Artwork within the Original King James Bible Truths of Theology & Answers for Mythology

A presentation for a conference in Carthage, TX

celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version

Presented

by Rev. Eric Alan Greene

Pastor of Thomson Memorial Presbyterian Church (P.C.A.)

Centreville, Mississippi

March 11, 2011

For copies of this presentation in color go to www.thomsonmemorial.com

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Introduction

We have all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, and most of us would

agree. When we try to explain what a person looks like, including all the physical

features of a person’s face, we have to use at least a thousand words to give all the

details. Thus a picture saves a lot of time, energy, and words. It is much easier to

simply point to a picture and say, “Look at this”. These three words are all that needs to

be said, so that with one glance the picture gives all the details, even silently.

Well in a similar way there are books and libraries filled with billions of words

seeking to explain the Bible, articulating what we should believe about God and His

word, and our relationship with Him. Yet a lot of that theology can be taught and

communicated through art. We see this in old cathedrals and in museums, yet we do not

see much tutorial and theological art in modern Bibles that are published. Sure, there

may be a picture of David killing Goliath, or of animals entering Noah’s ark, but rarely

do we ever see a title page in the Bible that is explicitly teaching a summary of scripture.

With such a work of art the local pastor could tell a layman in the church, “Look at this

picture, and you will understand the Bible.”

In the bygone era of no internet, no TV, and no radio, with only wealthy

magistrates affording the pleasures of highly regarded art, the translators and publishers

of the King James Bible sought to disciple the English speaking nation with theological

art. This is clearly evident in the title pages of the Old and New Testament. As a pastor

could tell his congregation, “Look at this”, to explain the Bible, it is my hope that our

eyes and ears will be opened to see and hear a basic summary of God’s word.

At the end of this paper I will also show some of the mythological drawings in the

original King James translation; and suggest some answers for why the drawing of pagan

gods in the Bible can be glorifying to the true God and honoring unto the Christ of the

covenant.

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The Title Page of the King James Bible

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Theological Art

I. The Title Page

The picture on the preceding page is the title page for the entire King James

translation, as well as the title page for the Old Testament. The work of art, in a

summary fashion, introduces both the Old and New Testaments. To explain the

significance of this introductory page let us look at four aspects of it.

1. Moses and Aaron

In the center of the page, to the left, we see a portrait of Moses. He is holding the

stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in this right arm and the almond-budding rod

with his left hand (Numbers 17:8-9). On the opposite side of the page, to the right, is

Moses’ brother Aaron, the high priest. His right arm is placed over the “breastplate of

judgment” on his chest, which held the twelve gems representing the twelve tribes of

Israel (Ex. 28:15-30). In Aaron’s left hand is a container used in the sacrificial

ceremonies of the tabernacle. It may be significant that the right hand of both Moses and

Aaron are holding that which most represents their calling: Moses’ role of giving the

Law, and Aaron’s role of representing the covenant people. We should also notice that

Aaron is tilting his head gazing upwards to the portrait of a lamb holding the cross.

Likewise all the priestly and sacrificial work of the Old Testament was fulfilled in the

sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God.

2. The Four Faces: Man, Lion, Ox, Eagle

In 592 B.C. the glory of God came to visit Ezekiel, when he was thirty years old,

while he was with the Hebrew exiles near the Chebar River (Ezekiel 1). Ezekiel saw four

living creatures, which each had four faces. The faces were that of a man, a lion, an ox,

and an eagle. In the historical context these angelic faces represented the four walls of

the temple, and former tabernacle, where the glory of the Lord dwelled.1 Yet, the church

fathers, used the four faces to represent the four gospels. According to the tradition of St.

1 Ezekiel 10 explains that these angelic faces came from the temple in Jerusalem. The angels (i.e. “living

creatures”, see Rev.4:7) set the pattern, or archetype, for the earthly design of the tabernacle and temple.

The ox represented the eastern wall where bulls and oxen were sacrificed on the altar. The lion represented

the western wall where the kingly throne room of the Holy of Holies was located. The eagle represented

the southern wall of the Holy Place where the lampstand was spread out like an eagle, and raised above the

ground. The man’s face represented the showbread on the northern wall of the Holy Place, for the twelve

pieces of bread (Lev. 24:5) represented God’s new humanity of covenant people. These details and

typological explanations are articulated by James B. Jordan in, Behind The Scenes: Orientation In The

Book Of Revelation, Biblical Horizons No. 19. Available at www.biblicalhorizons.com

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Jerome2 he used the face of a man to represent Matthew, the lion’s face for Mark, the

ox’s face for Luke, and the eagle’s face for John.

Following Jerome’s alignment of the cherubim faces for each gospel; they are

represented on this title page. The man-face is depicted by a young man kneeling on his

right knee, with an angelic wing on his back, holding a bowl of ink for Matthew. Mark is

writing his gospel on the top right of the page, with a lion’s face crouched down behind

him. Luke, on the bottom left corner, has a bull near him. Then the eagle is on the

bottom right is near John. Notice that each of the gospel authors has a quill pen in their

right hand.

