Why these warnings in Revelation?

[PainefulTruth]

Rev 22:18 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:

Rev 22:19 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.

Is it possible for us to edit the "Word of God"? If not, why the warning? Does scripture not have divine protection? Since it apparently doesn't, how many times has it been added to and taken away from over the millennia? Is it the fear of what we might find if scholars are able to strip away the layers: superstition, misperception, lies, or worst of all, the Truth?

 

[Snouter]

The final draft needed to scare superstitious idiots from not reading material such the Dead Sea Scrolls which prove the middle east had a variety of crazy cults and there is no such thing as Ancient Israelites nor Yahweh.

 

[Chuckt]

Rev 22:18 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:

Rev 22:19 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.

Is it possible for us to edit the "Word of God"? If not, why the warning? Does scripture not have divine protection? Since it apparently doesn't, how many times has it been added to and taken away from over the millennia? Is it the fear of what we might find if scholars are able to strip away the layers: superstition, misperception, lies, or worst of all, the Truth?

Why these warnings? Because God can.

 

[Chuckt]

Oops.

 

[Sunshine]

The book of Revelation is proof they had crack 2000 years ago.

 

[Youwerecreated]

Pretty simple it means what is said. You add to or take away the meaning of the prophecies you will be punished and that is why the word of God can be trusted. The Idiots are the ones who believe life and this planet was the result of chance.

 

[PainefulTruth]

The final draft.....

There were drafts?

Why these warnings? Because God can.

Oops.

So God can make mistakes? Now that's a new take on it, but of course there's going to be a whole 'nother set of unintended consequences and howls of protest.

The book of Revelation is proof they had crack 2000 years ago.

It sounds that way because Revelation is the most added to and taken away from book in the Bible. One of those many Revelation Revisers put those last two verses at the end of the book--but I doubt he was the last.

Pretty simple it means what is said. You add to or take away the meaning of the prophecies you will be punished and that is why the word of God can be trusted.

Huh? While one reviser is being sent to hell, there are 10 more busy adding and subtracting. But you ignore the central question, is the Bible holy inspired and protected scripture or not?

And besides adding and subtracting, there's the other bugaboo of translation. How many translations in English alone are there. Why? So one of them will get it right? Which one, if any? Again, where's the divine guidance, inspiration and protection.

The Idiots are the ones who believe life and this planet was the result of chance.

So besides adding, subtracting and translating, there's also the issue of interpretation. You'd thought if God wanted to make it plain, It would have said "this part is literal" and "that part is allegory", and "the other is parable". It was plain when it was written (by humans), it just got lost in amongst all the wildly varying forms of demagoguery to go along with all the adding, subtracting, translating and interpreting. No wonder all the sects, cults and religions had to settle on blind faith for justification--and the masses said "Ahhhhhhhhh".

 

[PainefulTruth]

Anybody, anybody?

 

[Avatar4321]

The Apostle couldn't exactly appeal to copyright law to protect the revelation he recieved.

I think the Lord is very much aware that some people would try to change the words. That's why He gave a warning that the consequences would be serious. Because you can't exactly punish someone for something they haven't been warned about.

As for what's been taken away or added. Could be anything. That is why the Holy Spirit is vital. Because He is a revelator and can teach us the truth of all things.

 

[Chuckt]

Anybody, anybody?

This is why you should be in a healthy and well balanced church so you can learn the truth about these things from people (elders and pastors) who are qualified to address it.

I can try but I'm limited in time.

 

[theword]

Rev 22:18 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:

Rev 22:19 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.

Is it possible for us to edit the "Word of God"? If not, why the warning? Does scripture not have divine protection? Since it apparently doesn't, how many times has it been added to and taken away from over the millennia? Is it the fear of what we might find if scholars are able to strip away the layers: superstition, misperception, lies, or worst of all, the Truth?

This prophecy never meant the whole Bible being changed, just the prophecies in Revelation. Whenever an unauthorized person ( sinner ) interprets the prophecies in Revelation, he is being deceived because it's impossible to interpret the heavy symbolism in them. Only our Creator knows what these prophecies mean and He only uses His sinless saints to interpret them.

You can check on Google all the differing interpretations of Revelation by Christian groups. None of them understand what these prophecies are about because they do not have the invisible knowledge of God within their mind to interpret them with. This means that they have all changed the meanings of Revelation with their false interpretatings that come from their flesh and the flesh is what dies during this age.

