Von Christian
In part 2 of the video series on the canon of the New Testament (video The Canon – Part 2: What does ‘the Bible’ say about itself?, article The Canon – Part 2: What does ‘the Bible’ say about itself?) I had said at the end:
Did you read anywhere in the Gospels that Jesus instructed his disciples to write down his words? I haven’t found one in the New Testament. But maybe someone can point me to it in a comment.
(Video Der Kanon – Teil 2: Was sagt ‚die Bibel‘ über sich selbst?, The Canon – Part 2: What does ‚the Bible‘ say about itself?st?)
In fact, I was pointed to a text in a comment. Many thanks again for that! It is Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5 NIV
My question was also not meant rhetorically, because I somehow had the feeling that there had been something, but did not come up with what it is. I think, I did not come on it, because I had a situation in the head, in which God directly – thus not in a vision – gave a man an order. Like here:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
Exodus 34:27 NIV
“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD… Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness.
Isaiah 30:1,8 NIV
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.
Jeremiah 30:2 ESV
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeansb by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
Hesekiel 1:1-3 BSB
But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase
Daniel 12:4 NASB
So let us turn to Revelation. There we find the thought even several times:
On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: …
To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: …
To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: …
To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: …
To the angel of the church in Sardis write: …
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: …
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: …
hen I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 1:10,11,19;2:1;2:8,12,18;3:1,7,14;14:13;19:9;21:5 NIV
But also the opposite:
And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
Revelation 10:4 NIV
In conclusion, Revelation goes on to say:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Revelation 22:18, 19 NIV
So we have what appears to be a somewhat surprising set of facts:
- In the first 26 books of the New Testament canon, there are 0 times when we are asked to write something down.
- In the last book of the New Testament canon, there are 12 times to write down and 1 time not to.
However, this difference is actually quite natural.
The first 4 books of the New Testament are the Gospels. These do not speak of Jesus being commissioned to write them down. In Luke we find in the introduction the reason that this gospel was written:
Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught..
Luke 1:1-4 BSB
The decision came here therefore according to own statement not from God, but from the writer himself.
After that comes the book of Acts:
In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach, …
Acts 1:1 BSB
So the same is true for the Acts of the Apostles. Then come 21 letters – those to specific assemblies and general letters. It is in the nature of a letter that it is a written document. Voice mail did not exist at that time. However, none of the letters say that God commissioned it.
Finally comes the Apocalypse of John. The Greek word from which Apocalypse – and also Revelation – comes, literally means “to reveal, to uncover”. Here the writer emphasizes from the first verse that the content is not his:
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:1,2 NIV
In fact, there are no direct quotations from the Old Testament in John’s Apocalypse. But it is extensively referred to, linguistically as well as in content. And not too scarce, as one can read in Michael S. Heiser’s 300 pages (John’s Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation):
Revelation is thus the only part of the New Testament in which the commission was given to write down the text or vision and thus communicate it to others. This is completely in the tradition of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and typical for the apocalyptic text type, which is already found in Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel. Already the introduction of the revelation with its time indication resembles passages in Ezekiel or Daniel.
In Revelation 1:11, John is even directly instructed to write down what he saw in a book and send it to the 7 churches. Did this mean the literal churches? The 7-fold request to write to the angel in … is odd there. How do you write a book to an angel? Or is it meant symbolically? We are already in the middle of the difficult exegesis of Revelation.
The real question in part 2 of this series on the canon of the New Testament was, however, whether it contains a statement that the New Testament would be transmitted safely and unaltered.
This is already refuted by Revelation 22:18, 19 itself:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Revelation 22:18, 19 NIV
Why else would anyone have to be threatened with punishment who would leave out or add something? If an unadulterated tradition of God and Jesus had been guaranteed, this could not have happened at all! But since it could happen, then we should check whether it has happened. And if so, to what extent.
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