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About Jesus Steve Sweetman A
Popular Misunderstanding Rev. 22:18 and 19 says, "I warn everyone who hears the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share of the tree of life and the holy city that is described in this book." This scripture has got to be one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. Many people say this verse is talking about the whole Bible. They think it means that we are not to add or take away from the words of the Bible. Although this idea is correct, that is not what John meant when he said these words. Look closely at the words of these verses. It clearly says we are not to add or take away from "the prophecy of this book", not the whole Bible. John is specifically talking about the words of the book of prophecy (Revelation) that he had just penned. This is very clearly stated. You also need to know that the Cannon of Scripture was not fully complete or put together when John wrote this book of prophecy. By this I mean, John could not read the Bible as we read it because there was no such book. He had the Old Testament Scriptures and that was it. He may or may not have read any of Paul's writing. He may or may not have read Luke's writings. The Bible as we know it today was not compiled until centuries later so it make no logical sense to apply this particular verse to the whole Bible. This is just another point of Biblical Interpretation. We need to think before we make our statements concerning Scripture. We need to say what the Scriptures say, not what we think it says. As I always say, "we need to let the Bible speak for itself".
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