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What Is King James ‘Onlyism’?

The phrase ‘King James Onlyism’ describes the heartfelt conviction of multitudes of Bible-believing Christians. Those who believe that God has preserved his words in English where anyone on the face of the earth can find them and read them maintain that the King James Version—the Authorized Version—is where they are preserved.

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The King James Bible

The phrase “King James Onlyism” describes the heartfelt conviction of multitudes of Bible-believing Christians. Those who believe that God has preserved his words in English where anyone on the face of the earth can find them and read them maintain that the King James Version—the Authorized Version—is where they are preserved. But this phrase also serves as a scornful epithet. Those who believe that God has not preserved his words in English where anyone on the face of the earth can find them and read them maintain that somewhere spread among two hundred different modern English translations is where they might be found, but that one must know Greek and Hebrew or have the help of scholars to know where they are and what they say.

King James Onlyism

There are two ways in which advocates of modern Bible versions use the term “King James Onlyism” as a term of derision: guilt by association and appealing to the King James translators. The first way is by associating the origin of or belief in the “King James Only” position with persons that some Christians consider to be unscholarly, out of the mainstream, or unorthodox. The second way is by saying that since the King James translators were not “King James Only,” then it obviously is not a position that a Christian should take.

It is a little late to use the guilt by association argument, given that the Authorized Version was the only version read for three centuries. And no Bible-believing Christian who knows anything about English Bible history teaches that the King James translators were “King James Only.” What, then, is the origin of “King James Onlyism”? Was it invented by some over-zealous modern defender of the Authorized Version? Hardly, for the origin goes back, not to the beginning of the “King James Only” movement in the twentieth century, but four hundred years earlier to King James (1566- 1625) himself.

To begin with, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558-1603) there was a “Draft for an Act of Parliament for a New Version of the Bible” that begins: “An act for the reducinge of diversities of Bibles now extant in the Englishe tongue to one setled vulgar translated from the original.” Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 and King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England. It was soon after, at the Hampton Court Conference in January of 1604, that the idea for the Authorized Version was born. On the second day of the conference, the Puritan, Dr. John Rainolds (1549-1607), proposed that a new translation of the Bible be undertaken. According to the “official” account by William Barlow (d. 1613), the dean of Chester, who was at the conference: “After that he [Rainolds] moved his majesty that there might be a new translation of the Bible, because those which were allowed in the reign of king Henry the Eight and Edward the Sixt were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the original.” The king then “wished that some special paines should be taken in that behalf for one uniform translation, (professing that he could never yet see a Bible well translated in English, but the worst of all his majesty thought the Geneva to be,) and this to be done by the best learned in both the universities; after them to be reviewed by the bishops, and the chief learned of the church; from them to be presented to the privy councel; and lastly, to be ratified by his royal authority. And so this whole church to be bound unto it, and none other.”

Tobie Matthew (1546-1628), the bishop of Durham, wrote a letter while he was in attendance at the Hampton Court Conference to the archbishop of York in which he says that the Puritans insisted on “one only translation of the Bible to be authentical, and read in the church.” In a letter written by the king’s Scottish chaplain, Patrick Galloway (1551-1626), who was also at the Hampton Court Conference, to the presbytery of Edinburgh, written less than a month after the conference, there appears “A note of such things as shall be reformed.” Paragraph two, under the heading “OF DOCTRINE,” reads: “That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine service.”

In one of the four anonymous accounts of the Hampton Court Conference, supposedly favoring the Puritans, there is mention of the incident when Dr. Rainolds suggested the idea of a new translation to the king: “Secondly, amongst those things which concern purity of doctrine, he wished that the translation might be reformed, and one to stand as warranted for all. . . . Then the King freely gave assent that there should be one translation of the Bible consonant to the original Greek and Hebrew and set forth without note, for that some of them enforce a sense further than the text will bear.” In “A Note of Such Things as Shall be Reformed in the Church,” written soon after the Hampton Court Conference (and thought to be written by the bishop of London, Richard Bancroft [1544-1610]), fifteen items are listed. Number ten concerns the proposed new Bible: “One uniform translation of the Bible to be made, and only to be used in all the churches of England.”

