Do we have a Bible available in the world today? Is the Bible a book, or a whole library of books? Does God offer man a Word, or a whole dictionary of words? There has never been a time when there was more confusion about God's Word than today when man is supposed to know more about God than at any time in history. God, who is not a God of confusion, finds His people wallowing in a mud hole of confusion. Did God say Mary was a virgin or a young woman? Did God say her purification, or their purification? Did Moses say seed, or did he say descendants or offspring? Did God know what He was talking about? The Bible has become just another piece of merchandise in a marketplace that is governed by obsolescence. Anything made last year becomes trade day junk on January 1st of every year. That includes the Word of God. This marketplace is a place of competition where everything must declare itself better than all the other things. Scholarship has become more important that divine inspiration. An inferior people (2011 people) claim to be better than superior people (seventeenth century people). Why are new discoveries so important to scholars when there are no new discoveries with God. The authors of Towers give historical reasons to accept the King James Bible as the only Bible we have available. God is the God of the A.D. world the same as He was the God of the B.C. world. God directed the affairs of man before Christ so that His eternal will would be done on Earth. God has directed the affairs of man since Christ so that His eternal plan for the ages would come to pass as He wills it. The Bible is part of God's eternal plan for the ages, and man was used to provide it, just as man was used to do all the other things in history that God needed done. The authors recognize the fact that most modern Bible teachers use the man-made versions. Preachers I know and love use these counterfeit versions. We do not understand why this is so, but it is a fact. Kennedy does not speak as strongly about the modern versions and the people who use the because he has many friends, and devout teachers who use them. While he has a deep conviction about the matter, he must respect the opinions of the people and institutions that use the modern versions. This may be called compromise, but he calls it speaking the truth in love. It is not the intention of the authors to cause division among God's people, but to exhort to a better understanding. We so not doubt the salvation of anyone, for we have not the right to do that. Kennedy has learned by experience how touchy this subject is, and how futile it is to get people to understand that they are doing wrong by using these books. Saints get offended when the errors in their bible is pointed out to them Repentance has fallen into disuse along with the Bible, and people get angry rather than right with God. They are apt to sue. The people who need to read and benefit from this book will be the last people to read it. We can only state the truth as plainly as we can as God has led us to do. Our prayer is that God will use the book to help people. "... for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." (Psalm 138:2). Is changing God's Word similar to taking His name in vain?
Kennedy and Mims do not make claims to scholarship or intellect. They do claim to be absolutely honest in what they say. They have made Bible study an important part of their lives from their youth. They interpret the Scripture literally with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. What they have put down here is the result of deep convictions about God's Word. They understand the futility of their efforts, but their work is done for the glory of God more than for the benefit of man. They send their message out with love for the Church and her Lord. Mims is the pastor of Life Gate Baptist Church in Arab, Alabama. He is finishing his Master's at Crown College in Powell, Tennessee. Kennedy has a terminal degree, and is retired. Both men are married and have families.
