“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:
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.” (Revelation 22:18-19 KJV)
So, why can’t you add to or take away?
For the person founded in God’s Grace, it sounds like a spiritual booby trap, a final commandment to police the pages of scripture. But the Holy Spirit daily reminds us of the goodness, love, and truth of Christ. So, let's step into the freedom of Yah'shua’s fully accomplished work and discover the true, breathtaking meaning of this passage.
The Word Is a Person, Not a Book
There is a fundamental error in the popular view of mistaking the "words of the prophecy of this book" for the physical 66-book compilation we call the Bible. The truth is, all of the Bible is about Yah'shua and all of Yah'shua is about His beloved.
The spirit of prophecy, the core message that gives meaning and life to all scripture, is Jesus, confirmed by the book of As Revelation:
“...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10 KJV)
The focus of this final warning is not an injunction on librarians or theologians; it is a declaration about the completeness and finality of the Living Word, Yah’shua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ).
The Greek word has much more focus
John begins his Gospel with the powerful declaration: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 KJV). The Greek word used here for "Word" is Logos. This word means far more than a collection of letters. It has expressive meaning:
Logos is Divine Expression: The logic of God, the thought, reason, or message of God.
Logos is the Unifying Principle: The divine blueprint that holds everything together.
When Revelation warns about adding to or taking away from "the words of the prophecy," it is warning against tampering with the Person of the Logos—Yah'shua and His fully accomplished work, God’s Logic.
The Ancient Warning is Fulfilled
The prohibition not to tamper with scripture (the written, prophesied Logic) is not new. It is a recurring theme from the Old Covenant, which always pointed to the perfection of Christ.
The Law warned Israel about tampering with God’s commands:
“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.” (Deuteronomy 4:2 KJV)
And wisdom literature reinforced this truth:
“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6 KJV)
If tampering with the shadow (the Law) brought a curse, how much greater the consequence for tampering with the fully accomplished Substance—Yah'shua, the Living Word!
The Impossibility of Addition
Firstly, you Can't Add to the Perfect Sacrifice.
The warning, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues,” is a stark statement about the utter perfection of Yah'shua’s sacrifice.
To "add" to the Word is to suggest that the work of Christ on the cross was somehow insufficient. It is to believe that something more is required for your salvation, justification, or righteousness. This is the very essence of living under the Old Covenant law.
The Apostle Paul warned the Galatians against the very same error: adding works of the Law to the grace of the Gospel. He declared that anyone who preaches a mixture of grace plus works is preaching "another gospel", and he placed a curse on them:
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9 KJV)
The Old Covenant Law: Was a "schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24 KJV). It was a burdensome series of rituals, sacrifices, and cleansings.
The Finished Work: Yah'shua, our perfect High Priest, offered Himself without spot to God and obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11-14 KJV).
To say that you must add works, rituals (like observing feasts or days, which are mere shadows), or self-effort is to deny the core truth of the New Testament. You are essentially declaring that the blood of Christ needs your sweat to be effective. This would be the ultimate rejection of grace!.
The plague mentioned is the consequence of this rejection—it is to be cast back under the curse of the law, striving in your own efforts to achieve a salvation that has already been fully accomplished and freely given.
Secondly, no one can subtract from what has been fully accomplished.
You Can't Take Away From the Complete Redemption. The second warning is equally profound: “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…”
To "take away" from the Word is to diminish the magnitude of Yah'shua’s work. It is to believe that He only partially saved you, that He only partially forgave you, or that He somehow failed to cover all of your sin.
This interpretation is often seen in a faith that says: "Yes, I'm saved, but I must still pay for the sins I commit after salvation," or "My forgiveness is temporary and could be revoked."
This idea ignores the glorious truth of our identity in Christ:
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2:10 KJV)
The Greek word for "complete" here is plēroō, meaning "to make full, to complete, to furnish perfectly." You are not working toward completion; you are complete in the one who is the full expression of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9 KJV). See this post.
If you attempt to "take away" from the Word, you attempt to take away from the Logos, and therefore deny the plēroō—the complete perfection—that you possess in Him. You are diminishing the perfect forgiveness He has already secured:
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” (Colossians 2:13-14 KJV)
To "take away" from this message of complete redemption is to make the work of Christ ineffective in your life, leading to the consequence of being removed from the book of life—not because God is spiteful, but because you have willingly stepped out of the reality of His life (Yah'shua).
Celebration, not obligation
The final word of Revelation is not a threat against mistyping a verse; it is the ultimate affirmation that Yah'shua is everything.
He is the perfect High Priest who was without sin (Hebrews 4:15 KJV). He entered the heavenly Holy of Holies by His own blood to obtain eternal redemption. He is our very mercy seat (Romans 3:25 KJV).
The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom at His death (Matthew 27:51 KJV), signifying that the way to God's presence is now open to everyone.
What remains for a follower of Yah'shua is merely to enter in, not to do, but to receive and to celebrate. We are already right with God, having been perfected forever by this one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14 KJV).
The Word is a Person, and that Person has finished any and all religious obligations that existed or that we may ever come up with.
Don’t Add—Don't add your works to His perfect work (Galatians 1:8-9 KJV).
Don’t Take Away—Don't take away from the completeness of His forgiveness (Colossians 2:10 KJV).
Simply rest in the glorious, final, and full accomplishment of Yah’shua HaMashiach.
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