The History of

the KJV
How God Preserved His
Bible

Question
Who wrote the Bible?

Question
Who did God use to write the Bible?

Question
Where did you KJV Bible come from?

How do you know its really the best?

Faith
Hebrews 11

The Bible
II Timothy 3: 16

Bible Trivia
True or False
The KJV is the first English Translated Bible
False

Bible Trivia
True or False
King James began his monarchy in England
False

Bible Trivia
Where was King James king before he was
king of England?
Scotland

Bible Trivia
How many original Bibles existed in
History?

The Bible
In this study, we are going to take a look
into
The history of where our English speaking
Bible comes from.
How God has preserved His Word
Why so many different Bibles exist

The KJV Bible

The beginning
The first written
scripture

The 10
commandments

The KJV Bible

Exodus 31: 18 God gives Moses the
commandments that he actually writes into
stone.

The KJV Bible

Exodus 32: 15 20

Moses becomes so
angry with his people
for worshiping false
gods, he breaks the
tablets!

The KJV Bible

Exodus 34: 1 5
God rewrites them

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God doesnt stop there
God gives Moses 603 other commandments.
He of course couldnt put them all on stone, so he
used scrolls

The KJV Bible

God has Moses write a journal of all the important
stuff in his life
Plus the 603 commands
Plus a 2nd AND 3rd copy of the 10 commandments
Plus all the main events from the creation to the
days of slavery in Egypt

The KJV Bible

The Torah

Genesis Creation to Joseph in Egypt

Exodus Slavery in Egypt to building Gods Tabernacle
Leviticus Rules for Levite Priests
Numbers The 40 years of wondering in wilderness
Deuteronomy Moses speech to Israel entering Cannon
(2nd giving of the Law)

The KJV Bible

Israel did what anyone should have done
They began copying it as they were instructed
Deuteronomy 17: 18 - 19
Wouldnt you?

The KJV Bible

They copied it word for word
This was not their interpretation of it this was
exact copying.

The KJV Bible

The rest of the Old Testament can be broken
into three different categories
History
Wisdom or Writings
Prophetic Books

The KJV Bible

History Books:
Historical events recorded in the Bible

The first 5 books of

the Bible (Torah)
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
Samuel

Kings
Chronicles
Esther
Ezra
Nehemiah

The KJV Bible

Wisdom Books or The Writings
Theme of Fearing the Lord

Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon

Job 28:28
Psalms 111:10
Proverbs 9:10

The KJV Bible

Prophetic Books
Books written that explain
the future as told to the
individual by God

4 major
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel

12 minor
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

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The New Testament
Follows the 400 silent years
Begins with the Life of Christ (Gospels)

o Matthew
o Mark
o Luke
o John

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Acts:
The Kingdom is
presented but
ultimately rejected by
Israel.
o We see this with the
stoning of Steven.

As a result, God uses

a man named Saul (changes his name to
Paul) to set up a new
program on Earth.

The KJV Bible

Paul's Epistles
Pauls 13 epistles are uniquely written and
separate from the others
Paul is given The Mystery
The Mystery Jew and
Gentiles are equal
(God has a program for
both, called Grace,
instead of mankind going
through Israel)

The KJV Bible

Hebrews Revelation
Books written by apostles that explain Gods
Kingdom program here on Earth

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When the Bible was
completed, churches
traded and copied them.
These copies of the Bible
were gathered together
in Antioch (Syria)
These copies were literal
copies of Gods words in
Hebrew and Greek (NOT
interpretations).

The KJV Bible

From here, the
Bible goes two
places
Antioch and further
north.
South to
Alexandria, Egypt

The KJV Bible

Alexandria Egypt
Scholars took the original
transcripts and interpreted them
Were the intentions of all these
men to change the Word of God?
Maybe - Maybe not
But they felt they
needed to add
their own
interpretations to
improve it.

The KJV Bible

Example:
One of the scholars in Egypt was
a man named Origen.
Origen wrote versions of the Bible
yet it was recorded that
o He didnt believe in all of
the Old Testament miracles
o He questioned the Deity of Christ

The KJV Bible

Origen wrote a version of
the Bible called the
Apocrypha.
It included
o Verses added and
removed from original
context
o Origen's interpretations
of verses

The KJV Bible

Origen's Bible was later used to
make 3 other versions of the Bible
o Sinaiticus
o Vaticanus
o Alexandrinus
These scholarly Bibles disagree
over 3000 times in the Gospels alone
o Because they are interpretations, not translations

The KJV Bible

There were now TWO
streams of the Bible
Northern
o Preserved Gods
Words in Antioch, Syria
Southern
o Perverted Gods Words
in Alexandria Egypt

The KJV Bible

Around this time, a new language was developed
This language was soon going to become the
modern language of the time

Latin

The KJV Bible

In the Valley of the Alps lived a group of people
called the Vaudois.
Some of these men became saved (possibly
through some of the churches Paul established)
These people translate the original documents
into Latin
We call this
The Old Latin Bible

The KJV Bible

This Bible spread throughout sections of the
Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
Many Christians were persecuted or killed by
Roman emperors for using it.
This was because the Romans were using a
version of the Bible that
was put together
by the scholars
in Egypt.