3. The Apostles:

The crowd of men in the upper section is the Apostles, with a total of thirteen in

the drawing. Four Apostles are grouped to the left side, five in the middle, and four to

right. Starting on the far left is Jude holding a sword as he is looking back at Thomas,

who is holding a spear in the background. Standing near Thomas is Matthias (Judas’

replacement), who is holding a halberd – which is a spear with an axe on the end of it.

To the right of Matthias is Bartholomew holding a knife that was used to skin him alive

while tied to a pole.3

In the mid-section Peter is holding a pair of keys in his right hand, based on Christ

saying, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,

and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt.16:18).4 To the right of Peter is

Andrew holding a wooden cross shaped like an X. Tradition states that Andrew was

martyred on a cross in that shape; which is the source of the St. Andrew’s Cross used in

various flags like that of Scotland, the old Confederacy, Alabama, and Florida. Matthew

has a bald head as he stands to the right of Andrew holding a carpenter’s square. John is

holding a communion cup in his hand (which is often depicted with a snake in it), for he

survived after drinking from a cup that had been poisoned. To the right of John is the

2 Augustine and Irenaeus set different traditions of assigning the four faces to different gospels.

3 In Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistene Chapel, of the Judgment Day, St. Bartholomew is in his

resurrected-flesh holding his flayed-flesh with his left hand. It is said that Michelangelo painted a portrait

of himself for the face on Bartholomew’s flayed-flesh.

4 In this verse the word for “rock” is the feminine word petra, which is distinguished from the masculine

word for the name Peter (petros). The rock (petra) upon which Christ will build his church is the apostolic

position and doctrine held by all the apostles (Eph.2:20); not the individual person named Peter (petros).

Peter’s name is simply representative of the same position held by all the apostles, and he professed the

apostolic doctrine saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).

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Apostle Paul holding a sword symbolizing the written word of God, the sword of the

Spirit.

The right section has Simon holding a saw which was used to cut him in two.

James the Less is holding a wooden club, for he was beaten to death after he was thrown

from the top of the temple in Jerusalem. To his right is James the Greater with a sea shell

on his pilgrim’s hat, representing some legends that claimed he preached in distant

countries before Herod killed him in 44 AD (Acts.12:2). Phillip to the far right is holding

a spear as he looks back at James the Greater.5

4. The Trinity:

At the very top of the drawing, in the middle of the page, there are symbols of the

Trinity. In good protestant fashion there is no human figure for the person of the Father.

Instead, the Father is represented by the name Jehovah printed in its Hebrew letters. This

is equivalent to Yahweh, the covenant name for the God of Israel throughout the Old

Testament. This is honorable artwork, because it does not use a human figure to

represent the Father, Who has no human or visible form. However, this artistic license

should not be used to teach the doctrine of the Trinity, which in this drawing uses the

name Jehovah only for the Father. Trinitarian doctrine teaches that the Son and the Spirit

are equally Jehovah. Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:52), which was

the same Jehovah name that was revealed to Moses (Ex.3). Nevertheless, one who is

well grounded in the Trinity can rightly appreciate this artistic attempt of emphasizing the

three persons of the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is emphasized with the drawing of the dove, for in the form of a

dove the Spirit descended upon Christ at His baptism. The God the Son is emphasized

with the lamb bearing the standard of a cross. Traditionally, in Latin, this emblem is

called agnus dei (Lamb of God). These same symbols will also be used on the New

Testament title page describing the Trinity. Now by way of transition, notice the drawing

of the sun and moon at the very top.

The moon at the right top corner has six stars around it, possibly a reference to the

six days of creation. However, the New Testament title page has a total of twelve stars,

six around the sun and the moon. This may be a significant emphasis of the number

twelve, which leads us to the theological art introducing the New Testament.

5 The identity of the Apostles in this drawing come from The King James Bible: A Short History From

Tyndale to Today, by David Norton, pg. 118-119; and the same symbols are use to identify the Apostles on

the New Testament title page.

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The New Testament Title Page

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II. The New Testament and The New Israel

Concerning the New Testament title page, there are similarities with the Old

Testament title page. There are symbols for each person of the Trinity. The Hebrew

word for Jehovah appears at the top-center for the Father, the Lamb below is for the Son,

and the dove is for the Holy Spirit. Likewise we also see the four faces representing the

gospels: the man, the lion, the bull, and the eagle. However, one distinction that should

be noted, toward the bottom of the picture, is that the Lamb is slain upon the altar.

Notice that both Luke and John (represented by the bull and eagle) are both looking up at

the slain-Lamb as they write their gospels. It also appears that Matthew and Mark are

looking, from up above, down at the same Lamb. Each gospel author is focusing on the

blood of the New Covenant in the Lamb of God (agnus dei).

Now for our purposes in this paper notice how the twelve tribes of Israel and the

twelve Apostles take up a predominant and emphatic portion of the picture. On the first

title page the symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel were subtly placed beneath the

Apostles. On this page, however, the symbols for the twelve tribes are clearly seen on

the left, and twelve apostles are equally aligned on the right. There is equivalence and a

balance to the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New

Testament.

