The modi operandi of the devil’s attack upon the words of God are clear from the beginning:
1. The first question in the Bible was posed by the serpent and cast doubt on what God said. “Yea, hath God said…?” (Genesis 3).
2. The last warning in the Bible is from God regarding His words:
“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.” (Revelation 22:19-20)
In this last chapter of the Bible, 9 out of the 21 verses refer to the words of God and culminate with these warnings of judgment upon those who “add to” or “take away from the words of the book” Those who wish to limit “this book” to the Book of Revelation alone are hard pressed to prove their argument. First of all, the warnings regarding adding or subtracting from God’s words are found throughout the Bible and there is no reason to suppose some unique restriction on one book alone. Secondly, the repeated references to God’s words in the last chapter of the Bible are significant and with the warnings, very salient. Third, we should expect some conclusion to the Bible and the most important issues raised in its last words of revelation. No other topic is of more importance than that of God’s words. Without His words, we know nothing for certain. Last of all, if the warning of tampering applies to only one book in the Bible, why should one assume that the rest of the Bible books do not carry the same importance?
3. The devil has not ceased in his attempts to deceive men in adding to, taking away, and changing the words of God.
4. Where he can, he uses men with their penknives to cut from the Bible passages he and they do not like. (Jeremiah 36)
5. At certain times throughout history the adversary has burned the Bible and imprisoned, tortured, murdered and burned those who read it and preached it.. (Jeremiah: Daniel: Acts, and during the Reformation, 1300-1600, as well as in some countries today)
6. When the old serpent can not kill or persecute, he debates and quotes a portion (verbatim) of the scriptures to justify his argument but then omits the very verse that destroys his argument. (Matthew 4)
7. Attacks upon the Bible by atheists are not the danger; God does not record any atheistic attack upon the Bible. The opposition to the words of God is always made by those who claim to worship a god! Satan never questions the existence of God, he knows God is and believes enough to tremble at the thought. (James 2:19)
Skirmishes over The Ten Commandments removed from the courthouse and schools is not the real battle; the war rages in pulpits, churches, Christian schools, Bible schools and seminaries where the Ten Commandments, embellished and illumined in Old.English calligraphy, hang on walls in golden frames, The wolf is not huffing and puffing outside the door, he’s in the kitchen preparing “poison in the pot”. The most dangerous enemy is within our church walls.
8. The most destructive force against The Lord Jesus Christ comes from those who profess to be His disciples, Judas was such a “model” disciple that no one suspected him of betrayal. Only The Lord Jesus knew he was a devil; the disciples had no clue, and so it is today. Wolves have come in sheep’s clothing and devour the flock.
Sad to say, the average church has no teaching on Bible inspiration or preservation. Entertainment, “great” music, and “what can you do for my family” are the conditions set by prospective members. Whether or not the word of God is preached is secondary — the important things are: nursery, day-care, youth programs–services that “get the children out of the parents hair.” What happened to the idea that a Christian is to minister or serve? I know of no scripture that says we are saved to be ministered to. The real enemies of the word of God are those who profess to be Christians but have no love or real concern for the words of God.
