One of the objections that is made about the idea that the King James Bible (and specifically the Pure Cambridge Edition) are perfect today, is the idea that these only exist in recent history, and not for most of world history since 4004 BC (or whenever creation was).

They can ask why would the KJB be right, when the Early Church did not have it?

The answer is obvious and simple, which is that just as Scripture has been revealed successively through history, so also have truths been understood. The Council of Nicaea articulated truths in 325 AD, and it makes sense that the best textual work and translation occurred in 1611.

Remember, in 1571 BC, when Moses was born, no one had any Scripture (except maybe the Book of Job). The world’s population is estimated to have been less than 50 million at the time. (Different modelling puts out different numbers from 10 million to 50 million for the death of Moses in approx. 1451 BC.)

If at the time of Joshua there was a maximum of 2 million Israelites, and the world population was 50 million, that’s 1/25^th of the world’s population that could know Scripture.

Let’s move forward to when the entire Old Testament was complete, to when it was even translated into Greek, and available in the Roman world, when Jesus was doing His earthly ministry.

The world’s population is estimated to be 170–300 million at the time. How many people knew either Hebrew or Greek, and could access the Old Testament? Not China, not most of Africa, not the Americas, not Greater Germania and not even people who only knew Latin and Celtic/Gallic languages.

If we jump forward to the time of the Reformation and Ottoman expansion, in 1517, estimates are of 460–500 million people in the world. This was before the Bible was translated into German by Luther or into English by Tyndale.

We see the providence of the printing press, the rise of the English-speaking peoples, the spread of Protestant Christianity and the increase of literacy.

Maybe 1% of the entire world spoke English when the King James Bible was translated.

But what do we see? Growth and advancement that helps the spread of Christianity and the rise of the KJB.

Population growth estimates are:

• French Revolution (1789): ~700–900 million
• End of World War I (1918): ~1.8–1.9 billion
• End of World War II (1945): ~2.3–2.5 billion
• Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989): ~5.3 billion
• September 11, 2001: ~6.1 billion
• 2026: ~8.3 billion

In the same period we see the growth of the English language:

• 1611: Approximately 1% of the world spoke English natively; virtually none as a second language
• 1789: Around 2% native, with 1–2% second-language speakers
• 1918: Approximately 6–7% native, 3–5% second-language
• 1945: Roughly 8% native, 5–7% second-language
• 1989: About 7% native, 10–15% second-language
• 2001: Around 6% native, 15–20% second-language
• 2026: Approximately 5% native, but 25% or more of the global population knows English as a second language

Think also about exploration (colonisation), advancement in travel and communication/information technologies. We have advanced in computing in the 20^th century, and the internet has boomed in the 21^st.

So a perfect Bible in English in 1611 makes sense, because the majority of the world’s population growth is happening since the 20^th century.

Between 2000 and COVID-19 (2020), English became the most dominant language in the world, outrunning Chinese. However, it is the fact that many people are learning English as a second language that makes it beneficial.

The Pure Cambridge Edition was first published before the First World War. It existed by being printed in the millions over the decades. It is rising to acknowledged prominence by the internet and international mailing.

All of this ties together the important points that the King James Bible is the Bible for the future. It points to why a perfect English Bible version is rising in these days, and not in the time of the Crusades or something.

It is important to link together the dominance of the English-speaking nations, and the power of the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is having impact into the world, and the best theology comes from the English-speaking nations (whether people argue for Baptists, Westminster Confession/Presbyterianism, Wesleyanism/Holiness and/or Pentecostalism, etc.).

In South America, the Gospel is increasing to some degree (though there are questions about specific Pentecostal brands of Christianity with the South American lower classes), which itself is having an effect of bringing them to the English language (since Christian music exists primarily in English, for example).

One can see the potential for using the KJB and true Gospel preaching impacting into places like South Korea, India, Africa, South America and through the Pacific (which has already been impacted by Evangelicalism).

There are more than ever people alive today who need the Gospel. English is more than ever spoken. The KJB is more than ever available.

It is now possible for more people than ever to receive and use a perfect Bible. Therefore, we can see the potential for true and impactful world evangelism.

“But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26).