So everyone who falsely interprets these prophecies do not have the spirit of God within them to understand their meanings. Their flesh will perish without them knowing that a body called Jesus is NOT coming in the clouds to gather his Christians and live forever. The body of Jesus and all us saints who had the invisible knowledge ( Christ ) revealed in our mind to testify to will perish like all other bodies will during this first age.

The "Two Witnesses" found in Revelation is about God's saints in two different times of this age. The first saints before the Christian Vatican was formed were used to testify to the invisible Christ ( invisible messiah ) is called one of the Two Witnesses. The other witness, 1700 years after the Vatican was formed, is testifying in this forum and on the streets of Campbell, CA. Once all the saints are killed, it will end the 1,000 year reign of Christ that you can read about in Revelation, also.

Revelation was used by God for us saints to read about the "beast" that He had Daniel write about hundreds of years before Christianity was formed as an official religion by the Vatican. The Roman Catholic Church was the "iron" part of the feet while the Protestant churches are called the "clay" part of the feet that Daniel described in Daniel 2: 36-45. This prophecy shows that Christianity would be formed out of the Roman Empire and exist until the end of the age when God destroys it on the "last day" but only through His eternal plan contained in His creation called "Christ". The name "saints" represent the flesh that was used by God to reveal their created existence as Christ, also called the Word of God.

Most of Revelation repeats the same thing in many different symbolic ways to deceive any sinner who reads it. This is why no Christian can interpret it.

 

[PainefulTruth]

In addition to my theological argument, there's this from a Biblical scholar about the epigraphic problems with Revelation.

The Apostle couldn't exactly appeal to copyright law to protect the revelation he recieved.

The issue is not legal protection, it's divine protection. It's a de facto admission that it can be changed. And after 2000+ years of malicious intent pro and con, the problem for us today is obvious.

="As for what's been taken away or added. Could be anything. That is why the Holy Spirit is vital. Because He is a revelator and can teach us the truth of all things."

Ah, so we don't need the Bible. Now the only issue is the identify the voice of the Holy Spirit, which I translate to mean the Voice of Reason.

This is why you should be in a healthy and well balanced church so you can learn the truth about these things from people (elders and pastors) who are qualified to address it.

Been there, done that. I was raised in the church. But if you or any of your elders or pastors care to address me here, I'm at your disposal.

This prophecy never meant the whole Bible being changed, just the prophecies in Revelation.

It dosen't matter if it was only talking about one word, which it isn't any more than it just being Revelation. There's a similar warning in Deu. 4:2 btw: "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."

If as much as one of God's words can be corrupted, God can be corrupted. The entire Bible is the word of men to begin with, without this theological proof.

You can check on Google all the differing interpretations of Revelation by Christian groups. None of them understand what these prophecies are about because they do not have the invisible knowledge of God within their mind to interpret them with.

They think they do as much as you do. They think that God (the Holy Spirit, the invisible knowledge of God etc.) talks to them as well. Again, this is an admission, supposedly inspired or dictated by God, that God's word can be corrupted.

Most of Revelation repeats the same thing in many different symbolic ways to deceive any sinner who reads it. This is why no Christian can interpret it.

Whoa, then why was it written? You're not a Christian?

 

[Avatar4321]

The Bible is a guide. It will lead us to Christ if we follow it.

 

[Chuckt]

The issue is not legal protection, it's divine protection. It's a de facto admission that it can be changed. And after 2000+ years of malicious intent pro and con, the problem for us today is obvious.

It is basically the law of Moses. If you try to undue what God has done and try to mislead people then you are probably not saved which means you fall under the law of Moses instead of grace and it is an eye for an eye. If your work sends someone to hell then you should too. If your work harms someone then God will deal with you.

 

[HenryBHough]

God save us from those
who would save us from
OURSELVES.

 

[AVG-JOE]

The Apostle couldn't exactly appeal to copyright law to protect the revelation he recieved.

I think the Lord is very much aware that some people would try to change the words. That's why He gave a warning that the consequences would be serious. Because you can't exactly punish someone for something they haven't been warned about.

As for what's been taken away or added. Could be anything. That is why the Holy Spirit is vital. Because He is a revelator and can teach us the truth of all things.

Why would a prophet of God need copyright protection?

I wonder about producers of religious media and their need for copyrights... Does the Lord not provide?

 

[PainefulTruth]

The Bible is a guide. It will lead us to Christ if we follow it.

A guide written by who? Paul and his pagan vision of a messiah? Christ is Paul's malevolent invention. Surely our God given ability to reason wasn't given to us to see if we would discard it without resort to reason of any kind, only faith.

The issue is not legal protection, it's divine protection. It's a de facto admission that it can be changed. And after 2000+ years of malicious intent pro and con, the problem for us today is obvious.