The comparison between the tribes and apostles is emphasized by the pervasively

clad iron framework that binds them together. The iron framework curls, interlocks, and

grips itself together holding all the symbols in place, even the tribes and apostles in

tandem. This iron artwork opens like a book, having the twelve tribes on the left and

twelve apostles on the right. In book-like resemblance the iron framework symmetrically

divides the page. A binder-ring is holding the two halves together in the upper section

between Matthew and Mark. The Triune God has opened the book of His New Covenant

– a mystery that was once hidden in ages past. This leads us to discuss the theological

and practical significance of the twelve tribes and twelve apostles.

By now it should be clear what this artwork is teaching: the church of Jesus

Christ is God’s new Israel. Just as the twelve sons of Jacob were the foundation of God’s

Israel in the Old Testament, the twelve apostles are the foundation of God’s

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Israel in the New Testament. Just as the twelve of the old is the foundational link for

the twelve of the new, this picture has them linked together in iron. The twelve apostles

represent the tribes that came before them, and the twelve tribes foreshadow the apostles

who came later. In summary, this drawing is teaching a typological comparison. The

twelve tribes foreshadowed, or symbolized, what is fulfilled and spiritually realized in the

twelve apostles. This is certainly what the New Testament title page is teaching, but is

this right?

III. Covenant People and Covenant Theology

Before one affirms that the New Covenant church is the new Israel, it should be

acknowledged that any such answer is predicated upon other questions that are more

fundamental. For example, what are the differences between the church and Old Israel?

Are God’s covenant promises to Old Israel still pending, or fulfilled? Does God have one

covenant people, or does He have two – one physical, one spiritual? Is God’s covenant

with His people conditional or unconditional? Was there a conditional covenant with Old

Israel, and now an unconditional covenant with the church? Does God’s covenant with

the New Testament church include both blessings and curses like His covenant with Old

Israel? Should the term “Israel” simply be understood with a Jewish-ethnic meaning

when used by the New Testament (Matt.19:28, Acts 1:6, Rom.11:26, Gal.6:16)? If the

church is not the “New Israel” is it right to say that the entire visible church is God’s

“covenant people”? Can we say that all of God’s “covenant people” are going to heaven?

If not, how could a person in the covenant go to hell?

These types of questions seem to push us back into an exhaustive and

unanswerable corner. Yet, these questions are merely different aspects and subject

matters concerning Covenant Theology. Therefore, a basic summary and explanation of

Covenant Theology is essential to determining what it would mean for the church to be

the New Israel of God. To do this let us pour the contents of Covenant Theology into the

framework and mold of the Trinity, observing how God’s covenant reflects God Himself.

The God of the Bible is a Trinity. There is one God who is three persons: the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three different persons are equal in power,

glory, and eternality. Concerning the Trinity it is easy to see the role each Person plays

in our salvation. The Father planned redemption, the Son accomplished it, and the Spirit

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applies it to our life. This trinitarian aspect of God’s salvation should also be the basis

for understanding God’s covenant.

God’s covenant has three aspects to it. There is an eternal aspect of the covenant

in reference to God the Father’s unconditional election of all who will be saved. This has

been called “the covenant of redemption” in which the Father elected and promised to

give a people to His Son (John 17:2, Eph.1:4). Second, the covenant has an historical

dimension in reference to the accomplished work of God the Son in what is commonly

called the “covenant of grace”. This aspect of the covenant has been unstoppable

throughout time, for everything before Christ merely anticipated and foreshadowed His

accomplished work (Luke 24:44). Lastly, God the Spirit applies the covenant to the local

church in this lifetime. Concerning this application of the Spirit’s work it is necessary to

distinguish between a common work and an effectual work. The Spirit’s common

application of the covenant binds the whole visible church to the responsibilities and

duties as God’s covenant people. However, only the Spirit’s effectual work enables

people to embrace Christ for salvation which is manifested by their faith, repentance, and

perseverance to the end. Notice how these aspects of God’s covenant are easily

modeled after the historic diagram of the Trinity.

The Trinity

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The Covenant

IV. The Covenants Before and The Covenant After Christ

This three-fold model helps to explain the differences and similarities of God’s

covenant with Old Israel and the New Testament church. One critical point is that the

covenant was not accomplished before the time of Christ. In fact, the entire era since the

fall of Adam to the death of Christ was a cursed era of history. Adam, the first

representative of humanity, was in a covenant relationship with God in the Garden of

Eden. When he broke that covenant God cursed all of creation in response to Adam’s

sin. Thus, curses of the covenant flowed out of Eden under the representation of Adam,

inaugurating the kingly reign of sin and death throughout God’s creation (Rom.5:12-20).

Condemnation came through Adam’s covenant failure, yet God made another covenant in

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Genesis 3:15 promising that a child of Adam would ultimately crush Satan’s head,

destroying all his evil works. God’s covenant with Adam in Genesis 2 and His covenant

in Genesis 3 is traditionally referred to as the “covenant of works” and the “covenant of

grace”. Now since many have objected to there being any covenant in the first three

chapters of Genesis, let me briefly explain why such an objection can not stand against

the text.