Then, in a list of principal matters to be considered, which was also drawn up soon after the conference, the fourth reads: “That care be taken, that one uniform translation of the Bible be printed, and read in the church: and that without any notes.” After the Authorized Version was published in 1611, there were some things written by the translators that relate to the origin of “King James Onlyism.” In the “Epistle Dedicatorie” to the Authorized Version, the translators recounted the king’s actions at the Hampton Court Conference:

There are infinite arguments of this right Christian and Religious affection in Your MAIESTIE; but none is more forcible to declare it to others, then the vehement and perpetuated desire of the accomplishing and publishing of this Worke, which now with all humilitie we present unto Your MAIESTIE. For when Your Highnesse had once out of deepe judgment apprehended, how convenient it was, That, out of the Originall sacred tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our owne and other forreigne Languages, of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English tongue.

In the translators’ preface (“The Translators to the Reader”) they also stated:

Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, (for then the imputation of Sixtus had bin true in some sort, that our people had bene fed with gall of Dragons in stead of wine, with whey in stead of milke:) but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against, that hath bene our endeavour, that our marke.

After the publication of the Authorized Version, we can see references to it in the visitation articles issued by the bishops and others in the Church of England exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction during the early Stuart Church. These references specify that it is the Authorized Version that is to be placed in the churches. The earliest such reference appears to be that found in the visitation articles of John King (1559-1621), who was bishop of London from 1611 to 1621. King refers in his 1612 visitation articles to “a large bible of the last edition.” Similar language can be found in many other sets of visitation articles, including the 1614 articles of Henry Cotton (d. 1615), bishop of Salisbury (“a bible of the largest volume, and last translation”), the 1619 articles of John Overall (1559-1619), bishop of Norwich (“the whole bible of the largest volume, and of the last translation”), the 1622 articles of William Laud (1573-1645), bishop of St. David’s (“the whole bible of the largest volume and latest edition”), and the 1622 articles of the aforementioned translator of the Authorized Version, Miles Smith, bishop of Gloucester (“the whole bible in English, of the largest volume and new translation lately set forth by his maiesties authoritie”). We continue to see the same thing after the death of King James in 1625; for example, the 1628 articles of John Howson (1557-1632), bishop of Oxford (“a bible of the largest volume and latest edition”), the 1635 articles of Matthew Wren (1585-1667), bishop of Hereford (“the whole bible in the largest volume of the last translation”), and the 1637 and 1640 articles of Robert Skinner (1590-1670), bishop of Bristol (“the bible of the new translation, lately set forth by the kings authority”).

The evidence is overwhelming that the origin of ‘King James Onlyism’ is therefore not some over-zealous modern defender of the Authorized Version, it is King James himself.

This article is an abridged version of essay ten in the collection of fifteen essays on the Authorized Version by Laurence M. Vance entitled King James, His Bible, and Its Translators. This book is available directly from Vance Publications. For more information go to www.vancepublications.com

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

Please continue to pray for us, and for wisdom for me especially, as we continue taking steps to print the NTEB branded King James Bible for our free Bible and Bibles Behind Bars program. It is exciting and intimidating at the same time. If the Lord has prospered your financially, we ask you to donate to help us continue to send out free Bibles at this level, and even higher than we are at the moment. It takes a lot of prayer, and a lot of resources to do all this. Praise the Lord we are doing it, all of us together, labouring in the Lord’s harvest field. TO THE FIGHT!!!

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Donald Trump

HELL WILL REIGN DOWN: Trump Threatens Iran With An End Times Holy War Ripped From The Book Of Revelation If They Don’t Make Peace In 48 Hours

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Trump Warns Iran “All Hell Will Reign Down” In 48 Hours, And That Strange Word Choice May Reveal A Little More Than He Intended

President Donald Trump just dropped one of the most explosive warnings of this entire Iran confrontation, posting on Truth Social: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP.” Multiple current outlets and live reports quoted that post verbatim on April 4, 2026, as Trump tied the ultimatum to his earlier ten-day deadline over the Strait of Hormuz.