The KJV Bible

This persecution of true Christians continued until
Constantine the Great.
Initially, you may think this
sounds good but take a
closer look.

The KJV Bible

Constantine was a Roman pagan. He won the
throne of Rome and received the title Pontifex
Maximus ruler of all.
o He had great power in Rome
o He set the Roman calendar
o He set religious holidays
He also made himself the head
of the Christian Church.

The KJV Bible

Constantine wanted only one Church
He declared all of Rome (and its territory) to be
Christian and made himself the Bishop of
Bishops.
He wanted one official Bible, guess where he
went to get this Bible?
o Alexandria, Egypt
o He used one of
Origens translations

The KJV Bible

When the Roman empire split, Constantine
moved and made his own capital city
Constantinople.

This became
known as the
Byzantine Empire

The KJV Bible

What Constantine left behind
o Palace in Rome
o Properties
o In short, lots of assets and wealth
The church leaders who stayed behind inherited
these riches

The KJV Bible

When Constantine died, his kingdom fell apart.
His sons divided the kingdom amongst
themselves and eventually were taken over by
the Church leaders of Rome
Roman Empire

The KJV Bible

The Roman church leaders wanted their own
version of the Bible so they used a man named
Jerome to write one for them.
He copied Origens
Bible (from Egypt)
and translated it
into Latin adding
his own
interpretation of
verses.

The KJV Bible

Anyone who would not use this version of the
Bible was either arrested or killed.
Many people were poor and illiterate and
therefore had to listen to what they were told by
the Roman church.
This coupled with sickness
and disease entered the
world into The Dark Ages.

The KJV Bible

Was God surprised by any of this?
While ALL of this was taking place, the Vaudious
(those who held the non-tampered Bible) were
still in Europe and Asia.
They still were teaching and copying the original
Bible and most
importantly,
USING and
PERSERVING it.

The KJV Bible

Years later, several things had happened
The world was beginning to see the end of the
Dark Ages
The printing press had been invented
Advancements had been made in medicine and
hygiene
English had become a more popular spoken
language

The KJV Bible

In 1382, John Wycliffe had a copy of the True
(untampered) Bible.
He made the first English
translation of the Bible from
the Latin version.

The KJV Bible

Roughly 100 years later, God used a man named
Desiderius Erasmus
Erasmus was a member of the Roman church
from birth. He became a leader of the church and
was well educated.
Because he was so well
educated, he studied not
only the Roman churches
version of the Bible, but
also the Bible Wycliffe
had translated.

The KJV Bible

Erasmus was shocked at the differences. So he
made a copy of the Bible called the
Textus Receptus.
This book literally put
the original Greek
texts next to the
Latin that the
Roman Church
was using

The KJV Bible

This begins a protest by the people.
The Textus Receptus showed people that many of
the things the Roman Church which was widely
popular throughout Europe was saying were not
consistent with the Word of God.

The KJV Bible

It was because of
this, Martin Luther,
another leader of
the Roman Church,
rejects the
churches teachings
and writes the 95
Thesis

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William Tyndale, a student of Erasmus, wanted to
write a copy of the Bible for England to use.
He again translates (not interprets) the original
Bible into English.
But he was unable to finish

The KJV Bible

When it was discovered that he did this, he was
arrested.
On October 6, 1536, Tyndale was burnt alive for
translating the Bible into English a Bible the
Roman church didnt want to use.
His last words
Lord, open the
Eyes of the King
of England.

The KJV Bible

Myles Coverdale finished the work of Tyndale.
King Henry VIII had this Bible printed and it
quickly spread throughout Europe.

The KJV Bible

This began a series of the True Bible being
translated into many languages throughout
Europe since it was now easy to do so.

The KJV Bible

Again, this greatly upset the Church of Rome.
The Roman Church began what was called The
Inquisition They gave complete forgiveness to all
who killed anyone who opposed their Churches
teachings. In addition to complete forgiveness, the
individuals were also allowed
to keep any land
of the person
whom they
murdered.

The KJV Bible

This did not stop the Bible from growing
Another version of the Bible came out called the
Geneva Bible.
This Bible was a copy of the
True Bible but it was unique
in that it was the first Bible to
use verses.

The KJV Bible

The Geneva Bible was also called the Home
School Bible because many individuals were
learning this at home as opposed to the church
teaching it.
This Bible is what came across the Atlantic Ocean
on the Mayflower.

The KJV Bible

England would then go through a series of
different leadership with different agendas
After King Henry VIII (protestant) dies, the
natural choice for a ruler would be his eldest
child Mary, (who was of the Church of Rome).
However, Henry put in his
will that instead, a 9 year
old Protestant Edward
should take over the throne.