It is certainly true that the word “covenant” is first used in Genesis 6:18.

However, we know that there were covenants made before then because the Bible tells

us. In Jeremiah 33:20 God says that His people can “not break My covenant with the day

and My covenant with the night”. This means when God first made everything on Day

One, which included both the day and the night (i.e. light and darkness), God was in a

covenant relationship with all His creation. Everything that occurs in creation is either

during the daytime or nighttime, therefore all of creation is covenantally related to God

under His covenant with the day and the night. The heavenly rulers that God appointed

over the day and night on Day Four continue to serve as a testimony of God’s faithfulness

to creation (Jer.33:25,26). Yet, as the book of Jonah teaches, all of creation obeys the

commands of God, except Jonah – a representative of God’s covenant people.

The first representative of humanity broke his covenant with God when he

allowed his wife to be deceived by the serpent, and willfully rejected God’s command.

The prophet Hosea later accused the nation of Israel for doing the same thing as Adam

did in the Garden. “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant, there they dealt

treacherously with Me” (Hosea 6:7). The Hebrew word for “Adam” and “men” is the

same word. Some argue that this is not an explicit reference to the original Adam, but to

men in general. Yet even if this verse is a generic reference to all “men” it is based on a

typological comparison with the original “Adam”. Men transgress God’s covenant for

they are merely a product of the original man. Likewise, the nation of Israel was

essentially called to be God’s new humanity, a new corporate-Adam. And like the first

man, the corporate-man during the Old Testament also forsook God’s covenant.

This is to say that all of God’s actions and words are covenantal whether in

creation or redemption. The Bible does not have to explicitly use the word “covenant”

when it explains a covenant. Many covenants came before the time of Christ

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(Rom.9:4), yet since the fall they were under the reign of Adam’s condemnation,

which now leads us to the ultimate difference with the New Covenant in Christ, the New

Adam.

The era of Moses’ Law, or the Old Covenant time period, magnified the

devastating reign of sin and death under the first Adam’s representation. That Old

Covenant could never remove the curse upon God’s creation, and it always held God’s

people of that time under its own curse. When Christ died on the cross He suffered the

curse of the Old Covenant, and established a New Covenant in His blood (Gal.3:10,13;

Luke 22:20). In Christ that curse, which originated with Adam and was magnified by

Moses, is now removed through the New Covenant. Grace now reigns over God’s

creation through the righteousness of Christ. In this New Covenant sin and death have

been vanquished and defeated, with our present experiences of them being merely the

final breath of God’s slaughtered enemy. Just as there was a little time between David’s

stone that killed Goliath, and the sword swung to behead the giant, even so the New

Covenant began when David’s Greater Son destroyed sin and death, and will

consummate when He returns to finally sever their heads.

So then the glories of the New Covenant far outweigh the little glory of the Old

Covenant (II Cor. 3), even fulfilling all the other covenants that preceded the time of

Christ (Rom.9:4). Now this good news is so good that it might lead one to conclude that

there is no more curse threatened, or no hell to be had, for any member of the New

Covenant community. But such a conclusion falls short, indeed violating, what the

Scripture teaches about the visible community of the New Covenant and the requirements

of its people.

V. The Covenant In Regard To Its Engagement and Empowerment

Covenant theologians have historically made the critical and necessary distinction

between the engagement and empowerment of the covenant of grace, a distinction still to

be employed during this era of the New Covenant. The Westminster Confession of Faith,

written just over thirty years after the King James translation, often uses the word

“engage” or “engagement” in regard to the responsibilities and duties of those in the

visible church.6 The Westminster Confession does not use this word to describe a

6 See Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 27:1, 29:1; and Larger Catechism #141,151,165,167,168;

and Shorter Catechism #94. See the word “engage” in the London Baptist Confession of Faith 1644

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relationship that will lead up to a covenant marriage at a later date. Instead, this term

“engagement” is a reference to the obligations, mandates, duties, or requirements that are

imposed upon everyone in the visible church. In regard to the obligating duties of God’s

covenant, each member of the visible church has an “engagement to be the Lord’s”.7 To

communicate the essence of this confessional term it may be better say all members of

the church, the entire covenant community, have a “responsibility” or “obligation” to

have a saving relationship with the Lord.

It should also be understood that simply the obligating aspects of God’s covenant

are a work of God’s Spirit, which is referred to as “common operations”8. The Spirit uses

the outward ministry and ordinances of the church to obligate the visible church with

duties and responsibilities. However these common workings of God’s Spirit are distinct

from the empowering and effectual work of God’s Spirit.

Since all humanity, including the members of God’s covenant community, have

fallen in Adam and are habitually sinful, it is only by the enabling work of the Holy Spirit

that members of the church, or those outside the church, come to saving faith in Christ.

