Tuesday, May 05, 2020

If There Was One Specific Word of God In English

God's prescription seems to be that wherever He is, there is extreme persecution. When the prophets prophesied, they were persecuted by their hearers. The church flourishes under persecution. According to this prescription, English Bibles translated prior to the King James Version are more the Word of God than the King James Bible is. The Tyndale New Testament and the Geneva Bible were produced under extreme persecution. The King James Bible was not. In fact, the King James Bible was produced in accordance with the government. Could you imagine United States President Barack Obama commissioning a translation of the Bible? Could you imagine Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commissioning a translation of the Bible? Could you imagine Nebuchadnezzar commissioning a translation of the Bible? Could you imagine Constantine commissioning a translation of the Bible?

King James Only people want to argue that "Every word of God is pure" (Prov. 30:5a). If this is so, then the changes the King James Bible made to earlier translations is in the wrong. God chose the words He wanted in the earlier versions. The prescription seems to be that wherever the work of God is, there is persecution. So seeing that earlier English translations endured great persecution, they are more likely to be the Word of God than the King James Bible will ever be. The Geneva Bible is book-ended by two religious persecutions. It first faced the religious persecution of Queen "Bloody" Mary Tudor and the Catholic Church. It later faced the religious persecution of King James, the Anglican Church/Church of England, and the King James Bible, being forced upon the people as the only Bible they should ever use.

All the opposition against the Geneva Bible would make it a more likely candidate for being the inspired, preserved Word of God in the English language than the King James Version ever will. If there was one specific Word of God in the English language, it would be the Geneva Bible; not the King James Bible.