Extra Biblical Revelation

Extra Biblical Revelation

Introduction

Today’s Christianity is badly plagued with cultic teachings one of the Christian research says that the Body of Christ is competing with more than 1000’s of  new belief systems which are very sophisticated in its nature and extremely evangelistic in delivering their message. These cultic teachings or the roving wolves are nothing new to the Church. From its inception Satan raised up tares among the pure wheat of God to deceive and mislead the sheep; to lead them to hell and not to heaven. If we carefully study the teachings of the cults we could draw a conclusion, that the denial of the doctrine of the trinity and the claim to have an extra biblical revelation are the most common unifying factors between the cults and their teachings. In this note I would like concentrate on the topic “Extra Biblical Revelation”.  

I. What is Extra Biblical Revelation?

Any supernatural knowledge that cannot be directly attributed to Scripture may be called extra biblical revelation. Joseph Smith, 1805-1844, the prophet of the Mormon Church insisted that the Bible was not GOD'S holy Word and therefore needed his visions and input. The book of Mormon is the result and supplanted the Holy Scriptures. And in the same way Seventh-day Adventists believe there is enough biblical evidence for a modern non-canonical manifestation of the gift of prophecy. When modern criticism began to undermine the trustworthiness of Scripture, God chose Ellen G. White as a special prophetic voice to uplift the normative authority of His Word. The Seventh-day Adventists have published their own bible called “The Clear Word Bible”. It is purely a cultic Bible that which failed to separate the Bible text from the author’s personal commentary, opinions, which slant the text to agree with the writings of Ellen G. White and whatever else to make the text say what he wants it to say. Prophet William Marion Branham died in 1963 and was a Baptist Christian before turning to as Oneness Pentecostal prophet. He claimed to be Elijah even still today his followers are propagating his views all over the world.  Jehovah’s Witness too published their own Anti – Trinitarian Bible called “New World Translation”. (Note: The following contents are directly copied from www.blueletterbible.org/faq/canon.cfm‎)

II. Has God Revealed Anything Further to Mankind Since the First Century? There is evidence that the canon of Scripture was complete in the first century. Has God, since that time, revealed anything that is to be added to Holy Scripture?

Claims Do Not Make It True: The mere claim that God spoke to an individual does not make it true. There has to be evidence to back up the claim. The question Is, "Does the evidence support the claim that God spoke through them?" The Bible instructs us to test the spirits: Beloved, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1)”. When we test the claims of those who have brought forth a "new Scripture" we find them to be untrue. The downfall of all the books that have had inspiration claimed for them is that they present a different revelation from what has previously been recorded. They contradict the Bible.

No Book Qualifies: Every book written since the completion of the Bible that claims to be further revelation from God fails on the same ground. They all deny that Jesus Christ is God Himself, second Person of the Trinity. These works also deny salvation by grace through faith. They preached a different gospel. The Apostle Paul warned the church at Galatia about such people. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel ... But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:6,8)”.

No Evidence: Furthermore, there is no substantiating evidence such as fulfilled prophecy to demonstrate the books are of divine inspiration. Thus, as we examine the various books that have been written since the completion of the New Testament that have claimed to be further revelation from God, we find them coming short of the mark. The Bible warns: Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be found a liar (Proverbs 30:5, 6).

III. Can Anything Be Added to the Bible Today? We have seen that the canon was closed in the first century, and that since then God has not revealed anything on the level with Holy Scripture.

Westminster Confession "The Westminster Confession," a seventeenth-century statement of faith, says concerning the Bible, The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men ("Westminster Confession," 1:6). According to this statement, which sums up the Protestant view of Scripture, nothing is to be added or subtracted from the Bible. The revelation from God to man has been completed.

No Direct Word: however, there is any direct word in the Bible that says God has stopped revealing Himself. Some have appealed to the following verses in the Book of Revelation. 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; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life (Revelation 22:18, 19). This is only speaking of the Book of Revelation. It is not a commandment against adding any other book to Scripture. If taken literally, then you could not have any other book in Scripture but the Book of Revelation! Yet there is a principle here that is clearly taught. No one is to add or to take away from the revealed Word of God.

Jude makes a statement that Is pertinent to' our discussion. “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3)”. This verse teaches that a body of truth from God has been delivered to man and that this faith has been wholly delivered. This seems to indicate that no further revelation from God is necessary. God has told us in Scripture everything that we need to know about who He is, who we are, and what will happen to the earth in the future.