This effectual work of the Spirit not only brings a person to saving faith but also works

“to enable them unto all holy obedience”.9 The effectual work of the Spirit comes upon

those whom the Father has elected from eternity past, which is commonly referred to as

the “covenant of redemption” between God the Father and God the Son. So then, with

the distinctions between obligating and empowering, common and effectual, workings of

the Holy Spirit we can understand how God’s covenant can either be forsaken or kept by

His visible covenant people.

VI. The Keeping and the Forsaking of the Covenant

The church of the Lord Jesus is the visible members of God’s New Covenant

community within this glorious era of the covenant of grace. As within all past eras, the

Holy Spirit still works in an obligating and empowering manner. So when the Spirit

chapter 32; 50. See a similar use of “engagement” in the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 in

30:1.

7 Shorter Catechism #94

8 See Westminster Confession of Faith

9 Larger Catechism #32

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causes a person to have saving faith, with perseverance therein, such a person will

“keep His covenant” (Ps.103:18). Whereas members of the church who die without

saving faith, either neglecting or rejecting their covenant obligations, will be judged as

forsakers of the covenant. Such people without true faith experienced the engagement of

the covenant, but not its empowerment.

The New Testament encourages members of the church to come to saving faith,

and forcibly warns about what will happen to those who die without it. Such a person

from the covenant community who dies in unbelief is one who has “trampled the Son of

God underfoot” and “counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a

common thing” (Heb 10:29). As Peter warns of false teachers within the church who will

be judged more severely, the same can be said about all covenant members who die

without saving faith – they are “accursed children”, “even denying the Master who

bought them” (II Peter 2:14, 2). From these warnings and a host of others in the New

Testament10 it should be evident that though the visible covenant of God’s church is

founded upon the promises of the gospel, the church is at the same time surrounded with

threatening curses towards any who reject or neglect the responsibility of having saving

faith. Having these covenantal curses in mind, we can appreciate a comparison between

old Israel and the New Covenant church body.

The covenant people during the Old Testament were given the promises and

foreshadows of the coming work of Christ. Some of them embraced those promises with

saving faith, while others perished in unbelief. Now to a greater extent we have the

promises of the accomplished work of Christ. Some in the Lord’s church embrace those

promises with saving faith, while some perish in unbelief. Therefore even though a

greater glory is now under the administration of New Covenant era11, which has removed

the sin and death curses from the Old Covenant era12, the scripture still threatens any

member of God’s visible Israel who does not have saving faith.

10 See Matt. 7:22-23; Matt. 13:20-21; John 15:1-2,6; Rom.11:19-22; II Pet.2:20-22; Jude 1:5; Gal.4:5;

Heb.2:2-4, 4:11, 6:4-6; Rev.3:5.

11 See II Corinthians 3:7-18

12 See Galatians 3:10-14, Romans 5;12-21.

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VII. The Israel of God in Different Times

We should now be able to appreciate the covenantal doctrine being taught in the

drawings of the King James Bible. Both the church and Israel of old have responsibilities

and obligations under the covenant; and in both eras of time only the work of the Holy

Spirit could empower a person to live out those requirements. Thus by holding the

continuity of responsibility in one hand, and the discontinuity of this era’s greater glory

in the other hand, we can raise both hands up in praise to God that we are His new and

greater Israel.

The term “Israel” is a reference to God’s visible covenant people, yet we must

remember that the identity of God’s covenant people went through a time of transition

and change. The New Testament refers to God’s covenant people as “Israel” before the

death and resurrection of Christ13, during the transitional era of the Apostles ending in 70

AD14, and even to the present day church throughout the ages to come

15. In all three of

these eras God has had, and will have, a bride-like covenant people, an Israel that belongs

to Him.

The transitional time of the Apostles was a covenantal twilight zone, during

which the world was transitioning from the good darkness of the Old Covenant era into

the glorious light of the New Covenant. When the Romans finally annihilated the

apostate city of Jerusalem in 70 AD the prophetic words of Christ were vindicated and

the Old Covenant system with its temple was put to an ultimate death. Until that

cataclysmic event there was a window of opportunity, a grace period, in which that last

generation of the Old Covenant people could come to Christ and follow the church’s lead

of selling all their Jewish land and fleeing from the lost city of Jerusalem.16

13 Most verses in the gospels referring to “Israel” concern the Old Covenant people.

14 In this apostolic transitional era I would include Romans 9:4; 9:31; 10:1; 11:7; 11:25.

15 In this continuing era of God’s Israel, ending in the return of Christ, I would include Matt.19:28,

Rom.11:26, and Gal. 6:16. In Romans 11:25 Paul summarizes his point, saying that Old Covenant Israel

was partially blinded, cut out of God’s covenant for their faithlessness. Now for the rest of time, God will

continue to add people upon His Israel, His covenant people, “until the fullness of the Gentiles come in.”

This will continue to happen for the rest of time, so by this cutting-off and engrafting-on manner “all Israel

will be saved…” (Rom.11:26). God’s covenant people will endure and grow until the return of Christ.

See N.T. Wright’s commentary, The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol.X, pg.680-690.