It is basically the law of Moses. If you try to undue what God has done and try to mislead people then you are probably not saved which means you fall under the law of Moses instead of grace and it is an eye for an eye. If your work sends someone to hell then you should too. If your work harms someone then God will deal with you.

So you're saying "God's Word" is not protected, not infallible, subject to being rewritten at will?

We all know right from wrong, it even says so in Genesis. We learned it when we ate the apple and became self-aware. No one can send anyone to hell (oblivion) except themselves.

 

[Chuckt]

The Bible is a guide. It will lead us to Christ if we follow it.

A guide written by who? Paul and his pagan vision of a messiah? Christ is Paul's malevolent invention. Surely our God given ability to reason wasn't given to us to see if we would discard it without resort to reason of any kind, only faith.

The issue is not legal protection, it's divine protection. It's a de facto admission that it can be changed. And after 2000+ years of malicious intent pro and con, the problem for us today is obvious.

It is basically the law of Moses. If you try to undue what God has done and try to mislead people then you are probably not saved which means you fall under the law of Moses instead of grace and it is an eye for an eye. If your work sends someone to hell then you should too. If your work harms someone then God will deal with you.

So you're saying "God's Word" is not protected, not infallible, subject to being rewritten at will?

We all know right from wrong, it even says so in Genesis. We learned it when we ate the apple and became self-aware. No one can send anyone to hell (oblivion) except themselves.

There are four manuscript families that went into four different geographic locations in the world that no one group or person controlled. If you changed one manuscript, we still have the other three to compare it to. The gospel is also found in the Hebrew Bible that the Jews have control over.

The New World Translation that the Jehovah Witnesses use and the Lamsa Bible are cultic Bibles. The words have been changed in those Bibles.

I had a friend of the family email me scriptures and someone changed the words based on some kind of spirit revelation so I tossed it.

God's word being infallible refers to the law that we have today and also the original manuscripts to which we may have just copies.

The actual variance in copies is very very small but you could reproduce the Bible from the writings of the church fathers except for maybe 10 to 20 verses. I would have to find you the actual numbers.

I teach about God's word being sufficient because non believers won't let me go farther in teaching innerancy but I could teach about other things.

The manuscript evidence for the Bible is more than you have for Plato, Aristotle, Pliny the Younger, etc., so if you can't believe the thousands of copies of manuscripts for the Bible then you can't believe ancient history because their manuscript evidence is not as good.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Rev 22:18 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:

Rev 22:19 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.

Is it possible for us to edit the "Word of God"? If not, why the warning? Does scripture not have divine protection? Since it apparently doesn't, how many times has it been added to and taken away from over the millennia? Is it the fear of what we might find if scholars are able to strip away the layers: superstition, misperception, lies, or worst of all, the Truth?

Eve added to what God said and it is why we don't live in Eden today. It is that important.

The end times are the most covered events in the Bible. Adding to it or taking away from it could cause multitudes to be deceived. We won't be dealing with emissaries of Satan's, but with Satan himself as the leader of the one world government headed straight for God's land, Israel.

We can edit anything that's written. What we can't do is change the events by editing the book.
No. Scripture is not divinely protected. There is a new politically correct Bible being published now without one reference to Christ. If you come across one, line your bird's cage with it.
The Catholics practically rewrote the Bible using replacement theology.
And therein lies the reason for the warnings. If you change 'Jewish Temple' to 'the Church' you've lost all understanding of what is in store for the Jews, their Temple, and their Messiah. Our Messiah.

If you are concerned about what scholars might find, no need. The King James version is remarkably the same as the ancient Greek version. The Dead Sea scrolls testify that except for certain remakes by some groups, the Bible remains in tact. You can trust the King James version.

Scholars can strip all the way back to the Septuagint, Jerome's Latin Vulgate, or the remnants of Job, and won't uncover anything but what they already have in front of them.

 

[ABikerSailor]

If mankind isn't supposed to either add or subtract from the Bible, then why was the King James Version so heavily edited at the Niecine Council?

For that matter, why is it that so many different versions of Christianity interpret the Bible in accordance with their own belief system, even if it goes against another version of Christianity?

Catholics don't believe what Lutherans do, and Northern Baptists have a very different view than Southern Baptists.

Trust me.......................I know.........................I was baptized Lutheran, but was put into a Catholic school for a year or two, and spent part of my time growing up in a Northern Baptist family.

So.........................like I said.........................if you're not supposed to add or subtract from the Bible, then why do so many Christian sects do so?