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” Isaiah 14:9 (KJB)

This is not merely another political post. This is the language of countdown, consequence and collision. Trump is telling Iran that the clock is nearly spent, that the deadline is real, and that failure to comply will bring devastating force. The Strait of Hormuz is not some minor patch of water. It is one of the most strategic choke points on the face of the earth, and whenever that narrow passage is threatened, the whole world feels it. Oil markets feel it, shipping lanes feel it, militaries feel it, and world governments feel it. So when Trump says “open up the Hormuz Strait” and attaches a 48-hour warning to it, he is not playing word games. He is putting the entire region on notice.

But there is something else in Trump’s Truth Social post that absolutely jumps off the page. Trump did not say hell would “rain” down. He said hell would reign down. Meaning Hell will begin to rule on Earth.

Now maybe some people will dismiss that as a typo. Maybe it was, I don’t know. But words matter, and when a world leader is issuing a fiery public threat in the middle of a fast-moving regional crisis, every syllable carries weight. “Rain down” would mean destruction falling from above. But “reign down” carries a very different flavor altogether. Reign speaks of rule. Reign speaks of authority. Reign speaks of dominion imposed by superior power. That one word transforms the sentence from a mere threat of attack into something that sounds like judgment descending with force and rule attached to it. That is what makes this so striking. Whether Trump intended it or not, “reign” gives the whole statement an apocalyptic tone. It sounds less like a military response and more like a pronouncement. It sounds like power enthroned. It sounds like punishment backed by dominion. It sounds like the kind of language that reveals the deeper spirit of the moment. America is no longer whispering to Iran through diplomatic back channels. America is standing at the edge of the battlefield, pointing directly at Tehran, and warning that the next move may bring apocalyptic fire.

For years now, the Middle East has been a boiling cauldron, each fresh crisis drawing the nations one step closer to open alignment, open hostility and open war. Iran has long been a chief agent of chaos in the region, using proxies, terror, shipping threats and military posturing to push the entire area toward ignition. Now the Strait of Hormuz once again stands in the center of the storm, and Trump has decided that the time for measured talking points is over.

This is where we are on the end times timeline. Not in an age of peace, but in an age of ultimatums. Not in a season of calm, but in a season of escalation. Not in a world stepping back from the brink, but in one racing toward it. President Trump may indeed see his ‘Hell Will Reign Down’ threat come to pass in ways he’s never dreamt of. Or maybe he will TACO and forget all about it entirely. You never know with Trump.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Gospel Witness Billboard Program

Just In Time For Resurrection Sunday, A New Gospel Witness Billboard Proclaiming Salvation Through The Shed Blood Of Jesus Christ On The Cross Goes Up

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On this Resurrection weekend, NTEB is proclaiming new life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world

The NTEB Gospel Witness Billboard Program continues going at full-speed ahead here in its sixth year of operation, proclaiming new life in Jesus Christ with a message that takes less than 3 seconds to read while traveling past it at an average of 60 miles per hour. We are working on one right now that will go up somewhere in Tennessee shortly, please pray for that, and this one you see in the photo at the top of this article that went up yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7 (KJB)

If you don’t believe that we live in a lost and dying world that has rejected Jesus Christ, just go read today’s headlines for 60 seconds and you will. But it is into this fallen world that Jesus Christ first appeared, and it is into this fallen world that we who are His witnesses are called to bear witness to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on the third day according to the scriptures. Our billboards over the past six years have generated more than a billion views, and only the Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal just what manner of fruit was gained through this outreach. Please pray for the Gorzell family at Broken Pieces Ministries whom we partner with in this billboard, that the Lord will give them fruit, more fruit and much fruit for their labours.