16 This explains why the Jerusalem church sold all their real estate (Acts 1:45; 4:34), which does not occur

in any other churches. Revelation chapters 1-18 is an apocalyptic prophesy concerning the annihilation of

the Old Covenant world order, and the city of Jerusalem which has become the spiritual Babylon – the

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Some Old Covenant Israelites would make the proper transition to the New

Covenant by coming to the Faith. Other Old Covenant Israelites who gnashed their teeth

at the Lord’s church were cut out of the covenant fellowship.17 Thus during Paul’s

apostolic ministry there was the true circumcision and false circumcision, the earthly

Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem, the Israel according to the flesh and the Israel

according to the promise.18 Thus the Apostle Paul was able to summarize his forceful

epistle to the Galatians with a few last words. After arguing that the visible church was

the seed of Abraham, the children of promise, and heirs of the eternal inheritance, he

says, “as many walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, even upon the

Israel of God.”19

During the era of the Old Covenant, God’s Israel was called to be a “guide to the

blind, light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish”, and “a teacher of

babes”.20 Now God’s Israel under the New Covenant has a similar calling, yet with an

expanded global territory and an ultimate task of “bringing every thought into captivity to

the obedience of Christ.”21 Many of these thoughts, longings, and cries of the human

heart are heard throughout our culture. Historically, the pagan myths of history

demonstrate humanity’s cry for transcendent truth, the pain of mortality, and the desire

for a heroic intervention – all of which are good desires for truth, comfort, and

redemption. The artwork printed in the King James Bible reveals that those longings of a

loss world have been heard, and are now answered with the ultimate Truth.22

mother of harlots and of the admonitions of the earth (17:5). For similar thoughts concerning the

significance of 70 AD and the Old Covenant see Jesus and The Victory of God, by N.T. Wright, pg.320-

328, and The Future of Israel Reconsidered, by Jim Jordan, at www.biblicalhorizons.com.

17 See Romans 11:19-21.

18 See Philippians 3:3; Galatians 4:25-26; Romans 9:3,4; Heb.12:22.

19 Galatians 6:16. The italics is my emphasis of the word “even”, as translated in the NIV. In this context

the English word “even” is a better translation than “and”. In this verse the Greek word “kai” should be

understood as saying “that is” or “even”. When Paul says, “even upon the Israel of God”, he is explaining,

identifying, and highlighting the New Covenant church as God’s true Israel – those who walk according to

the rule of Jesus’ new creation. As Don Garlington says, “But all in all, given that Paul has labored all the

way through this letter to place uncircumcised Gentiles on an equal footing with Jewish believers, the

“Israel of God” is none other than those people who adhere to the standard of the new creation – in plain

terms, the Christian church or the renewed family of the Messiah”, An Exposition of Galatians, pg.391.

20 Romans 2:19-20.

21 II Corinthians 10:5.

22 “"Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him." St. Augustine

17

Mythological Art

1. The Death of False Gods

The planets in our solar system and most of the months in our calendar are named

after various gods of Roman mythology. January was named after the god Janus who

was regarded as the beginning of all things. After Janus the next god to be honored was

Terminus, since he was the ending of all things. Terminus was honored by a sacred

purification ritual called Februm, which is where we get the name February.23 In this

way Roman mythology sought to honor the alpha and omega (beginning and ending) of

all things with the first two months of the year.

In his City of God, St. Augustine persuasively and extensively argued against

these types of myths from Greek and Roman superstitions, which a host of generations

and cultures regarded as gospel-truths. When arguing against them Augustine pointed

out the flaws of the superstition, and led them to see that their fundamental desire and

hope would be fulfilled in Christ.

For example, the god Janus supposedly had a mouth like a human with his upper

palate representing the sky. In this way Janus represented part of creation and humanity

at the same time. It was important for any god to be represented with some earthly or

human characteristic. But Janus had a problem. He was supposed to see all things with

only one face, which was highly unlikely. The first remedy was to carve Janus with two

faces. But again, this was not good enough. A double-faced Janus could not see the four

directions of the compass, so the pagans made him with four faces. But in solving this

problem, a four-faced Janus created another problem. What creature could he represent

with four mouths? What on earth has four doorways of some entry or exit into the body?

In the following quote St. Augustine mockingly offers a remedy for the god Janus, from

the god Neptune. Then, with all seriousness, Augustine points the pagans to the truth in

Christ.

“In the case of the two-faced Janus the interpreters found an explanation in reference to

the human mouth, regarded as a representation of the world. They have no similar

explanation of any kind to offer in the case of the four doors open for entrance and exit.

Neptune, to be sure, might come to their aid and supply them with a fish, which has,

beside the openings of mouth and throat, the two apertures of the gills on the left and

23 City of God, VII,7. St. Augustine.

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right. And yet no soul can escape from futility by any of those numerous doors except

the soul that has heard the Truth saying, “I am the door.”24

This sample from Augustine is a good strategy of how to communicate to a

pagan culture, similar to one we live in today. Listen to the myth, show the

ridiculousness of it, and point out how the futility of it can only be resolved in Christ.

25 History has proven that Augustine won the argument against the pagans. Though

the names of pagan deities remain on the planets, and on our calendar, they only serve

as sepulchers marking the death of superstition, mocking an era of ancient myths.

