Chapter Eight The Last Word
Our Bible contains all of God’s message to humankind; nothing more is “still to come.”
In recent years a renewed interest in the Holy Spirit and use of spiritual gifts has developed an excitement and renewal in many churches. God seems to be revealing Himself and His power in wonderful ways. As we get caught up in all of this, it may be hard to see the difference between what God is saying and doing today and what He said and did in the days when Scripture was being written. Is there a difference between God’s Word as given then and the word He is speaking to and through believers today? I think there is a major difference, and it’s something we must keep in mind if we are to keep the authority and infallibility of the Bible in proper perspective.
What Did the Writers of Scripture Think?
Suppose you had been one of the writers of a book of the Bible. How would you have viewed your work? Would you have thought you were writing something that came out of your own mind? Or would you have thought it was coming directly from God?
A good way to get answers to these questions is to see what the writers of Scripture had to say for themselves.
As we know, there were some 40 writers of Scripture who produced the Bible over a period of 1,500 years. They lived in separate times and places and had no real opportunity for collaboration to any great degree. But there is one startling characteristic about all of them—from Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible, to the apostle John who concluded the New Testament canon with the Book of Revelation. For want of a better term, all of these writers had an air of infallibility. Many of these men were basically simple people without much formal education. Yes, there were a few exceptions who would be called well-educated or sophisticated: Moses was one, Solomon was another. In the New Testament Paul was certainly well-educated, as was the physician Luke. But the rest were simple farmers, herdsmen, soldiers, and fishermen. Still, all of them—educated or not—wrote with an absolute certainty that what they were writing was the Word of God.
They wrote with absolutely no self-consciousness. They made no disclaimers, no apologies. Instead, they repeatedly and un-abashedly claimed to be writing God’s Word. One Bible scholar estimates that in the Old Testament alone there are more than 2,600 such claims. If you want to break it down, there are 682 claims in the Pentateuch, 1,307 claims in the prophetic books, 418 claims in the historical books, and 195 claims in the poetic books.
A key example is Moses, who tells God at the burning bush that he cannot possibly go back to Egypt and speak to Pharaoh. God replies: “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say” (Ex. 4:11, 12).
The other prophets and writers of Scripture were also certain that what they had to say was something very special. First Samuel 3 records God’s visit to the boy Samuel and how He revealed His word to him. First Samuel 3:19 tells us that “the Lord was with [Samuel] and let none of his words fall to the ground.”
Jeremiah begins his prophecy by claiming, “The word of the Lord came to me” (Jer. 1:4).
In describing his commissioning by God, Ezekiel recorded that God told him to listen carefully and take to heart all the words that He was speaking. Ezekiel was to go to his countrymen in exile and say, “Thus says the Lord God” (Ezek. 3:10, 11).
And no Old Testament prophet makes his calling to speak in a special way any clearer than Amos, who says he was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but a shepherd and a keeper of fig trees. “Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock; and the Lord said to me; ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel’ “ (Amos 7:15).
And what about the New Testament writers? Did they believe as the Old Testament writers did? Did New Testament writers think they were writing the Word of God?
First of all it is interesting to see what the New Testament writers thought about the Old Testament writers. There are at least 320 direct quotes from the Old Testament in the New Testament. New Testament writers refer to the Old Testament some 1,000 times in all. There can be little doubt that the New Testament writers believed that the Old Testament was God’s revelation—His inspired Word.
For example, in Romans 15:4 Paul says, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” In Galatians 3:8 Paul is referring to the Old Testament when he writes, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ “
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.
—Revelations 22:18—
But do any New Testament writers ever claim other New Testament writers are inspired? As noted in chapter 4, Peter refers in 2 Peter 3:14–16 to “our beloved brother Paul, [who] according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (italics added). What was Peter saying? Two things: Paul wrote in a certain way in all of his letters, and what he wrote is Scripture. Peter was saying that Paul’s epistles are inspired—the Word of God.
Paul often claims to be communicating inspired revelation, given to Him directly from God. For example, in Galatians 1:11, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
One other good example of Paul’s claims to inspiration is 1 Thessalonians 2:13: “We also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” Paul couldn’t have said it any more plainly than that. He believed that he taught and wrote God’s very word. Either Paul had a monumental ego or he was telling the truth.
From the beginning of the Bible to the very end, its writers were fully convinced that they were speaking the true words of God. Their work bears a mark of inspiration and authority that is unshared by any other writings before or since.