We know the nature of God does not change: For I am the Lord, I do not change (Malachi 3:6). The Bible says clearly that the faith has been completely revealed. Therefore, If any new revelation were to come from God, it would be consistent with past revelations. Even if a work met all of the above criteria, it would not necessarily be the Word of God. While theoretically it is possible that God could add something to what He has previously revealed, it is highly unlikely that this would be the case. The faith has already been delivered to mankind. Any further word from God to man is not necessary. The canon of Scripture is complete.

When did Jesus become real to you?

There are thousands of arguments to prove the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ historically, and theologically. However all those arguments are vague and futile unless a person encounters the Lord personally. Even the disciples found hard to believe the word “Jesus is risen” uttered by the women who met the resurrected Lord. But it was their personal encounter with the Risen Lord that brought them to believe in the Resurrection. Today what made us to believe in the resurrected Lord? Is it the words of the people whom we respect? Do we believe because the Church has taught that doctrine for 2,000 years? Do we believe because such a belief gives us hope that we have a future beyond the grave? Do we believe because even nature itself seems to proclaim resurrection and new life as spring follows winter? Perhaps those may be the reasons to believe but the basic reason we believe is because in some way we have experienced the presence of the Risen Lord. We have encountered him in our lives. But the crucial question here is when have you encountered the resurrected Lord in your life? Or in other words when did Jesus become real for you? For every Christian, there is a moment when we encounter the risen Lord, when Jesus becomes real. For some, Jesus becomes real in a dramatic Damascus-road experience like that of Paul. For others, Jesus becomes real in a much more subtle way.

Maybe your experience is like that of John Wesley, who did not truly encounter the risen Lord until he had been a preacher for several years. In his journals, Wesley tells of the time when he encountered the risen Lord in a new way. On May 25, 1738, Wesley John 20:19-31 2 accidentally walked in on the meeting of an Anglican gathering on Aldersgate Street in London, and he heard Luther's preface to the Commentary on Romans being read. “About a quarter before nine,” Wesley wrote, “while Luther was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” One can hardly dispute the impact that that moment had, when John Wesley, who became one of the greatest preachers to the masses, encountered Christ. The impact of the moment when Jesus became real to John Wesley is still being felt today, for John Wesley is considered the founder of the Methodist Church.

Have you encountered the risen Lord? When was your heart strangely warmed? When did Jesus become more than a word for you? Do you remember that moment? Sometimes Jesus becomes real to those who are most opposed to him. Several years ago there was a young Marxist student who, on a dare, went into a church and told the priest that religion was just the opiate of the people, and that there was no need for religion in a communist society. The priest countered with a dare of his own, that the young man go into the sanctuary and look at crucifix and say, “Jesus died for my sins, and I couldn’t care less.” The student took the priest up on the dare, and he went in and said, “Jesus died for my sins, and I couldn’t care less.” But before he could leave, the priest said, “Do it again, and this time look into the eyes of Christ on the cross.” The young man went back in, looked at Jesus on the cross, and something happened in his heart that made it impossible for him to get the words out of his mouth. That young Marxist encountered the risen Lord that day, and twenty years later as he retold the story, he was telling the story as a priest.

When did Jesus become real to you? Do you remember? Something happens when people encounter the risen Lord. You see it in the disciples and in Thomas in the upper room. When people encounter the risen Lord, something happens within a person, and suddenly things are different. It’s a before-Christ, after-Christ dynamic, a formerly-but-now change in perspective. Paul reminds us of this change when he says, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation – behold, the old is gone and the new has come.” We look at the world differently once Jesus becomes real in our lives.

Before Jesus becomes real, Good Friday represents the real world where death, tragedy, hopelessness, despair, bitterness, anxiety, restlessness abound. Before Jesus becomes real, you look at the world and you assume that the forces of evil have the upper hand, that there is no hope of overcoming.  But the resurrection represents for us a new reality. When Jesus becomes real, then the hopelessness, despair, bitterness, anxiety, restlessness of our Good Friday existence are transformed. Healing and life are possible in ways that only God can grant. Hatred and animosity are conquered by the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Hope conquers despair. Divisions are broken down, and unity is made possible. Death is conquered by eternal life. When Jesus becomes real, truly it is a gift from God. And, like all gifts from God, it’s not our gift to keep, but to share. To the disciples in the upper room, Jesus said, “As my Father has sent me, I am sending you.” We have the opportunity – actually, we have the calling – to make Jesus real to others. How can you make Jesus real?