I warn everyone who
hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to
them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if
anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from
that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are
described in this scroll. (Rev 22:18-19 NIV)
Latter-day Saints have answered this passage so thoroughly that even
many hardcore critics of the Church are forced to admit that it is not an
exegetically sound “prooftext” (1) in favour of sola scriptura and (2) against
the Book of Mormon and other uniquely LDS Scriptures. For a discussion of this
text, see:
Notwithstanding how thorough the LDS responses have been, it is always refreshing
to see anti-Mormon authors admit that their fellow critics rely upon eisegesis.
As one example, take the following from a former Latter-day Saint who reverted
back to Protestantism:
The phrase, “the words of the prophecy of this book,”
was obviously referring to the book of Revelation which John was at that moment
in the process of writing. But in complete disregard of the author’s intended
meaning, most Bible teachings made it include the entire sixty-six books of the
Bible.
The Apostle John, who
wrote the book of Revelation, had been exiled to the Isle of Patmos. And at
this period of his life he was writing down the prophetic visions the Lord has
given him. He concludes the account with a stern warning against tampering with
this revelation—that is, adding or deleting words to suit one’s doctrinal
fancy.
It seemed to me these
theologians were conveniently overlooking the fact that the Bible in the form
it appears today, was unknown in John’s day. In fact, it wasn’t until centuries
later that it finally took on the form so familiar to us now; one volume
embracing sixty-six books.
As a matter of
record, it’s no secret to students of the Bible that the books it contains were
not always placed in chronological order. The fact that John’s book of
Revelation is the last one in the Bible is because the early church was slow in
recognizing it as “inspired” Scripture.
In the Peshitta, the
Bible version most commonly accepted during the first 500 years after Christ,
John’s Book of Revelation was excluded. It wasn’t until a much later date that
it was finally admitted to the canon. (Dan Carlson, The Ins and Outs of Mormonism [Chino Valley, Ariz.: Don Carlson
Publishing, 1999], 24)