The Canon is Closed—for Good
Coming back to the question that opened this chapter, is there a distinct difference between how God spoke long ago through prophets and apostles and how He is speaking today? Without question, God is doing some wonderful things in our own day. Through His Holy Spirit He is in the business of guiding and empowering His children to witness, write, speak, and act with extraordinary spiritual impact and power. However, He is not in the business of inspiring (breathing out) any more scriptural revelation. The canon is closed.
Actually, the word “canon” is a metaphor, a play on words. It comes from the Greek word kanon, meaning “a rod or bar,” “a measuring rule, standard, or limit.” This Greek term kanon originally came from a root word that meant “a reed.” In Bible times a reed was used as a Hebrew unit of measure. So, the word came to mean, in a metaphorical sense, a measuring rod, or standard.
The term was used in many ways: in grammar, as a rule of procedure; in chronology, as a table of dates; in literature, as a list of books or works that would correctly be attributed to a given author. Eventually, the term canon was used to refer to the completed list of books given to man by God. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, referred to the completed New Testament in a.d. 350 as the canon. In other words, he labeled the collection of 27 books used in the New Testament churches as the final part of God’s revelation, which had started with the Old Testament books.
Although some of the books in the New Testament canon were challenged, the final choice of Athanasius and other early church fathers held up. Today, when we use the term “canon of Scripture” we are actually saying the Bible is complete. God has given us His revelation. The Bible is our standard—efficient, sufficient, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative. As God’s standard, it is binding and determinative in evaluating any other writing, concept, or idea.
How the Old Testament Canon Was Chosen
To know what the word “canon” means is helpful, but we are still left with a key question: How did the church fathers decide which books belonged in the canon?
Although the word “canon” wasn’t used to refer to the Scriptures in Old Testament times, there was still a clear concept that the Old Testament books were a unified set of sacred writings that was unique.
Two basic tests were used to determine whether a book belonged in the Old Testament canon: (1) Was it inspired by God, written by a prophet or someone with the gift of prophecy? (2) Was it accepted, preserved, and read by God’s people, the Israelites?
Some writers of Old Testament Scripture were not known officially as prophets. For example, Daniel was actually a Jew who had risen to the rank of a high government official while being held in captivity in Babylon. David and Solomon were two of the most famous Hebrew kings. Ezra was a scribe. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes while in captivity in Persia on and later became governor of the restored city of Jerusalem. Still, all of these men were considered to have prophetic powers or gifts. They were used by God to write and speak for Him.
The Old Testament canon was closed (that is, the last book was written and chosen) around 425 b.c. with the prophecy of Malachi. There was no question which books were inspired by God. In the first place, the writers claimed to be inspired (discussed earlier in this chapter); and when the people of God checked their writings, they found no errors. They fit history, geography, theology—everything they knew that would have a bearing on determining inspiration.
Jewish tradition holds that the final compilers of the Old Testament canon were part of the Great Synagogue, that school of scribes founded by Ezra after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon. Interestingly enough there were many attempts to add to the Scriptures back then, just as there are today. Efforts were made to add some fourteen non-canonical books to the Old Testament. This collection, called the Apocrypha, included 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, The Rest of Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch (with the epistle of Jeremiah), The Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, Bell and the Dragon, The Prayer of Manasses, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.
The apocryphal books were not allowed into the Old Testament canon by the Jews, however, because: (1) They were written long after the canon was completed about 400 b.c., and lacked the prophetic quality to stamp them as inspired Scripture. (2) None of the apocryphal writers claim divine inspiration, and some openly disclaim it. (3) Apocryphal books contain errors of fact and teach questionable ethics and doctrines. For example, apocryphal writings justify suicide and assassination and also teach praying for the dead.
Interestingly enough, the Roman Catholic Church later accepted the apocryphal books, and they were included as part of the Roman Catholic versions of the Bible.
How the New Testament Canon Was Chosen
Tests used by the early Christian church to determine New Testament Scripture were somewhat the same as those used for the Old Testament books.
Was the book authored by an apostle or someone closely associated with an apostle? Again, the key question was the book’s inspiration. And to be inspired it had to be written by an apostle, someone who had walked and talked with the Lord or someone who had been a close companion of an apostle. For example, Mark was not an apostle, but he was a close associate of Peter. Luke, the only Gentile writer of the New Testament, was not an apostle but he worked closely with Paul who was an apostle through his special experience on the Damascus Road.
