The Epistle Dedicatory to The Holy Bible, aka The King James Bible, and Its Analysis (2/3)
The Epistle Dedicatory to The Holy Bible,
aka The King James Bible, and Its Analysis (2/3)
There was a great amount of distrust toward foreigners in England. King James, who was Scottish, had his reputation smeared and blackened by various enemies, especially religious extremists and Romanists—even to this present day by so-called Christians. Regardless of this, in the eyes of the Church of England as shown in the Epistle Dedicatory, King James was a savior, figuratively represented as the deliverer of Sion, and made like Christ the great King.
- For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
- And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
- For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
- As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Figuratively Queen Elizabeth the First was the Star of the West, the Evening Star—Venus—primarily for her popularity and goddess-like attributes. She was also Lady of the Sea, with her naval victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, but the love toward her was still strong in 1610 when Bilson wrote this Epistle.
The religious persuasion of the monarch had great affect and influence on the populace. When Henry the Eighth sundered from the Papacy, England followed, and more so with Edward the Sixth. There was a darkening in England during the fires of the Romanist Queen Mary. Protestantism was ascendant again under Queen Elizabeth and King James. The trend toward Protestantism could not allow a Romanist monarch, whether it was Charles the First or James the Second.
- ¶ Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
- For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
The darkness covering Romanist England seemed threatening. The appearance of King James as the sun was not merely a slow dawning, but as the midday sun coming from behind great storm clouds that dissolved into nothing. A prophecy of Christ provided the entire image:
- The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
The government of a true king is of righteous judgment, establishing truth in the land.
- The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
- Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
- ¶ The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
- ¶ The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
The heirs of King James were Prince Henry, who died in 1612, and King Charles, whose reign began in 1625 and ended with execution in 1649 because of his Romanism. King James himself was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose grandmother was the sister of King Henry the Eighth. James was already King James the Sixth of Scotland before he took the throne of England, doing so because Queen Elizabeth left no heir. King James, ruling in a time when England was at relative peace, even proposed peace with Spain, to counter animosities from Elizabeth’s victorious naval war with them.
God lifted up England to bring the Gospel to the world, and it was through England that the word of God might have both grounds and continuance in the last days. Even though England and much of the Church have been compromised, corrupted and fallen, God’s faithful remnant, a continuing and blessed witness with the word of God, were brought forth by His hand to be preachers to the world in the last days.
But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God’s sacred Word among us; which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth; because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven.
- ¶ I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
- For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
- For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
- Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
The preaching of the word, especially by the allowance of the government, would have tremendous results, for by it men would prosper.
- ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
- But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
- And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
- ¶ The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
- Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
- For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
In addition, the Kingdom of God would increase with souls “Being born again.”
- Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
- Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
- ¶ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
- But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
For these reasons, Bible-believing Christians esteemed God’s word.
- ¶ MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
- ¶ Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
- I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
- I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
- ¶ I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
- ¶ I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
- ¶ How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
- Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
- ¶ Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
- Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
- ¶ Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
- But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
- My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
- Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
The word would inevitably bring forth fruit of its own power in any place, including England.
- For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
- Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
Such fruits would be eternal, even though the world would fail.
- While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
- And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
- And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
- And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
- And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
- And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
- Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
- So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
These were the true glad tidings.
- ¶ And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
- And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
- And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
The greatest blessing for a Bible believing nation was not merely military or financial might, but that the word of God was by them both esteemed highly and propagated.
No word of God would fail or fall to the ground, as shown in Samuel’s words.
- ¶ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
- And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
In like manner, King James ensured that the version would continue that very thing: the King James Bible would perpetuate the infallible word of God, as it does to this present day. Even as the reign of Elizabeth preserved and purified the word of God, the time of James finished the final labors. The Bishops’ Bible was the standard Bible of Elizabethan times, though its rival, the Geneva, was more popular. These led to the final version, the King James Bible.
History would remember King James for his writings and arguments, most especially against false and excesses of religion. Most especially, because of the Bible version, which bears his name, preachers would thereafter identify King James with the Gospel in the English tongue. King James was in later history slandered, where his enemies accused him of being an effeminate and shambling imbecile who dribbled while fawning over his favorites. Those suspicious of Scottish intentions originally made such charges, but his enemies continue to present them as modern works. However, these gross distortions of physical and mental deformities in King James are untrue. [3]
As to the Christianity and virtue of King James, God sanctified and separated him for service, yet he was still a man. King James, who as a king, was ordained of God for ruling the nation, and perpetuating special works, for the good of the people.
- ¶ In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
- ¶ A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
- I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
- Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
- Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
- ¶ The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Christendom was the places where Christianity had political recognition. The term was used by the Romanists to describe the state of Europe in the Middle Ages, an ecclesiastical Roman Empire, as well as toward the Orthodox as Eastern Christendom. The word refers to where Christianity had dominion, and in the Millennium, Christ’s dominion would be absolute and universal. Thus, King James’ name would go out and be found throughout Christendom. This could only be possible with the globalization of the English language.
King James defended the Gospel when he wrote a pamphlet against the Papacy. He identified the Papacy as the Antichrist and a great false prophet in the earth.
- ¶ 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.
- ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
- And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
- And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
- And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
- And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
- And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
- And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
- Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
It was believed that the King James Bible and the Reformation caused the “deadly wound” which ended the power of the Papacy in 1798. However, the “deadly wound” has healed, but ultimately the future of Rome and the Antichrist are doomed.