The KJV Bible

King Edward authorized 14 editions of the English
Bible.
All of these editions were from the original texts
His life was cut short when he died of tuberculosis
at age 15.

The KJV Bible

This left the throne of England to Mary, daughter
of Henry VIII. She was a member of the Roman
church and persecuted anyone who opposed it.
She was nick named Bloody Mary.

The KJV Bible

Bloody Mary died early due to cancer, which left
the throne to her sister Queen Elizabeth, a
protestant.
Elizabeth had a group of scholars (who were also
pastors) put together another Bible called the
Bishops Bible.

The KJV Bible

Because the Roman
church did not like
Elizabeth as the Queen
of Rome, they
persuaded the current
Queen of Scotland,
Mary, (a member of the
Roman church) to try
and take the throne of
England as well.

The KJV Bible

This attempt by Mary, Queen of Scotts to take
over England failed and she was executed for
trying.
Her son, James, (a protestant) became the King of
Scotland.

The KJV Bible

Queen Elizabeths reign over England lasted 45
years. When she died, next in line to her thrown
was King James VI of Scotland.
King James VI of Scotland became King James I of
England.

The KJV Bible

Leadership of England - recap
o King Henry VIII (Protestant)
o Edward VI (Protestant)
o Bloody Mary (Church of Rome)
o Elizabeth (Protestant)
o King James (Protestant)

The KJV Bible

King James ordered a new official Bible to be used
for all English speaking individuals.
This is mostly because there were many different
proper English Bibles.
Example Many people at home were using
Geneva Bible but at Church they would have a
Bishop Bible.

The KJV Bible

King James had the best of his Biblical scholars
put together one version of the Bible in 1611
Naturally, this Bible was called
The King James Bible
It has not been touched since

The KJV Bible

Thats right! The KJV
Bible is an
accumulation of many
English Bibles before
it.
All of these Bibles,
however, have same
origin.

The KJV Bible

So what about the other Bibles?
Most other Bibles today come from the findings of
two men.
Brooke Foss Westcott
Fenton John Anthony
Hort

The KJV Bible

Background of Westcott and
Hort
These men were very
Liberal minded for their
time.
Saying things that would be
like today saying
It doesnt matter, we all
worship 1 God.

The KJV Bible

Background of Westcott and Hort
When asked about individuals
worshiping Mary, Hort was
quoted
I have been persuaded for
many years that Mary-worship
and Jesus-worship have very
much in common in their causes
and results.

The KJV Bible

When asked about Darwins theory of Evolution as
opposed to creationism
Westcott: No one now, I suppose, holds that the
first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give
a literal history I could never understand how
anyone reading them with open eyes could think
they did
Hort: I am inclined to think that no such state as
Eden ever existed

The KJV Bible

Wescott and Hort put together a different version of
the Bible based on two (what they believed to be
older) original texts called Sinaiticus and
Vaticanus

The KJV Bible

These texts were not used in the textas receptas
(which was used to write KJV).
They were found near the Vatican
They come from Alexendria Egypt to Rome

The KJV Bible

What Bibles come from Westcott and Hort?

Revised Standard
Version
New American
Standard Version
New Revised Standard
Version
English Standard
Version
Amplified Bible
Living Bible
New World Translation

Moffatt Bible
New English Bible
Good News Bible
New International
Version (NIV)
The Message
Holman Christian
Standard Version

The KJV Bible

Some Key Differences
Modern Bibles change small words but BIG
meaning
Example Romans 3: 22 of changed to in
This word change changes the meaning of the
whole context of the verse.
With this change, we shift from what
God did to what man does

The KJV Bible

Some Key Differences
Attack of the deity of Christ
Revelation 20: 12 The word God is changed to
Throne
Because we know God the Father judges no man,
(John 5:22) this must be Jesus Christ. That makes
Jesus Christ God.
If the word was Throne, this would take away
from the Deity of Christ.
Original Greek Theos = God
Greek word for Throne = Thronos

The KJV Bible

Summary
There were two Original
versions of Gods words
One of which is Gods
words persevered and
translated into different
languages
The other is peoples
interpretations of Gods
words translated into
different languages.

The KJV Bible

It ultimately comes down to one thing

FAITH

The KJV Bible

The Two Tracks Taken.

Original Completed Texts

Syria
Spreads to Europe/ Asia
by the Vaudious
Translated not
interpreted into Latin
Latin English (Wycliffe)
Textus Receptus
Geneva Bible
Assembly of Bibles into
KJV

Original Completed Texts

Syria
Texts are translated and
interpreted in Egypt
Roman Church creates
version of Bible based on
texts from Egypt
Westcott and Hort use
these texts to develop
better version of Bible

The KJV Bible

Final thought
The false Bible essentially comes from the
Scholars of Egypt

The KJV Bible

How has Egypt ever been portrayed in the Bible?
Egypt has always been opposed to God
Who captures and enslaves Gods people in the
Old Testament?
Revelation 11:8