For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. – Revelation 22:18,19
Some unhealthy churches teach as if the New Testament was initially all written together in book form and Revelation was the final chapter. They will claim that if someone adds to or takes away from anything written in the entire Bible, they will be lost. The above passage in Revelation is normally used to support this thought. In addition, there are a few other Bible passages that speak against adding to the words of God, such as Proverbs 30:5-6, Deuteronomy 4:2, and 12:32. This teaching often places fear in people, causing them to worry that their name might be removed from the book of life or that God will hit them with plagues should they get anything wrong. What is ironic is that many who teach this distortion are often breaking it with their added rules and regulations to which they believe Christians must adhere. Let’s take a closer look.
Keep in mind that Revelation 1:11 states, “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” This passage gives context to Revelation 22 and it can clearly be seen that John was to send this writing to seven distinct places because the counsel and warning it contained was directed toward them. According to Strong’s Concordance, the word which was translated ‘book’ means ‘a papyrus roll.’ Thayer’s Greek Lexicon states, “a small book, a scroll: …a written document; a sheet on which something has been written”. In Luke 4:17 the same word was used to refer to the scroll of Isaiah. Since the New Testament was not compiled until a great many years later, the comment about adding to or taking from it was never directed to the entire Bible or New Testament.
God didn’t write the Bible and then hand it to us from heaven. The New Testament writings were not all written at the same time, nor by the same individuals. In fact, they were never written by the authors with the thought that one day they would be placed together in a book that we would call the New Testament. Each letter was written to a specific person or group of people for a specific reason. In this, we must keep in mind that while Revelation is the last book in our Bibles, it was never written as such but is a result of people from hundreds of years ago deciding upon which writings would be included and in what order. So when Revelation talks about adding to or taking away from the prophecy found therein, it is only speaking of that letter written by John. It is specific to the things John wrote in that letter and has nothing to do with the rest of the books of our Bible.
Let’s take a quick look at the other passages I mentioned. Proverbs 30: 5-6 (NASB): “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.” These are the words of Agur and note that what was written did not proclaim anyone lost if this happened. He is speaking about what God has spoken and not what people have spoken about God.
Deuteronomy 4:2 (NASB): “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” Reading in context, this was spoken to the Israelites by Moses. He was teaching them the “statutes and the judgments” that God had given him for the people to follow. This pertains solely to the things that Moses delivered to them as God had directed. If they added to what he taught them, or took away parts, they would no longer be following these statutes.
Deuteronomy 12:32 (NASB): “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.” This goes right along with the above mentioned fourth chapter.
None of these are warnings about adding to the Bible as a whole. They were specific to what was written that God had spoken. The Bible isn’t something believers should fear and it was never meant to be something where one had to be frightened they might get some wording incorrect or make an error in quoting from it. People may misunderstand some things. There is no threat of being lost because you might wrongly quote something in the Bible or have an incorrect or incomplete understanding of something in its pages.
If we want to see a perfect example of adding to what God had spoken, we have it in the Pharisees. They had added so many rules to what God had instituted that they were following their traditions and not God’s commandments. See what Jesus said about this in Matthew 15 (NASB):
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? “For God said, ‘HONORYOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”
This passage in Matthew shows what was meant by Moses when he instructed the Israelites to neither add to nor take from the commandments God had given. This is a tragic result of the Pharisees doing this very thing.
I hope this helps someone to break from this faulty teaching. Your walk with God is not about your performance of dotting every i and crossing every t and having everything right. If that is how the walk of a believer truly is, no one stands a chance as even the early believers and apostles, who walked side by side with Jesus, got things wrong. Fear permeates the teachings of unhealthy churches. May all who experienced this fear break free of its chains.
Examining Teachings #1: Drunk In The Spirit?
Examining Teachings #2: Jezebel and Shamefaced
Examining Teachings #3: Peculiar And Separate
Examining Teachings #4: What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Examining Teachings #5: Faith Without Works Is Dead
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