Jesus had promised the apostles the power to write inspired Scripture when He told them in the Upper Room: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). This promise by the Lord is primarily to His apostles, not to Christians today. And the apostles knew it. As we saw earlier in the chapter they claimed inspiration for themselves or confirmed it in the writings of their fellow apostles. Without question, the key test of Scripture was apostolic authority.
Another test applied by the early church was content. Did the writing square with apostolic doctrine? In those early years of the church, heretics such as the Gnostics would try to slip in a phony book, but none ever made it. If it didn’t square with apostolic doctrine, it didn’t pass. The doctrinal aberrations were too easy to spot.
A third test asked if the book was read and used in the churches. Did the people of God accept it, read it during worship, and make its teachings part of daily living?
And the final test determined whether the book was recognized and used by the next generations after the early church, especially by the apostolic fathers. Church leaders, such as Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Athanasius, Jerome, and Augustine, used and approved the apostolic writings. It is important to note, however, that the church leaders did not force certain books on the church. No one man or group of men made a certain book canonical. God determined the canon; man discovered it through long and steady usage. The canon finally emerged through the combined conviction of church leaders and church members working in harmony and guided by the Holy Spirit.
As with the Old Testament, a formidable group of apocryphal New Testament books also sprang up. These included the Epistle of Barnabas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and the Shepherd of Hermas. There were also “Gospels” of Andrew, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Phillip. But all these failed to make the final New Testament canon because they failed one or more of the key tests of authenticity.
The canonical determination and collection of genuine and inspired books continued slowly and gradually. No church council ever decreed an “official” New Testament canon, but several councils did recognize the consensus of the people and the existence of canonical books. By the end of the fourth century the collection was complete. The canon was closed.
What Happens When You Add “More Revelation”?
The apocryphal books of the Old and New Testaments (also called the pseudepigrapha, “false writings”) were only the first attempts to add “other revelation” to Scripture. Down through the centuries, and into our present day, different individuals and groups have claimed their works and writings are equal to the Bible in authority and inspiration. And always, the result has been error and spiritual chaos. For example, you need look no further than the claims made by major cults.
The Mormons have put three such works on par with the Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Book of Mormon. For example, the Book of Alma (5:45, 46) states: “Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God… and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.”
The Christian Scientists have elevated Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to a scriptural level. One of their documents states that “because it is not a human philosophy, but a divine revelation, the divinity-based reason and logic of Christian Science necessarily separates it from all other systems.” Mary Baker Eddy, called “the revelator of truth for this age,” wrote that “I would blush to think of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as I have were it of human origin and were I apart from God its author. I was only a scribe.”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses commit the same error when they say of their publication, “The Watchtower is a magazine without equal on earth, because God is the author.”
The preceding are only a few examples, but they illustrate a vital point that is as true today as it was when the canon was being chosen: whoever criticizes, questions, challenges, subtracts from or adds to the authoritative Word of God is ultimately undermining the divine authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and putting man—the creature—in a place of authority instead.
To Sum It Up
The writers of Scripture spoke with special conviction and authority that could come only from God. They did not use phrases like, “I think I am right” or “You probably won’t agree with me, but… . ” Instead they said again and again in different ways: “Thus says the Lord” and “God has put His words in my mouth.” They did not guess their writings were inspired; they knew it.
The “canon of Scripture” is a term all Christians should know and understand better. It includes the sixty-six books that have been determined to be the infallible rule of faith and practice for the church for all time. Since the close of the New Testament canon in the fourth century, some people have wondered if we shouldn’t be able to add to the canon. After all, God has continued to act and speak since those first centuries through the Holy Spirit of Christ. But Revelation 22:18 clearly states: “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.” Of course you can scoff and say this warning applies only to the Book of Revelation, not the entire Bible. But before you congratulate yourself too loudly, realize that the Book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible, by its very nature, by its content, and by choice of those who determined the canon. If you add to Revelation, you add to the Bible, and put yourself in danger of the curse in Revelation 22:18.
Admittedly, literal plagues have not necessarily come upon some of those who have added to Scripture. (In other cases, their fates have been sad and even terrible.) God may be withholding the force of the curse in Revelation 22:18 until Judgment Day. But one thing is clear: To allow anyone, or everyone, to claim to speak revelation from God is to pay too high a price. Christ has put His own stamp of authority on Scripture. The church has discovered the canon of God’s Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To abandon, or even downplay in the slightest way, the uniqueness of Scripture as the only truly inspired Word of God is to invite a spiritual free-for-all.
John MacArthur, Unleashing God’s Word in Your Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003), 71–80.
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