II. Listening; Then Leading to the Truth

Well, in an Augustine-like manner the publishers of the King James Bible knew

the famous myths of history and continued the evangelistic work of leading these futile

superstitions to the truth in Jesus Christ. Their drawings can be understood as celebrating

the church’s triumph over paganism. These pagan gods are merely quarantined on the

pages of Holy Scripture, so whatever truths these myths sought for and desired – all such

longings would be fulfilled in the gospel of scripture.

The following pages contain some of the mythological artwork which was

published in the original King James Bible. Under each drawing is a painting of that

same myth found in other works of art.

24 City of God, VII, 8, St. Augustine.

25 This was the Apostle Paul’s basic strategy when he preached to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill who

were so proud of the many gods they had made. Acts 17:22-34

19

The beginning letter for the epistle of Romans, followed by another painting of the same myth

Apollo chases Daphne, as she turns into a tree, with her arms first changing into branches.

Painting by Carlo Maratti, 1681.

20

The beginning letter for the gospel of Matthew and John’s Revelation

An ancient mosaic of “Poseidon” or “Neptune” riding his horses in the ocean.

21

The beginning letter for the book of Wisdom in the Apocrypha

A painting of the god Pan, playing his flute, with two goats to the right; by Jacob

Jordaens (b.1593-d.1678)

22

1. Apollo Chasing Daphne

According to the myth, Apollo insulted the god Cupid, saying that he should not

play with bow and arrows. Such weapons were for Apollo who used them to kill a large

poisonous serpent on the land. The insulted Cupid then shot an arrow of gold into

Apollo’s heart, which inflamed him in passion and love for Daphne. However, Cupid

also shot an arrow of lead into the heart of Daphne which caused her to hate and abhor

the love of any man. Cupid’s revenge struck the heart, which everyone knows, that’s

where it hurts the most.

In the course of time, Apollo passionately caught up with Daphne as she was

entering the thickets of the woods. Daphne, resenting any love from a man, then cried

out to her father for help. Suddenly her skin turned into the bark of a tree and her arms

turned into branches, as her legs rooted in the ground. However, Apollo’s love did not

cease for Daphne. He tended to her as his tree, using her leaves to decorate the crowns of

his men and their weapons. Apollo used his own youth and immortality to make Daphne

an evergreen tree which would never die.

Such a drawing and myth is very fitting to introduce the book of Romans. The

Apostle Paul writes his magnificent work concerning God’s righteousness and God’s

undying love for Israel, His covenant people. In Romans chapter 11, the true God who

loves his Daphne-like tree will never let her go. His covenant people, now through the

New Covenant will grow and flourish for the rest of time. God’s Israel will never die, for

He is the giver of life immortal and eternal through the bodily resurrection of Jesus

Christ.

2. Neptune upon the Seas

According to the myth, Neptune was the god of the ocean and horses. With his

mighty horses he would majestically ride over the waters of the deep. He was the

victorious Roman god over all the fish and the waves. Pagans longed for such a god who

ruled over the deep, and one to whom they could pray, as they sailed through storms.

Well the scripture reveals the uncreated God who became man, walked on water,

calmed the waves with His voice, and catches men like fish in the ocean. This God of all

creation and redemption now victoriously rides upon his mighty horse having King of

23

Kings and Lords of Lords engraved on his thigh.26 Jesus Christ, in Neptune-like

fashion, slays all evil beasts that arise out of the ocean-like nations of the world. He is

the one who conquers the stormy seas, which was the ultimate desire pagans hoped for

from Neptune. The New Testament beginning and ending with a drawing of Neptune, it

proclaims Him who fulfills all the Neptune-like hopes and desires – good desires once

used to make myths can now rest in the Truth.

3. Pan playing his flute

Pan was the god of shepherds, herds, goats, and flocks. His face was like that of a

goat as well as his legs and feet. But his arms and torso were like a man. The story of

Pan’s flute begins with his love for Syrinx, a lovely lady of the water. Her sisters turned

her into a reed in order to escape Pan’s infatuation. Pan could not tell which of the reeds

was her. So to make sure he got the right one, he took seven of the reeds and tied them

together to make a musical instrument. Playing music on his reeds was his way loving

Syrinx forever. Nevertheless, some artists depict Pan playing a flute made out of one

reed.

Well, it is clear that Christ is the ultimate Good Shepherd, in a much better way

than Pan was over his herds. Even the name “Pan” expresses a deeper longing that is

fulfilled in Christ. The Greek work “pan” means “all”. And the scripture tells us that by

Christ “all things were created”, and “in Him all things consist”.27 When the pagans

imagined the festive music and provision of Pan over their flocks, they were expressing

that ultimate desire which can only be found in the redeeming work of Christ.

