Is the Bible the complete word of God?
To answer this question we need to see what the Bible has to say about ... itself, and about God.
Regarding God -
Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psalms 119:144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.
Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
The purpose of showing these passages is to give evidence from the Bible itself that God is from everlasting to everlasting as referenced in the old testament, and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever as recorded in the new testament. The same intelligent being that created the heaven and the earth inspired prophets and holy men from the earliest days of the book of Genesis until the last days of the book of Revelation.
If Jesus Christ created all things that were made (John 1:3, 10), and he is unchangeable from everlasting to everlasting - a time period preceding and extending after our time, would he cease to speak? Consider that the revelation given through John tells us that there will be more things for God to say in times to come:
Revelation 21
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
In his vision, John witnesses the events at the end of time in which God speaks. This clearly takes place after the Bible has been “closed.” If God plans to be on earth for time everlasting, can we rightly assume that he would not speak any further words? It seems implausible for an unchangeable being to stop speaking.
We are not left to speculation, though. The Bible is not a complete record of God’s word because the Bible itself references books written by prophets that we do not have available to us.
The book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18)
The book of Nathan the seer (1 Chronicles 29:29)
The book of Gad the seer (1 Chronicles 29:29)
The book of Shemaiah the prophet (2 Chronicles 12:15)
The book of Iddo the seer (2 Chronicles 12:15, 2 Chronicles 13:22)
The book of Jehu the son of Hanani (2 Chronicles 20:34)
A book of remembrance (Malachi 3:16)
The modern Bible consists of 66 books that were selected by committees beginning approximately 300 A.D. and solidified as a “canon” or recognized and official set of books that were only bound together hundreds of years after the original authors had died. Until that time, the “Bible” was a collection of parchment scrolls. If the Bible is a closed book, it is because it was closed by man, not by God. The introduction to most bibles gives some form of historical representation of how the Bible we recognize came into existence. The denominational belief that the Bible is the complete word of God is a modern view not supported by historical evidence. The “Bible” is not a single book, but a collection of books in a single binding. In fact, the term “Bible” literally means “the books” thereby illustrating the independent nature of each book in the Bible.
In the book of Revelation, it is reported that there is a great curse promised to those that would add to or take away from the words of the book of this prophecy.
Revelation 22
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.
At the time John recorded this vision, the book he is referencing was his own book - the book of Revelation. But that is not all. The same promise or curse was recorded in Deuteronomy by the hand of Moses -
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Indeed, some sects of Jews do not accept any scripture that follows Deteronomy 4:2, not realizing that the commandment is no prohibition for God to give more word than he has given already. In fact, Jeremiah was commanded to write more words when what he had been given was rejected -
Jeremiah 36
27 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
30 Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
What this passage shows is that God does not limit himself in speaking, but rather forbids man to change what he has given. Because Jehoiakim the king “took away” from the prophecy given through Jeremiah, he was cursed.
What assurances do we have that the Bible has not already had passages added or removed in small or large part? It may not really be necessary to have such an assurance - for the basic reason that it doesn’t change what we have. The manuscripts available to modern scholars are themselves not the originals written by the prophets and apostles, the originals having long since turned to dust.
It seems fairly clear that the scriptures we have are not entirely without some change over the years (see previous FAQ question). From the numerous different translations now available to references mentioned earlier to books not found in the Bible, the remarkable truth is that we have sufficient information contained in the books we do have to gain a preliminary understanding of God, his commandments and doctrines, and some of the other things that he has in store for his creation. If God should speak again, who are we to stop him?
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