*I* testify to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any one shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
Read Full Chapter →Commentary for this Verse
A stern warning follows the Bible's last invitation to come and drink. Who speaks it, what counts as "adding," and why does Scripture close with a threat?
Grace and Warning Together
The warning comes straight after an open invitation. One writer finds no clash in that.
Man's one-sidedness always leads him to set grace and judgment against each other, while the many-sidedness of God's word gives each its proper place. Tender words of invitation have just been spoken. Right after them, God builds a defensive wall around this book of sevenfold judgments. It is a solemn lesson to see how He shuts out every intrusion of man's reasoning and unbelief.
Who Guards the Book
The "I" who testifies is the Lord Himself. One writer sees His guard over this book pictured in the opening pages of the Bible.
The importance of these revelations could not have been more jealously protected. reason: two very-hard sentences (58 and 72 words), trims length
Words, Not Just Ideas
The threat falls on anyone who tampers with words. Commentators draw a conclusion from that about how God gave Scripture.
The Lord Himself claims every word here for God. If this is not a claim for verbal inspiration, what is it? This is clearly the closing book of New Testament Scripture. So what should we conclude about the verbal inspiration of the other parts? And what woe will fall on those who presume to meddle with God's authoritative message of His mind to man?
How Far the Warning Reaches
The warning aims first at this one book. Its place at the very end of the Bible carries weight.
The warning applies first of all to the words of the book of Revelation. But it comes at the very end, and we believe it applies in a second way to the whole New Testament, if not the whole Bible. We are neither to add to it nor to take away.
The Old Testament sounded the same demand, and no hearer stands outside it.
The Lord refers especially to the book of Revelation here, but the Old Testament sounds a similar warning... The Lord has always been jealous for the maintenance of His own truth... The canon of Scripture is complete. To add to it must be deeply offensive to God. It must be the fruit of a proud and unbelieving heart. The warning speaks to every person who even hears the prophecy of this book. When God carries out the sentence, He will show no partiality.
What "Adding" Looks Like
Baines finds this sin inside the professing Church itself.
The professing Church has set this book aside in practice. This did not happen through simple misunderstanding, which is not what is in view here. It happened because the Church's character and hopes took a worldly form instead of a heavenly one. It refused to believe itself under judgment, and so took away from this portion of God's word. It claimed for itself universal rule, triumph over evil, and a continuance to the end of time. In that way it added to this portion of God's word.
He adds that these judgments do not touch God's children who followed such traditional teaching in honest simplicity.
No Further Revelations
If nothing may be added to this book, what about later claims of fresh revelation?
To John's prophetic ministry in the Revelation nothing was to be added. God had revealed all the great lines of truth when He made known the special revelation given to Paul. And He set out all things to come, for Christian times at least, when John, the son of Zebedee, recorded the revelations granted to him on Patmos. We look, then, for no more. Claimed additions to revealed truth are not the fruit of the Holy Spirit's teaching now.
The Penalty Fits the Crime
The sentence mirrors the offence: the man who adds gets an addition.
Wherever the words of this prophecy are read or heard, this deeply solemn warning applies... The plagues of the book, which are many and varied, are added in righteous retribution to those who add to its words... This is how God guards the book that suffers more neglect than any other in Scripture, and that many treat with contempt.
Summary
- Guarded. The Lord who invites also sets a flaming sword around His word. Grace and judgment each keep their place.
- Words. The penalty falls on words, not just ideas. Commentators read this as a claim to verbal inspiration for all Scripture.
- Everyone. The warning names every hearer, and God shows no partiality in carrying out the sentence.
- Closed. The canon is complete; claimed additions to revealed truth are not the Spirit's work today.
- Matched. Add, and God adds — plagues in righteous retribution; the sentence is shaped by the sin.