Christian Author and Pastor Ron Craig
If 2 Peter 1:20-21 was valid in the first century, why would it not be valid today? Just because the devil has convinced sinners, and much of the church, that the world has changed, and therefore God must have changed as well, that does not make it so! Remember, the devil is a LIAR. That being so, then neither has the world nor the Word of God changed over time (except for technological advances in the world system). That means that private interpretations of Scripture are just as INVALID today as they were back in the first century. Therefore, God does not allow tampering with His Written Word today any more than He did at any time in the past. Thus, Deuteronomy 4:2 is just as current as is 2 Peter 1:20-21. “You must not add to nor take away from what God has commanded in His Word.” Bible interpretation always either adds to or takes away from the original inspired message from on high. Proverbs 30:5-6 even says that every word of God is PURE (thus needs no improvement), and that if we do add to His Word, we will be proven to be liars. So think. If the devil is a liar, and those who add to God’s Word are liars, that connects Bible interpreters to the devil, and exposes their interpretations as lies. Serious business! Do not get caught in that demonic trap.
And even more serious, Revelation 22:18-19 informs us that God will add plagues to those who add to His Word, and will delete from the Book of Life the names of those who delete anything from His Word in the book of Revelation! Yet, there are multitudes of so-called Bible commentaries (different interpretations of God’s Word) each of which contradict both other commentaries and much of the very Word of God itself. Do those commentators really think they are smarter than the Holy Spirit? Did the Holy Spirit not know how to communicate God’s mind? Did God intend to hide from us the real truth, so that He must employ super-educated theologians to educate mankind as to what Deity actually had in mind? Moreover, if the Holy Spirit did hide the truth from us when He moved upon those human Bible authors to write what they wrote, then why would He now want to uncover such hidden truth? And how can men today, who did not hear directly from God, as the Bible writers did, now know the real mind of God, which He apparently did not communicate to the Bible writers, if it is true that modern Bible interpretations are necessary? Who is kidding whom?
The bottom line is that, Bible interpretations are both an affront to God and an insult to the intelligence of believers. How dare any man (or woman) challenge the very Word of God? It is absurd! Yet, Bible interpretation has been a common practice throughout church history. What does God’s Word have to say about that?
Jeremiah 8:8-9: “The false pen of the scribe works falsehood.” Because, “They have rejected the Word of the Lord, so what wisdom do they really have?” If such happened back then, it is still happening today. The Bible cure is 2 Timothy 2:15: “Be diligent, in order to present yourself approved to God; a worker who shall not be put to shame, because you rightly divide [communicate] the Word of God.” You have to study!
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books, and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website, you can listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com.)
