Why Do Some Christians Believe in a Closed Canon

[Pegg]

Many Christians I have spoken to believe the Bible is not just the word of God but the WHOLE word of God and the ONLY word of God.

I find this idea confusing. To me the whole Bible is evidence of a living God who speaks to his children especially through prophets: but also personally. God called and spoke and revealed himself to prophet from Adam to Noah, Noah to Abraham, Abraham to Moses, Moses to Isaiah, Isaiah to Christ (of course was more than a prophet), Christ to Peter, Peter to Agabus etc. Now if God called prophets both before Christ and after him (thereby negating the argument that because Christ came there didn't need to be any prophets) then why do some Christians believe there can be no prophets in our day. And if there can be prophets, where are they? And if they are around why are their words not added to the Bible?

Think of the bible like a 1000 piece picture puzzle. The information recorded in various books of the bible was written down gradually over 1600 years. The first books of the bible only revealed small details about Gods purpose, other prophets slowly added more information and finally Christ revealed the final pieces of the puzzle needed to see the complete picture.

With a complete picture, there are no more pieces of the puzzle needed. Its complete. We know this because those final pieces of the puzzle show us the final outcome of Gods purpose and plan therefore he has given us all the information we need...for now.

 

[Thanda]

Think of the bible like a 1000 piece picture puzzle. The information recorded in various books of the bible was written down gradually over 1600 years. The first books of the bible only revealed small details about Gods purpose, other prophets slowly added more information and finally Christ revealed the final pieces of the puzzle needed to see the complete picture.

With a complete picture, there are no more pieces of the puzzle needed. Its complete. We know this because those final pieces of the puzzle show us the final outcome of Gods purpose and plan therefore he has given us all the information we need...for now.

You see Pegg I have a very big problem with that idea - that God revealed less to previous ages than He did in later ages. Logically this would not make any sense. Let me explain

Christ said "I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes unto the Father but by me". Now if you believe that statement - which you must as a Christian - then it means that no one can be saved unless they have faith in Jesus Christ. Now Jesus, when relating the story of the rich man and Lazarus, implied that he believed Abraham was saved. But, according to Jesus, Abraham could only be saved if he believed in Jesus Christ. Therefore it means Abraham had the Gospel of Jesus Christ just as we have it today.
Again Jesus said "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he can in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven". And Christ proved the importance of his words by his own baptism. He was sinless yet he was baptism and he did not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after He was baptized. And God the Father declared it his baptism that he was pleased. Now if Christ, the sinless Son of God, could not escape the commandment to be baptised and receive the Holy Ghost then how could Adam, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Seth, Melchizedek, Isaiah Isaac, Jacob or anyone else have escaped it? How could they have been exempt when the Son of God was not?
And if they were not exempt then that means God must have taught them the same Gospel he sent Jesus to preach. And if they were taught the same Gospel then what new thing did Jesus preach? Jesus taught nothing new. God is not a learning God. He doesn't get more intelligent over time. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His knowledge is and always was perfect and complete. Therefore his plan to save the human race has always been the same.
From the time Adam fell God always intended to save mankind by sending his Son. And this he made known to the ancient people who believed in him. And hence we have in John 8:56 Jesus saying "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." The ancient new about Jesus, what he would do and say. Therefore when Jesus came and spoke and worked miracles, he was only fulfilling the prophecies that had already been made: it was nothing new.

So then, if Christ brought nothing new with his coming, how then can we say that his coming justifies the closing of the canon. Especially since the canon did not stop at his coming. It continued with Apostles and Prophets after him. And there is absolutely no indication that when John said no one must add or subtract to the words of "this scroll" that he meant anything other that "the Book of Revelation" since the Bible had not even been compiled.

 

[Pegg]

You see Pegg I have a very big problem with that idea - that God revealed less to previous ages than He did in later ages. Logically this would not make any sense. Let me explain

You need only read the bible books to see that what i'm saying is true. You can read the progressive revealing of information about the Messiah by knowing when each bible book was written. They were not all written at the same time, the 66 books span 1600 years and the oldest books only give a few small details about the coming Messiah...then gradually more information comes in later books.

Christ said "I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes unto the Father but by me". Now if you believe that statement - which you must as a Christian - then it means that no one can be saved unless they have faith in Jesus Christ. Now Jesus, when relating the story of the rich man and Lazarus, implied that he believed Abraham was saved. But, according to Jesus, Abraham could only be saved if he believed in Jesus Christ. Therefore it means Abraham had the Gospel of Jesus Christ just as we have it today.

Abraham knew of the Messiah who would come. He was told that the messiah would come through his offspring.... Abraham had faith in that promise. He may have even expected to still be alive when the Messiah arrived. Thats why the christian scriptures mention the faith of Abraham... he didnt have to see the Christ to believe in him. He merely had to believe the promise made to him about the Christ.

Again Jesus said "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he can in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven". And Christ proved the importance of his words by his own baptism. He was sinless yet he was baptism and he did not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after He was baptized. And God the Father declared it his baptism that he was pleased. Now if Christ, the sinless Son of God, could not escape the commandment to be baptised and receive the Holy Ghost then how could Adam, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Seth, Melchizedek, Isaiah Isaac, Jacob or anyone else have escaped it? How could they have been exempt when the Son of God was not?

John 3:13 Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven+ but the one who descended from heaven,+ the Son of man.

And if they were not exempt then that means God must have taught them the same Gospel he sent Jesus to preach. And if they were taught the same Gospel then what new thing did Jesus preach? Jesus taught nothing new. God is not a learning God. He doesn't get more intelligent over time. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His knowledge is and always was perfect and complete. Therefore his plan to save the human race has always been the same.
From the time Adam fell God always intended to save mankind by sending his Son. And this he made known to the ancient people who believed in him. And hence we have in John 8:56 Jesus saying "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." The ancient new about Jesus, what he would do and say. Therefore when Jesus came and spoke and worked miracles, he was only fulfilling the prophecies that had already been made: it was nothing new.

So then, if Christ brought nothing new with his coming, how then can we say that his coming justifies the closing of the canon. Especially since the canon did not stop at his coming. It continued with Apostles and Prophets after him. And there is absolutely no indication that when John said no one must add or subtract to the words of "this scroll" that he meant anything other that "the Book of Revelation" since the Bible had not even been compiled.

Christ did bring something new.

Take note of that scripture in John 3:13 No one goes to heaven when they die. No one EVER went to heaven when they died.
It is only through Christ that 'SOME' will enter heaven. And he spoke to his 12 apostles about the prospect of entering heaven. God chooses who will go and the number is limited...the purpose of them going into heaven is described in the scriptures. This was something completely new.

Also, when Jesus made the claim that he had come down from heaven, the jewish religious leaders became incensed at that idea because the hebrew scriptures did not reveal that information. Thats why they tried to stone him when he told them he was from the 'realms above' and that he was 'Gods son'.

So God has revealed information slowly in his own due time and in his own way. Mankind are not his masters... we cannot think that we are so great that we should be informed of every plan and every step God chooses to take. He tells us in his own due time and in his own way.

 

[Agent]

this an interpretation from the end of revelation that the bible is complete

[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.