John's Warning - Scripture Beyond the Bible

In my previous post, I explained that the intent of my next several posts would be to provide Biblical support for the idea that God has revealed more scripture to man than that which is contained in the Bible. This post will examine a scripture found in the writing of the Apostle John that is often used to oppose the idea of revelation from God beyond what is found in the Bible.

John's Warning

The last chapter of the last book of the New Testament, Revelation chapter 22, contains a stirring verse that has caused many to doubt the veracity of the Book of Mormon. It states:

"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."

Many assume that, because this verse falls on the last page of most Bibles, it is an ultimatum statement saying that there will be no more revelation, no more prophets, and no more scripture after the end of the Bible.

There are a few problems with this logic from a Biblical perspective. 

First, God has always called prophets to reveal His word since the begging of man (source). Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaiah, and many others whose words are in the Bible are evidence of thousands of years of prophetic guidance in ancient times. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God has assured us that He will continue to call prophets in the words of Amos, who said that "God will do nothing, but He revealeth his secret unto his servants, the prophets" (Amos 3:7) and the words of Paul, who explained that prophets are essential to the Church (Ephesians 2:20 , Ephesians 4:11-14). Why, then, would God cease to call prophets or to reveal His word to His children?

Second, the Bible was not compiled into the book that we have today until centuries after John wrote these words (Source). So we must understand John as speaking of "the words of the book of this prophecy", which we know today as the book of Revelation, not the entire Bible.

Third, it is thought that the book of Revelation was not the last book written chronologically. In fact, John probably wrote his Gospel and his epistles after he wrote the book of Revelation (Source).

Fourth, Moses used very similar words thousands of years before in the book of Deuteronomy:

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2). 

So, if we interpret the words of Moses and John as referring to the whole Bible instead of just the individual books they were writing, that would nullify the greater part of the Old Testament as well as the entire New Testament.

In short, this often-used verse is a warning against altering or changing the word of God as delivered to His prophets. Its use as Biblical evidence that the Book of Mormon is illogical. My understanding is that John (and Moses, for that matter) were warning against perverting or polluting the word of God that they had delivered. They were not telling us that there would be no more prophets nor more revelation (again, if this were the case, Moses would be telling us not to trust John, or Jesus, or Isaiah).

Thus, the Book of Mormon - another separate testament of Jesus Christ - is not in violation of John's warning at the end of the book of Revelation.

Scripture Beyond the Bible

Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, had 12 sons. From these 12 sons come the 12 tribes of Israel.

The Bible is a testimony of Jesus Christ written by descendants of Judah, one of Jacob's sons.

The Book of Mormon is a testimony of Jesus Christ written by descendants of Joseph, another of Jacob's sons.

Moroni, one of the prophets descended from Joseph who wrote in the Book of Mormon, explained that the Book of Mormon was written "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon Title Page).

Mormon.org describes the similarities between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, stating that "both books contain God's guidance as revealed to prophets as well as religious histories of different civilizations" (Mormon.org).

While many believe that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints use the Book of Mormon to replace the Bible, this simply is not true. All 3 Testaments - the Old, the New and the Book of Mormon - are considered sacred scripture and are studied by members of the LDS - or Mormon - Church.

In fact, one Book of Mormon prophet said that "These last records [the Book of Mormon], which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [the Bible]" (1 Nephi 13:40). In other words, the Book of Mormon was written to support the truths taught in the Bible. It was not written to replace the Bible.

In the following several posts, I will discuss specific Biblical scriptures that support the idea of additional scripture and the importance of the Book of Mormon. In doing so, I hope to support the view that God has not ceased to communicate with His children and never will do so.