.
This page is in commemoration of the400th Year Anniversary
of the
Authorized King James Version of the Bible May 2, 1611 - May 2, 2011
Keywords: KJV, Authorised Version, 400th, year, anniversary, Authorized King James Bible, Authorized Version, King James Version, history,
KJV, 1611, 2011, holy Bible, Christian history, James I, Great Britain, James VI & I, birthday, publication date, Authorised King James Version, celebration, UK, memorial, Authorised, in memory, England, Cambridge, Westminster, Oxford.
The Authorised Version of the holy scriptures, commonly known as the Authorized King James Version or KJV, is the word of God and the glory of the English language. For almost 400 years it has led multitudes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and a whole new life in him and his word. The King James Bible has spread across the world reaching mankind generation after generation. It has saved, comforted, exhorted, rebuked, admonished, warned, enlightened, and edified without ceasing.
King James VI & I, founding monarch of Great Britain, not only commanded the translation of the Authorised Version but he actually took an active role in developing the rules for translators and encouraging the completion of the work. The King's College website states,
The development of the Bible in English differs from that of other European vernacular translations. Only England has an "authorised version", issued under the auspices of a king who was also the head of the Church. The vernacular Bible was illegal in England long before the Reformation and so began its development at a great disadvantage, but once England became a Protestant country the translated Bible became a symbol of state.
King James boldly testified of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and was very concerned about the spiritual well being of his realm. Unbeknownst to many, James I was as much of a reformer as Martin Luther was. This is easily seen when one peruses his
Workes, published in 1616.
Find out more about King James VI & I at this link.
By divine providence, the King James Bible is still available to the true church today but, unfortunately, a plethora of
modern perversions of the scriptures have sprouted forth from the earth like a field of so many tares. Men of corrupt minds have developed and sold many of these scurrilous productions that they call Bibles. Notwithstanding this grievous situation, the Authorised Version stands alone as the word of God. It is tried, true, and tested.
For those that love it, the modern versions with their
missing verses and inserted heresies are only impostors. The Authorized King James Bible alone speaks with the voice of authority and holiness and has done so for almost four centuries.
For those looking for God,
the website at this link may help you in your journey. It contains articles on heaven, hell, comparative religion, and much more; for those that are saved,
the Deception Series provides critical information and insight on these last days.
John WycliffeCalled "the morning star of the Reformation," John Wycliffe caused a stir by preaching against the abuses and heresies of the Roman Catholic "church." He and his followers (called "Lollards") pointed people to the word of God, not the Roman Catholic hierarchy. In the 1380s, Wycliffe published the entire Bible in English. The Roman Catholic "church" burned his Bibles and his books. Approximately forty-four years after his death, in an act of contempt, the Roman Catholic "church" dug up his bones and burned them. They did not stop with Wycliffe, they also persecuted his followers like Bohemian priest John Huss who they delivered to the "secular authorities" to be burned at the stake. |
William TyndaleTranslated the holy scriptures as an outlaw on the run. It is said that Tyndale was once told by a clergyman, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." To this, Tyndale responded: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost." Tyndale's translation of the New Testament was published in 1525. Roman Catholic Cardinal Thomas Wolsey demanded his arrest as an heretick. Tyndale was eventually burned at the stake by Henry VIII in 1536. Much of his translation work is found in the Authorised Version. |
James VI & IThe first king of Great Britain, James I commanded the translation the Authorised Version of the holy scriptures, identified the pope as antichrist, and through his writings (such as his "A Premonition to All Most Mightie Monarches, Kings, Free Princes, and States of Christendome" found in his Workes, pages 287-338) he was the principal force in discovering to European rulers the injuries that they had long sustained by the usurping tendencies of the Roman Catholic papacy. His defense of the Divine Right of Kings was simply a defense of kings being able to run their own kingdoms without papal (or Jesuitical) interference. Roman Catholics (including Jesuits Owldcorne and Garnet) tried to kill King James during the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605. James' "Remonstrance for the Right of Kings" (Workes, pp. 381-484), explores the meddling of popes in government affairs and the devastating results of Roman Catholic recusancy. |
Timeline of Selected Events
| 1380-82 | Wycliffe's New Testament and Old Testament published in 1380 and 1382 respectively. |
| 1408 | Roman Catholic synod in Oxford, England made it illegal to read the Bible in English without permission of a bishop; the "Constitutions of Oxford" of 1408 noted that translation of Scripture into English is a crime punishable by charges of heresy. |
| 1415 | John Huss, follower of Wycliffe, burned at the stake on July 6, 1415 by order of the Roman Catholic "church." |