How about you, Christian? Will you come and partner with all of us here at Now The End Begins to keep these billboards up? It costs thousands of dollars per month to do it, and we reach millions of people in the process. If God has prospered you, prayerfully consider clicking on the donate link to help us. We can’t do it without you. 

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Headline News

Showing Themselves To Be Neither ‘Decimated’ Nor ‘Obliterated’, Iran Shoots Down American Aircraft At Will As World War Trump Takes A Dark New Turn

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Neither decimated nor obliterated, Iran downs American warplanes and exposes the lie that this widening World War Trump is under control

For weeks now, the American people have been told that Iran was “decimated” and “obliterated,” that its ability to resist had been shattered, and that overwhelming force had already reduced the enemy to rubble. But now the battlefield is answering back with a very different testimony. AP reported Friday that two U.S. military aircraft were shot down as the war escalated, including an F-15E over Iran with one crew member rescued and another still missing. The Washington Post likewise reported that a second U.S. aircraft, an A-10, was also brought down, even as American rescue operations intensified. That is not what “obliterated” looks like. Today marks the single worst day for World War Trump since the conflict began. It only gets worse from this point on, so buckle up.

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” James 4:1 (KJB)

As the skies darken overseas, the Pentagon is being thrown into visible turmoil at home. AP reported yesterday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and also dismissed two other generals, adding to a broader pattern of removals among senior military leadership during this widening war. That is what makes this moment so dangerous. America is now watching a war grow more costly and less predictable at the exact same time that the military chain of command is being shaken at the top. Iran is proving it can still strike, still contest the fight, still bloody American power, while Hegseth is purging senior officers in the middle of a regional firestorm. That is not stability. That is not control. That is not confidence. That is a government trying to project strength while the structure underneath it visibly trembles. This is why a Fox News host is not fit to run the Pentagon.

What we are seeing is the same old lie that has dragged nations into disaster for generations. First comes the boasting. Then comes the inflated language. Then comes the media chorus repeating that victory is assured, the enemy is broken, and the situation is under control. But war has a way of stripping the paint off every official narrative. Jets fall. Men go missing. Rescue missions are launched. The enemy everyone said was finished keeps fighting. And suddenly all the slogans Trump has been feeding his base don’t sound so convincing anymore.

Hegseth’s role in this only sharpens the sense of disorder. You do not fire top generals in the middle of a shooting war and then expect the public to believe everything is proceeding calmly and according to plan. Maybe the administration calls it accountability. Maybe it calls it reform. But from the outside, it looks like upheaval at the summit while the battlefield below grows hotter by the hour. AP says more than a dozen military leaders have been removed in the past year under Hegseth’s tenure. By any fair standard of reckoning, that’s a purge.

The truly maddening part is that none of this should surprise anybody paying attention. Iran was never going to absorb repeated blows and simply disappear. A regime with missiles, air defenses, regional reach, hardened infrastructure, and ideological resolve was never going to be erased by chest-thumping rhetoric and triumphant press lines. The fantasy was always political. The reality is military. And now the military reality is tearing through the political fantasy in front of the whole world. AP has already reported other Iranian strikes during this war, including an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia that wounded U.S. troops and damaged aircraft.

So yes, it’s safe to say that this war has taken a dark turn, a very dark turn.

Iran has shown itself to be neither “decimated” nor “obliterated.” It is battered, yes. Pressured, yes. Under attack, yes. But it is still capable of inflicting damage, still capable of challenging American power, and still capable of exposing how hollow the original boasts were. And while that reality unfolds abroad, Pete Hegseth is remaking the Department of War through abrupt removals that only deepen the impression of a war machine under strain.

The message from Washington is strength, command, and dominance, but the message from events is something very different: this thing is slipping, the cost is rising, the leadership is unstable, and the promises made at the beginning are already being swallowed by the flames. That is the dark turn. And once the official story can no longer survive contact with reality, the next thing to die is trust.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

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