20 copies. Only two manuscripts remain of The History of Tacitus completed around 100 A.D.” “These numbers are even more impressive when one considers the centuries of persecution leveled against the Holy Scriptures.” “The outstanding feature of the Received Text is its high percentage of agreement among so many independent witnesses” “Whenever a large body of ancient documents are seen to be in agreement, this inexplicable harmony becomes their greatest evidence for legitimacy.”

      Admonishing those who would take part in the copying and transmission of the scriptures Irenaeus (circa 130-202 A.D.) wrote: “I adjure you who shall copy out of this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by his glorious advent when he comes to judge the living and the dead, that you compare what you transcribe, and correct it carefully against this manuscript from which you copy; and also that you transcribe this adjuration and insert it in the copy.”

      “The combination of human effort and Divine Providence working through an unprecedented proliferation of copies, lectionaries, versions, and patristic writings instilled in our first preachers the needed conviction that they did, in fact, possess the very words of God. The witness of Tertullian represents the prevailing third-century assessment of just such a confidence: “I hold sure title deeds from the original owners themselves, to whom the estate belonged. I am the heir of the apostles. Just as they carefully prepared their will and testament . . . even so do I hold it.” (Final Authority, Grady, pp. 26,27,28,30,40).

      The 1611 English Authorized Version Holy Bible (AV) (KJV or King James Version as it later became known) is the Bible that faithful Christians have accepted and preserved for nearly 400 years. The 1611 translation was not a revision per se of earlier English Bibles, but a purification process. The KJV was the seventh polishing of the English Bible, made unique among all English Bibles because it was and still is the only one whose translators invited the input of all interested English-speaking Christians before it was published. It was not done by just one man, nor was it done by a paid committee of ‘scholars.’ It was not done in secret, nor was it done in haste. The KJV is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher...” (Heb. 7:26). The 1611 Authorized Version (from 1611-1769 to any unaltered present-day KJV) Holy Bible remains untainted by human philosophy and is unadulterated by religious theology. (See also The Apocrypha.)

      You may have heard the myth of the four so called “Revisions” of the KJV, a revision myth perpetuated by “wise and prudent” 'scholars' and theologians. The facts show that these were by no means revisions, but editions only. In 1858 the American Bible Society wrote a report on the present condition of the Authorized Version English Bible, which stated, “[The] English Bible as left by the translators has come down to us unaltered in respect to its text.” (Crowned With Glory: The Bible from Ancient Text to the Authorized Version, Thomas Holland, p.101; Answers to Your Bible Version Questions, David Daniels, p.128). What the critics of the Authorized Version refer to as revisions were mere corrections of spellings, punctuations and the like made because of the tediousness involved in the early printing process. A careful comparison of a 1611 edition with any KJV today will readily put to rest this revision fallacy. The 1769 edition (KJV) also was not a revision, but simply an edition which only standardized the spelling of the 1611 Version, and is of no comparison to modern bible version alterations. Only the King James Bible matches “the scriptures...to all nations,” which the “Holy Ghost” gave “every nation under heaven” in their “own language” (Rom. 16:26, Acts 2:4, 5, 6). A thorough collation of the valuable Nuremberg 12 Language Polyglot of A.D. 1599, shows that only the KJV matches the historic Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Danish, Old Latin, Polish and other language scriptures, written before the KJV.

“Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” (Proverbs 22:20,21)

      Where was the English Bible before 1611? For those who take the time to look there is overwhelming evidence of the preserved English Bible. In addition to the early English Bibles listed below, numerous copies of the English New Testament which existed before Wycliffe's translation of the late 1300s have been identified (The Cambridge History of the Bible, vol. 2, pp. 389-390 et al.). The Nuremberg 12 Language Polyglot of 1599 is a parallel format Bible of the four Gospels showing the unbroken line of scripture preservation:

      The following English Bibles also pre-date the 1611 KJV and attest to scripture preservation in our early and middle English Bibles:

      Modern bible versions have broken this vital line of scripture preservation. Look up the above verses in modern bible versions such as the NIV and the NKJV and you will see that the superior “Comforter” has been replaced by a subordinate “helper”; and the assurance of our present salvation here and now where we “are saved” has been replaced by a works-based salvation where we are in the process of “being saved” by our good works and by doing good deeds; and the word “hell” has been omitted. The New Age movement does not believe in a place of everlasting punishment for the unrighteous. And modern bible versions are influenced by the New Age movement's philosophy in that modern bible versions have obliterated the word “hell” in a number of key verses throughout the Bible. Not only do these new modern bible versions disagree with the KJV and earlier English Bibles, but in many places they match the Jehovah Witness' New World Translation as well as the Catholic Douay/Rheims version. Like Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, the Catholic church and the Jehovah's Witness organization teach a progressive or works-based salvation. And all new bible versions are influenced by works-based salvation methodologies. Unfortunately, nominal Christians who don't take the time and effort to “search out a matter” and “prove all things” are unaware of the importance of these facts (Prov. 25:2; Hosea 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:21; Rev. 1:6), and are thus unaware of the role that corrupt bible versions are playing in setting the stage for the new age one world religion and new world order of antichrist.

      Why does the KJV contain the words which it does? Why has God continued to use this Bible, in spite of hundreds of attempts by critics to change it? The English Authorized Version of 1611 (KJV) is a very precise translation of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. It was not translated and published to update an evolving English language or to represent the language of the day. New bible versions claim to be ‘much clearer’ updates to the old ‘outdated’ KJV. But, unlike modern versions which remove what they consider to be “obsolete words” like “thee, thou and ye”, the KJV remains faithful to the original texts. The NKJV states, “These pronouns are no longer part of our language.” But “thee, thou and ye” were “no longer part of our language” during 1611 either (read the intro to the 1611 KJV Bible written by the translators themselves, there are no “thee”, “thou” and “ye”). Webster's Third New International Dictionary, says of ye: “used from the earliest of times to the late 13th century” (p.2648). And yet the 1611 Authorized Version (KJV) was published some 400 years later in the 17th century. So why did the KJV translators use these so called ‘outdated’ “obsolete” words? The Greek and Hebrew languages contain a different word for the second person singular and the second person plural pronouns. Today we use the one-word “you” for both the singular and plural. But because the translators of the 1611 King James Bible desired an accurate, word-for-word translation of the Hebrew and Greek text – they could not use the one-word “you” throughout (if it begins with “t” (thou, thy, thine) it's singular, but if it begins with “y” (ye) it's plural). Modern bible versions claim to be “more accurate”, and yet the 1611 KJV, by using “thee”, “thou” and “ye”, is far more accurate! The KJV owes its merit, not to 17th century English, but to its faithful translation of the original. It is the only English Bible which retains a “pure language” (Zeph. 3:9) which identifies it as the voice of Jesus Christ, the living Word (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13). “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 3:15). (See In Awe Of Thy Word, the first and only documented history of the words of the Holy Bible)

      The KJV Bible was translated at a time when the English language was “at its height”, and English writers such as William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) were producing their famous works. Most people are unaware of the fact that the 1611 KJV Bible and Shakespeare's works were written in Modern English. “It may come as a surprise to learn that Shakespeare wrote in Modern English, since the language of the Elizabethan Age often seems antiquated and quite ‘unmodern’ to twentieth-century readers. Nevertheless, Shakespeare's speech and our own have enough in common so that language historians consider that they both belong to the same stage in the history of English. If a group of twentieth-century Americans could be transported through time and space to the London of Shakespeare's day, they would find that they could communicate fairly easily with the people they would meet. They would feel that these people were speaking English with an unfamiliar accent, it is true, but their accent would not be much harder for Americans to understand than some of the present-day accents of the British Isles. (Indeed, in some ways, American English is more like that of Shakespeare than is present-day British English.) The major reason for the similarity is the Great Vowel Shift, which occurred sometime in the fifteenth century. The vowel shift gave Modern English a new set of long vowel sounds--sounds that have persisted up to the present.... a standard written form of English came into use during the fifteenth century.” (Adventures in English Literature, 1989, p. 261)

      The English language that was spoken in 1611 when the Authorized Bible was first printed is the same English language spoken today by people around the world: the “standard written form of English” which “came into use during the fifteenth century.” As English would in time become the predominate language of the world, God's choice of English as “a pure language” of his word is obvious (Zeph. 3:9). Gothic, the great great grandfather of English, was a major world language at the time of Christ and the apostles. The words of English are much older than most people think. The earliest English sentence to be discovered appears on an old coin dated around A.D. 450. English is now a global language and nearly 33% of the world's population (approximately two billion people) can s