REV 22:18-19,Deut 4:2, 1Cor 4:6 and others

[Will_Pick]

Can you please help me with the Catholic interpretation of verse Rev 22:18-19 ,Deut 4:2, 1Cor4:6, proverbs 30;5:6 and Psalm 119:160.
A friend said that Catholic are adding to the bible and is using these verse,Thank for your help and your time May God bless you.

 

[Kay_Cee]

Can you please help me with the Catholic interpretation of verse Rev 22:18-19 ,Deut 4:2, 1Cor4:6, proverbs 30;5:6 and Psalm 119:160.
A friend said that Catholic are adding to the bible and is using these verse,Thank for your help and your time May God bless you.

Rev 22:18-19
I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book. (NAB)

The verses refer only to **this book, **that is, Revelation. We haven’t added to Revelation nor taken anything away from it.

When anyone accuses the Church of adding to the Bible, I smile sweetly and say, “You’re absolutely right. We did add to the Bible. We added 27 books. Collectively, they’re called the New Testament.”

But your friend is probably referring to the fact that Protestant Bibles have 7 fewer books in the Old Testament than Catholic ones.

We did not add those books. Martin Luther threw them out.

If your friend wants to interpret “this book” from Revelation to mean the entire Bible, ask him how Martin Luther was justified in deleting seven books from the Bible.

 

[asteroid]

Adding to the Bible would be wrong.

But when has the Catholic church added to it?

I would say that subtracting from the Bible would be wrong and that Protestant churches have done that consistently. You would probably say that too. (I guess their argument would be about the deutero-canon as called, or possibly about “traditions” that have supposedly been “invented” or “go against scripture”)

Rev22:18-19 - what does John mean by “this book”? I think he means the scroll that he’s written - the book of Revelation / Apocalypse. No one has added to it, although Luther did say that there was nothing of Christ within it.

Deut 4:2 - this refers to the statutes and decrees given to Moses (v1). Obviously we shouldn’t alter them or stick extra things into Deuteronomy (and we haven’t) but we have the Bible, which obviously contains more than just the statutes given to Moses. Is your friend suggesting that we should just stick to the statutes and decrees given to Moses?

1Cor4:6 - do not go beyond what is written. Of course, when Paul wrote these words he hadn’t finished the letter or written Second Corinthians. Perhaps Paul went beyond what was written. How is your friend interpreting “do not go beyond what is written” (NAB translation)?

Proverbs 30:5-6 Add nothing to the words of God. Good advice. I don’t believe the Catholic church to add to the words of God.

Psalm 119:160 - “Your every word is enduring; all your just edicts are forever”. True of course. But the Catholic Church teaches this. And so doesn’t scrap any of the scriptures.

Those aren’t official catholic commentaries - just the things that I see in the scriptures.

I don’t know if your friend is referring to the deutero-canon or to “added” traditions - in either case the subject will have been covered on this board by people far more knowledgeable than me.

Wishing you good fortunes in sound discussions with your friend.

 

[bones_IV]

1Cor 4:6 “Not to go beyond what is written”: this is open to various interpretations. It may be a proverb with which the Corinthians were familiar, meaning that one should stay sate ground (in this case, Paul’s guidelines for the infant Church at Corinth. “What is written” could also refer to all scripture or just the qoutations which Paul used (cf. 1:19, 31; 3:19). This was in response to the Corinthians exalting of one preacher above others and it was their pride and and immaturity Paul points out that these dissensions have occured int their community. Doesn’t say anything about solo scriptura.

Rev 22:18-19 “I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; if any one to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

The Revelation made by Christ has been entrusted to the Church, who gaurds if faithfully with the aid of the Holy Spirit. John Paul II makes that clear in Redemptor hominis in paragraph 6.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Hi Will Pick, Hebrews 1, informs us that Jesus is the final revelation. Ask your guest if he believes in illunimation of scripture? Basically, is improper interpretation of scripture, adding to the bible?

 

[Aaron_I]

“Alone”

Now that’s one addition to the Bible that no one can deny. Way to go, Luther!

 

[Bishopite]

Can you please help me with the Catholic interpretation of verse Rev 22:18-19 ,Deut 4:2, 1Cor4:6, proverbs 30;5:6 and Psalm 119:160.
A friend said that Catholic are adding to the bible and is using these verse,Thank for your help and your time May God bless you.

Rev 22:18-19
“I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described** in this book**, and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Those who claim Rev 22:18-19 proves Catholicism “adds” to the Scriptures are NOT taking into account some of the obvious points the Scriptures are showing and how and who authoritatively recognized those inspired books.

In Revelation when it says “book” what it is actually saying is scroll, since the Scriptures were written on scrolls and not bound in a codex as an entire whole at once. So, when we find “this book” in Rev it is refering to the book of Revelation, and not to Scripture as a whole at least at the time Rev was written.

And then the issue of who recognized the canon of Scripture is one that Protestants have a real problem explaining since history proves that it was the Catholic Church who recognized those Scriptures God inspired. Catholicism didn’t add nor take away from Scripture for she has since 382 AD at the council of Rome, authoritatively cited all of Scripture both Old and New Testament.