WILL THERE STILL BE ANOTHER BOOK ADDED TO THE BIBLE?
If we think about it, the Bible has remained open. Meaning, there is still a possibility of discovering other writings from biblical authors that were useful during ancient times. Paul mentioned an earlier letter before 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 5:9), another letter that was rather harsh (2 Cor 7:8), a letter earlier than Ephesians (Eph 3:3-4), and another letter to the Laodiceans (Col 4:16). This means that there are still other epistles of Paul not included in the NT. Luke also mentioned other accounts of Christ’s life (Lk 1:1-2). Perhaps he was referring to the gospel records we already know, or perhaps to others that we no longer have today. The writer of 1 Chronicles mentioned books that told the life of King David, the books of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chron 29:29). This shows that he considered these records reliable. These are hints that there were still other writings that could have been included in the Bible.
Some scholars say these writings may not really be missing and could have been included already in the Bible. For example, the so-called earlier letter in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 5:9) may actually be chapters 10–13 of 2 Corinthians because Paul’s tone shifts abruptly there. So, they could have originally been a separate letter later combined with chapters 1–9. Also, the letter to the Laodiceans could actually be Ephesians. Nonetheless, these are speculations. We cannot rule out the possibility that some writings by biblical authors were lost or remain undiscovered. Since there is still a possibility that writings from prophets/apostles may be found, the canon (official list of books) of the Bible could hypothetically be expanded. In short, the Bible remains open — at least hypothetically.
Even though it could still be added to, in reality, the Bible is closed. Scholars give us several reasons why they believe nothing can be added to the Word of God:
It is closed based on the providence of God.
Scholars say, “It seems highly unlikely that God would have inspired a book He did not preserve. Why should He give a revelation for the church but not provide for the preservation of it? It is understandable that God might give special guidance to certain individuals, which He did not deem necessary to do for the broader body of believers. But to provide instruction in the Christian faith by way of a revelation He did not preserve for others is another matter altogether.” (Geisler and Nix, 1986). If God truly wanted a book or letter to be included in His Word, we can be assured that He would preserve it so we could read it. Christ assures us that His Word will not pass away (Matt 24:35). This verse refers to His prophecy, but it is also applicable to His entire Word. If a writing “passed away,” then it was not His Word.
Yes, biblical authors may have written other things, but the fact that they did not reach us is enough reason to believe that God did not intend them to be included in the canon. Not all writings of the recognized prophets and apostles were inspired and therefore cannot all be considered His Word, since they may have written personal thoughts, mistakes, or opinions not guided by the Spirit. What prophets/apostles wrote in Scripture is infallible—not the writers themselves, because even legitimate prophets sometimes erred (e.g., Moses, Num 20:12; Nathan, 2 Sam 7), and so did the apostles (e.g., Peter, Gal 2:11-13; John, Rev 19:10). One reason we can trust that the Bible we now have is truly His Word is because He ensured it would reach us.
It is closed historically.
Since the early centuries, the church in general has recognized no other writings as God’s Word. Some books were once thought to be inspired but were later proven false (like the Gospel of Thomas, which some sects accepted but was not truly from Thomas). Later church leaders, successors of the apostles, also wrote works, but none claimed equality with the original disciples or claimed to receive new revelation from the Lord (e.g., Ignatius to the Romans 4:3; 1 Clement 42:1; To the Magnesians 13:1; etc.).
In addition, Grudem (1994) comments, “Today there exist no strong candidates for addition to the canon and no strong objections to any book presently in the canon. Of those writings that some in the early church wanted to include in the canon, it is safe to say that there are none that evangelicals would want to include.” The primary standard for recognizing inspired writings is divine authorship. The church does not decide what is God’s Word—it only discovers what truly is His Word. Only the 66 books we now have meet that standard historically.
It is closed theologically.
The Old Testament recognized by Jesus is exactly what the Jews already had at that time—the same 39 books we have today. Other Jewish writings existed then, like the Apocrypha, but Jesus did not recognize them as Scripture. That is more than enough proof that the OT is closed at 39 books. In 2 Tim 3:16–17, when Paul wrote “All Scripture is inspired by God,” he was referring to the OT, which Timothy already knew from childhood (v. 15).
As for the NT, some scholars argue that certain passages imply the finality of God’s revelation. Heb 1:1-2 says that God spoke in the past through the prophets, but in the last days through His Son. The apostles were given authority by the Lord to share His message because they were directly taught by Him. In other words, Christ spoke to us through His apostles. That’s why He told them, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me.” (Lk 10:16). When He returned to heaven, He instructed them to teach everything He had taught (Matt 28:20). Only the apostles fully received all His teachings. This is why, when replacing Judas, the requirement was that the candidate had been with them from the beginning (Acts 1:22). Paul said the church was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 2:20). Though not stated explicitly, this shows that only writings directly from the apostles (or directly connected to them, like Mark and Luke) are worthy of being considered inspired. This leads to the conclusion that no more books can be added to the NT, since no one today qualifies to fill the role of the original disciples.
In Jude 3, it says, “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” This shows that a system of belief had already been entrusted to them that they were to defend against false teachings. It implies that everything believers needed to know was already available at that time. In verse 17, Jude reminded them of the apostles’ teaching. This letter was written around 90 AD, and by then, only Revelation had not yet been written. Since Apostle John himself wrote the final book of the NT, there is no issue with it being added after Jude’s letter. In Rev 22:18-19, there is a warning against adding to the content of this book of prophecy. Since Revelation is considered the last book, many apply this warning to the entire Bible, not just to Revelation. The Bible repeatedly warns against adding to or taking away from God’s Word (Deut 4:2; 12:32; Prov 30:5-6). By the time Revelation was written, God’s revelation through the apostles was already complete.
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀:
Willmington, H. (2014). “The Canon.” 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. CLC Publications.
Grudem, W. (1994). “The Canon of Scripture.” 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺. Zondervan.
Geisler, N. and Nix, W. (1986). “Canonization of the Bible.” 𝘈 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. Moody Press.
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