| 1428 | Wycliffe's bones exhumed and burned by order of Pope Martin V. |
| 1455 | Gutenberg Bible published - The world's first book printed on a mechanical movable type printing press. |
| 1516 | Textus Receptus, the "Received Text", was published. Background: Erasmus (1) examined various Greek manuscripts of the Bible found in the finest libraries in Europe, (2) selected renderings received by the church throughout the ages, and (3) compiled his edition of the Greek New Testament which later became known as the Textus Receptus. |
| 1517 | Martin Luther nails his 95 theses on the church doors at Wittenberg marking what most consider the beginning of the Reformation. |
| 1525 | William Tyndale's New Testament published. |
| 1536 | William Tyndale burned at the stake on October 6, 1536 by King Henry VIII, king of England. |
| 1547 | Edward VI, a Protestant (and son of Henry VIII), becomes king of England. |
| 1553 | Mary I, a Catholic (and daughter of Henry VIII) becomes queen of England. |
| 1555 | Mary I (also known as Bloody Mary) bans Protestant translations of the Bible. John Rogers, Thomas Cranmer, and about 300 men, women, and children are burned to death during her reign. |
| 1558 | Bloody Mary dies childless and her sister, Elizabeth I, a Protestant, is crowned queen of England. |
| 1559 | Pope Paul IV added Erasmus' works to Rome's index of prohibited books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum). |
| 1566 | James Charles Stewart born to Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley on June 19, 1566. |
| 1567 | James crowned King James VI of Scotland. |
| 1588 | Spanish Armada devastated in Spain's attempt to overthrow Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and make England Roman Catholic. In England, a commemorative medal of the victory was struck with the words, "God blew and they were scattered" inscribed on it--God was magnified for sending the fierce storms that had destroyed much of the fleet of the mighty Spanish Armada. |
| 1603 | King James' godmother and cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, dies. James crowned King James I of England. He is now King James VI (Scotland) & I (England). |
| 1604 | At the Hampton Court Conference, King James agrees that a new translation of the scriptures is in order. |
| 1605 | During the Gunpowder Plot, Roman Catholics--including Jesuits--try to blow up King James and the British Parliament. By miraculous divine intervention, the King discerned the plot (see, A Discourse of the Maner of the Discoverie of the Powder Treason, Joyned With the Examination of Some of the Prisoners," in The Workes, pp. 223-246). |
| 1607 | Colonists arrive in Jamestowne, VA. Jamestowne (James' namesake) will go on to become the first permanent English settlement on the American mainland thereby making King James VI & I founding monarch of the United States. |
| 1611 | Authorised Version published on May 2, 1611 by the Church of England. |
| 1616 | The Workes by King James VI & I published. |
| 1625 | James VI & I dies in peace on March 27, 1625; his son Charles I accedes to the British throne. |
| 1649 | In January of 1649 King James' son, King Charles I, is executed by order of Puritan Oliver Cromwell and other insurgents after their hostile and short-lived takeover of the British government. Eikon Basilike, or, The King's Book, was written by Charles I during his captivity at Carisbrook Castle in 1648 and published posthumously. It reveals the king's thoughts and Christian character during his imprisonment and impending death.
|
"Religious truth is imprisoned in a small number of manuscript books which confine instead of spread the public treasure. Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings to Truth in order that she may win every soul that comes into the world by her word, no longer written at great expense by hands easily palsied, but multiplied like the wind by an untiring machine."
Johann Gutenberg, c. 1455
inventor of the movable-type printing press |  |
Timeline of English Bibles Translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text)
| 1525 | Tyndale |
| 1535 | Coverdale |
| 1537 | Matthews |
| 1539 | Great (Chain) Bible (chained in the church to prevent theft) |
| 1560 | Geneva |
| 1568 | Bishops |
| 1611 | Authorized |
 | "I would have the weakest woman read the Gospels and Epistles of St. Paul... I would have those words translated into all languages, so that not only Scots and Irishmen, but Turks and Saracens might read them."
--Desiderius Erasmus |
Erasmus was a brillant Dutch scholar and
reformer in his own right who: (1) examined and compared various Greek manuscripts found in the finest libraries in Europe, (2) selected those renderings received by the true church throughout the ages, and (3) compiled and published his own edition of the Greek New Testament which later became known as the, "Textus Receptus"--The Received Text. The Textus Receptus was consulted during the translation of Reformation era Bibles including the Authorised Version and represents readings found in the overwhelming majority of Greek texts available in the world today. On the other hand, modern Bible versions such as the NIV are based on a small number of dissenting, obscure, minority manuscripts that disagree with the majority of extant (available) Greek manuscripts at many points and lean toward
Roman Catholic readings. Some question the authenticity of
Codex Sinaiticus, one of the manuscripts that a number of modern versions are based on. Some modern Bible versions appear to be based on little more than the authors' own imaginations.
...
...
...
