Sola Scriptura and Rev 22:18-19

[Elzee]

*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 o flife and in the holy city described in this book. *

I ‘ve heard Tim Staples say that although these verses are in the Book of Revelation and the words 'this book’ are used, that some Catholic theologians apply it’s meaning to all the books of the bible, some to only Revelations. Either way, does this verse support the idea of Sola Scriptura? It seems that ‘adding words to this book’, if taken to mean the entire Canon of Scritpure, could be interpreted to mean ‘adding’ by either written or spoken words. Can someone help me understand this?

 

[MariaG]

I ‘ve heard Tim Staples say that although these verses are in the Book of Revelation and the words 'this book’ are used, that some Catholic theologians apply it’s meaning to all the books of the bible, some to only Revelations. Either way, does this verse support the idea of Sola Scriptura? It seems that ‘adding words to this book’, if taken to mean the entire Canon of Scritpure, could be interpreted to mean ‘adding’ by either written or spoken words. Can someone help me understand this?

No. It would mean things like Martin Luther who added the word “alone” to faith alone. It would refer to JW’s who added the word “a” so John 1:1 reads In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was a god.

If Scripture alone were valid, it would contradict other Biblical verses that tell us to otherwise. For example.

:bible1: 2 Thess 2:15 hold fast to tradition whether oral or by letter.

:bible1:John 21:25 not everything Jesus did was recorded

:bible1:Mk 13:31 heaven and earth will pass away but my word won’t

So the Bible itself tells us not everything was written down. It tells us to hold fast to the oral as well as the written. It also tells us that His word will never pass away. Bible alone would ignore the oral words of God.

I hope this helps a little.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[Thal59]

The expression “this book” cannot refer to the bible as there was no bible at that time. Besides, Protestants have been adding to - and taking away from - scriptures for centuries. How this justifies sola scriptura is beyond me.

Thal59

 

[DeFide]

*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 o flife and in the holy city described in this book. *

I ‘ve heard Tim Staples say that although these verses are in the Book of Revelation and the words 'this book’ are used, that some Catholic theologians apply it’s meaning to all the books of the bible, some to only Revelations. Either way, does this verse support the idea of Sola Scriptura? It seems that ‘adding words to this book’, if taken to mean the entire Canon of Scritpure, could be interpreted to mean ‘adding’ by either written or spoken words. Can someone help me understand this?

1. When these verses say that nothing is to be added to or taken from the “words of the prophecy of this book,” they are not referring to Sacred Tradition being “added” to the Sacred Scripture. It is obvious from the context that the “book” being referred to here is Revelation or The Apocalypse and not the whole Bible. We know this because St. John says that anyone who is guilty of adding to “this book” will be cursed with the plagues" written in this book," namely the plagues he described earlier in his own book, Revelation. To assert otherwise is to do violence to the text and to distort its plain meaning, especially since the Bible as we know it did not exist when this passage was written and therefore could not be what was meant.

In defense of their interpretation of these verses, Protestants will often contend that God knew in advance what the canon of Scripture would be, with Revelation being the last book of the Bible, and thus He “sealed” that canon with the words of verses 18-19. But this interpretation involves reading a meaning into the text. Furthermore, if such an assertion were true, how is it that the Christian knows unmistakably that Revelation 22:18-19 is “sealing” the canon unless an infallible teaching authority assures him that this is the correct interpretation of that verse? But if such an infallible authority exists, then the Sola Scriptura doctrine becomes ipso facto null and void.

1. The same admonition not to add or subtract words is used in Deuteronomy 4:2, which says, “You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandment of the Lord your God which I command you.” If we were to apply a parallel interpretation to this verse, then anything in the Bible beyond the decrees of the Old Testament law would be considered non-canonical or not authentic Scripture – including the New Testament! Once again, all Christians would reject this conclusion in no uncertain terms. The prohibition in Revelation 22:18-19 against “adding,” therefore, cannot mean that Christians are forbidden to look to anything outside the Bible for guidance.

source:
geocities.com/thecatholicconvert/solascriptura21.html

 

[Ignatius]

*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 o flife and in the holy city described in this book. *

does this verse support the idea of Sola Scriptura?

How can it. The bible explicitly refutes Sola Scriptura.
James 2:24 . a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.