ADDING TO AND TAKING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION.
By Daniel T. Bourdeau
There are fearful denunciations pronounced against those who add to or take from the words of this book. God shall add unto them the plagues that are written in the Revelation, and shall take away their part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from all the things that are here written for the encouragement of the children of God. Rev. 22:18, 19. It is therefore a matter of no minor importance to know what is meant by adding to and taking from the book of Revelation and the Bible in general; for what applies to one book of the Bible in this respect, applies equally to the whole Bible. That is to say, if God will punish those who add to or take from one part of the Bible, he will punish those who add to or take from other parts of the Bible. As the fearful denunciations in question relate directly to the book of Revelation, all must readily see the importance that God attaches to that book. Indeed, it is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him,” and which was sent to our earth by one of the heavenly host, so that if we respect Jesus Christ, God, and the angels, we shall, for their sakes, respect this book. But if we treat this book with disrespect, as though it were of secondary importance, it is the same as though we despised the eternal Father, Christ, and the heavenly host. It must be evident to all that the denunciations of Rev. 22:18, 19, were designed to guard the purity of the book of Revelation, and that they are a solemn warning against any attempt of copyists and translators to add words to, or suppress any part of, that sacred book, and make it teach sentiments and doctrines that it does not teach. These denunciations were not simply designed as a caution to copyists and translators; they were also to serve as a warning to those who would be inclined to teach orally, or through their writings, that the Bible says thus and so when it does not; that the Lord has spoken when he has not spoken. Such virtually add to or take from the word of God. The denunciations in question are also a terrible warning to those who would make light of, and repudiate as trivial or dangerous, important duties enjoined by the Scriptures. Such take from the Bible, as also do those who teach that the prophecies are not for us; that they cannot be understood, etc. If the prophecies are not to be understood, they have no place among those Scriptures which are profitable,—among those things which God has revealed, and which belong to us and to our children forever. Deut. 29:29; 2 Tim. 3:16. Rev. 22:18, 19 cannot mean that God would give no further instructions to his people after communicating to John the book of Revelation; for it is a well-known fact that the Gospel of John was written by inspiration at a later date than the book of Revelation. The Gospel of John was not an addition to Revelation in the sense of Rev. 22:18, 19; nor are the testimonies to us through the gift of prophecy an addition to the Bible in the sense of that scripture. They do not contradict the Bible, but enforce Bible teachings; they lead to the Bible. If the warning in Rev. 22:18, 19 means that in carrying forward the cause of God we are to use only Bible language (and this must be the meaning of that warning, if our opponents are correct), then there is no room for preaching nor for writing works on Bible subjects, and we cannot appeal to history, to geography, nor to any science whatever, in support of the truths of the Bible; for in doing this we would have to add to the Bible in the sense that our opponents attach to Rev. 22:18, 19. This theory would repudiate all the important discoveries that are being made by the British Exploration Society in Palestine, and in other eastern countries, relative to and in confirmation of Bible facts and scenes. The fact is, the Bible clearly teaches that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were to remain till “that which is perfect is come”; and the book of Revelation, that contains the very warning which is the subject of this article, teaches that the remnant of God’s people will have the testimony of Jesus, or the spirit of prophecy. Rev. 12:7; 19:10. And those who have the spirit of prophecy will have the gift of prophecy in exercise among them. Is there not with some a tendency to be so fearful in regard to adding to the Scriptures, that they will overlook what the Scriptures teach, repudiate the very work predicted and approved by them, and thereby become guilty of taking away from the word of God? Rev. 22:18, 19 is preceded by, “Behold, I come quickly. . . . Blessed are they that do his commandments” (verses 12, 14), and is immediately followed by the words, “He which testifieth these things [and he had just been warning against adding to and taking from] saith, “Surely, I come quickly.” Verse 20. Does not this imply that there would be especial danger of adding to and taking from the book of Revelation just before Christ’s second coming, when great light was to shine from this book? Some may do this in all honesty, but is it not best to be prudent? “If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” Acts 5:38, 39.