III. Interpretations and Applications

Interpreting artwork is an art in and of itself, so it should be no surprise to us that

there are different interpretations of the mythology drawn on these pages. Some consider

these drawing and others like them to be an evil conspiracy of those who published the

26 Revelation 19:16. After the city of Jerusalem and the Old Covenant world was destroyed, as prophesied

in Revelation chapters 1-18, Jesus leads his church victorious for the rest of time in Revelation chapter 19,

through His preached word and sacrament. We win the many battles of “Mount Assembly” (the meaning

of Har-mageddon) as the church gathers with the Lord in worship to trample over the enemies of God. See

The Vindication of Jesus Christ, by James Jordan, pg. 81.

27 Colossians 1:16,17

24

King James Bible.28 But I consider such opinions illegitimate and more of a symptom of

one’s paranoid view of the world. Similar to those who fear conspiracies, the following

quote is from one who considers this artwork inappropriate, which may not have been

approved by the translators:

“Curiously and inappropriately, a few of the initials have mythological scenes. Pan

figures in the seven-line capital used for Wisdom (also used at Psalm 141 and I Peter 3).

Neptune with sea horses begins both Matthew and Revelation, and Romans begins with a

naked, sprouting Daphne. There is also a female figure apparently with an asp or serpent,

in the initial to I Thessalonians. The O beginning Hebrews has a face on it (as does the O

at Isaiah 64). It seems improbable that the translators would have asked the printer to use

these initials and unlikely that they would have approved their use. A degree of

unsupervised freedom on the part of the printer is implicit.”29

However, the following quote takes a similar position to the interpretations I have

suggested above:

“In the case of classical initials, however, it is possible that choices reflect a Christian

understanding of classical images. Poseidon (with his trident and horses), for example,

appears in the initial T at the beginning of Matthew and the beginning of Revelation. As

the trident deemed to be a foreshadowing of a triune god, and Poseidon and his horses

could travel on the surface of the water, it is possible that there is an allusion to Jesus

walking on that water, as recounted in Matthew’s Gospel; similarity, if the first of the

four horsemen of the Apocalypse is Christ, and his white horse represents the spreading

of the gospel (both interpretations were established in late antiquity), then the image is

appropriate both to Revelation and to the injunction at the end (should reading

‘beginning’) of Matthew’s Gospel. Similarly, there is an image of the Greek god Pan in

the initial I at the beginning of Psalm 1, the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom and I Peter 3;

Pan was thought to foreshadow Jesus as the good shepherd, and his name which means

‘all’ in Greek, to hint at Christ as ‘all’. There is also an image of Daphne at the

beginning of Romans, and that may provide an image of transfiguration.”30

I would like to conclude this paper with a theme that ties the artistic theology and

mythology together as it is presented in the original King James Bible. The uniting

theme is the brazened conquest of God’s kingdom and covenant. God’s covenant,

accomplished in Christ, eventually conquered the paganism in ancient Rome. The

beautiful marble used to adorn the mighty coliseum in Rome, and her pagan temples,

were stripped off those structures and used to build the churches. Even so God’s

covenant will continue to conquer from generation to generation, eventually removing

28 see www.cuttingedge.org/news/k1004.cfm

29 A Textual History of the King James Bible, by David Norton, page 52.

30 King James Bible: 400

th Anniversary Edition, by Gordon Campbell, pg.280 (Italics is mine.)

25

whatever splendor with which men adorn their gods. The false gods around us bearing

names of Religious Plurality, Relativism, Islam, Evolution, Atheism, and Political

Correctness will all fall under the weight of their own sin, which the light of the gospel

will expose. Mankind’s creation of these modern myths and gods will never satisfy the

hopes and longings of humanity. God’s accomplished and applied covenant will

eventually mock and expose the falsehood of the myths in our time.

One day before the return of Christ, when the church eventually conquers through

her gospel of love and mercy, another translation of the Bible may be published. It may

be a Bible designed with beauty and artistry, seeking to express the infinity of its truth. A

Bible that will have drawings of conquered myths and defeated gods from the ancient 21st

century – declaring the same message published in the original King James translation –

the God and Christ of the covenant is the ultimate fullness and joy of all human cravings

and desires.31

Bibliography A Textual History of the King James Bible, by David Norton, Cambridge, Cambridge University

Press. 2005.

The King James Bible: A Short History From Tyndale to Today, by David Norton, Cambridge

University Press. 2011.

King James Bible: 400th Anniversary Edition, by Gordon Campbell, Oxford University Press.

2010.

City of God, by St. Augustine, Penguin Books.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.

Behind The Scenes: Orientation In The Book Of Revelation, Biblical Horizons No. 19., by Jim

Jordan, www.biblicalhorizons.com

The Vindication of Jesus Christ, by James Jordan, www.biblicalhorizons.com

The Future of Israel Reconsidered, by Jim Jordan, www.biblicalhorizons.com.

Jesus and The Victory of God, by N.T. Wright, Fortress Press, 1996.

The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. X, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2002.

An Exposition of Galatians: A Reading from the New Perspective, 3rd Edition, by Don Garlington,

Wipf and Stock Publishers Eugene, Oregon 2007.

31 “Felicity is not a god, but a gift of God; and therefore no god is to be worshipped by men except the God

who can make men happy.” City of God, ch.V: preface, St. Augustine.