I warn everyone who hears the words of 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 in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
This passage comes as the very last warning written in the Bible. Scary, right?
The last thing God tells us is to not add or take away from His word, especially the prophecy of Revelation. If we take away from it, God will take away our place in the holy city, i.e. heaven, and if we add to it, He will add the plagues in the prophecy. Yikes.
While adding our own thoughts and opinions to God’s Word might not seem like a big deal, we have to really think about the two verses above. Why is this punishment so harsh?
The Rescue Plan
To understand why God is so strict about people adding their own thoughts to the Bible, we should know what kind of purpose His word serves. The Bible is not merely a book to instill a moral code, nor is it only to tell us about the history of the Israelites. The Bible is God’s plan to rescue His people from the clutches of Satan and death.
When you come up with a rescue plan, you would do so in hushed tones, out of earshot of the enemy, and you would presumably write your plan in code so that only the people on your side would understand it. But if someone makes a mistake in the code by adding an extra letter or number, or misunderstands something, the entire operation could be ruined.
God Made the Bible Hard to Understand…On Purpose
It’s the same with God and His word. The prophecies (the rescue plan) in the Bible are written in parables so that the enemy, Satan, can’t understand the true meaning. And actually, if God doesn’t reveal it to us, we also won’t be able to understand. Take this passage in Isaiah for example,
For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
Isaiah 29:11-12
Since the vision–or prophecy–is not literally sealed in a scroll where no one can see it, we can determine that we also aren’t actually talking about actual literate and illiterate people. Rather, the words of God are written in a way that nobody understands.
Those who can read would be people who have lots of Biblical knowledge, the ones in charge of giving the Word to others, much like religious leaders. Those who cannot read would be people who don’t have that knowledge, those who wait to receive it from the others who can read, much like your average churchgoer. But no one can open and understand what God has shut and hidden. That is why, whoever you are, you won’t be able to understand the words of prophecy.
But…How Are We…Supposed to Know…the Plan?
I’m sure we all want to understand God’s rescue plan–so what are we supposed to do if the meaning is hidden? I have quite an active imagination, so I could easily come up with scenario after scenario. But is this what God wants? And will it lead me to the correct answer? Probably not.
Thankfully, God already promised that there is a time when He will tell us.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3
And that makes sense–if God is the one who sealed, or hid, the true meaning of the prophecies, then it is God that will ultimately reveal it to us. And He already has set a time when He will make known the true meaning. So, in the meantime, as He told us, we need to “wait for it…”
The Danger of Adding Our Own Thoughts
There are probably countless things written in the Bible that we don’t understand. Take this verse for example.
Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:8
Reading this verse, which is a prophecy for the second coming of Jesus, several questions come to mind. Whose bodies? What great city? Why does it mention Sodom, Egypt, and where Jesus was crucified? Are they the great city? You could ask lots of different people what this verse means, and you would for sure get tons of different answers. And the likelihood of one of them being the same meaning as God’s true intention is very slim.
Adding Our Own Thoughts and Opinions Creates Confusion
Take an autobiography for example. Who writes it? A person who wants to share important moments and facts about their own lives. They pour their life into it–their happiness, their fears, their hopes, their vulnerability.
If you wrote an autobiography, wouldn’t you hope that your readers would understand you through the words you put to page? But what if they didn’t? What if they took things out of context and painted a distorted picture of you? What if they added their own assumptions? This would end up blurring the original intention of the author, and the true meaning, and the true heart behind it would be lost.
The question is: why do we think it’s okay to do this with God’s word? When we skip something in the Bible or add something of our own, we’re getting into dangerous territory. We cloud our own understanding of the word and become confused, sometimes without even realizing it. One confused person is bad enough, but imagine this happening in a household, among a group of friends, or even in a church.
Now the confusion is rampant.
Before you know it, there are thousands of different interpretations of God’s rescue plan circulating among Christians. When the day comes for this plan to be put into effect, chaos will most definitely ensue. Wouldn’t some people follow the interpretation they feel to be correct, but then end up going off course? They’ll find themselves somewhere far away from God’s intention. And through these misunderstandings, wouldn’t it be possible that the very people who were supposed to be rescued, actually end up hindering the mission?
For Us Today
As believers today, it’s very easy to be led astray or accidentally lead others astray. Maybe we’ve already been that person. Maybe something we said misled someone else. It may seem harmless, just a comment or opinion about what the Scripture says, but when we keep in mind that this isn’t just any book, it’s God’s one plan to save us all–it’s no small thing. Someone could be taken farther away from God and miss out on salvation.
Today, we also have a sealed scroll–a book of prophecy that still needs to be revealed to us. The book of Revelation is the culmination of God’s rescue plan. When it was prophesied, it wasn’t meant for us to understand because it was given in figurative language. But while Jesus was here on earth, he promised a time when the true meaning would be revealed to us.
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”
John 16:25
Therefore, we must be patient.
In the meantime, we can prepare ourselves for that time when Jesus will tell us plainly. We can learn what the prophecies of Revelation say, without trying to guess their meaning. We aren’t likely to be correct with our guesses anyways. With God’s rescue plan for us, we need to understand the big picture first, so that we can understand the details, and more importantly, the fulfillment, later. When the rescue plan starts to take effect, we’ll start to really understand how all the pieces work together. In that way, we’ll be able to live out what Jesus said in John 14:29.
I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
The Stakes Are High
Now we see the danger of adding or subtracting from the Bible is very real. If we try to interpret the word on our own, we’ll be waiting for the wrong thing. And even if the real thing is right before our eyes, we may not recognize it. Furthermore, with our words, we could lead someone away from the true plan of God. It’s unintentional, but this is why God warns us of the danger. We don’t want our place in heaven–or anyone else’s–to be taken away. And God doesn’t want this either.
The Bible is not merely words on a page. It’s much, much more than that. Think of the suffering God’s people–those who recorded the Bible and those who spread it–went through. Their blood was shed while trying to deliver God’s Word to us. Many people have willingly sacrificed their lives so that this rescue plan could be spread throughout the world. But think about how that sacrifice could be ruined by people misinterpreting the words they worked so hard to record and spread.
So let’s learn about this plan as it is written so that God’s plan and our hope can be achieved: reuniting and reconnecting with our God in heaven.
Written by Samantha
Want to read more about the topics that were mentioned? Check out these posts!
What Are You Sacrificing for Your Life of Faith?
A Prophet Without Honor: Why Jesus’ Hometown Didn’t Believe in Him
Is the Book of Revelation Literal or Figurative?
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