Laughing at the Devil. Adding to or Subtracting from "the Book."
by the Rev. Walter Snyder

Q: Are comical references to Satan acceptable?

A: To give a short answer, I'd say that too much comedy that downplays his true nature and
power isn't helpful. Satan likes it when he is considered a myth or (im)pious fable: This makes it
easier to lead people to consider God in the same light. At the same time, humor directed against
him is, at times, a valuable weapon against temptation. Luther considered laughing at the devil a
part of his arsenal against the Evil One. As he put it, "The devil is proud, and cannot bear to be
mocked." Yet this mockery mustn't be an individual challenge against one who is much stronger.
Instead, it should flow from faith in Christ, where one truly knows that Christ has defeated the
devil, and that the power to resist comes from without (God) and not from within (self).

Q: Revelation says that nothing should be added and nothing taken away from "this
book." Does this mean the Bible or just the book of Revelation? I'm Christian and thought
it meant the whole Bible, but a Mormon elder claims it is just that book. I think he just
said that so he could use it to make his point, because we were having a long discussion
about the differences between Mormonism and Christianity. He said that theologians know
it just refers to Revelation; that is why the Mormons can add the Book of Mormon to their
"holy books."

A: Revelation is, in part, a commentary on all of history from a divine perspective. Thus, even if
the warning against adding to or subtracting from "the book" only means Revelation, it still
doesn't give the Mormons or anyone else a green light to start adding to the Scriptures.

This being said, I must say that while I disagree with their intent, I do agree with the elder: The
primary thrust of the comments appears to concern only the Revelation. This is more apparent
when you read all of Chapter 22, where most translations use "this book" either six or seven
times, depending upon their rendering of verse 19. The continuing emphasis on the "words of the
prophecy" strongly indicates that the referenced "book" is the one John is commanded to write.

This is even more certain when you realize that the Bible had not reached its final form at the time
that the Apocalypse was recorded. The one book we call the Bible was still many books that
Christians would wrestle over, debating whether or not they should be included. The position of
Revelation at the end of the New Testament is not only testimony to its lateness of writing, but
also because of arguments over its inclusion. Most of the ending books of the New Testament had
a number of critics among those who struggled to compare various writings and determine which
had apostolic authorship or agreed with other Scriptures (including the Old Testament and the
more accepted post-Jesus books, such as most of the Pauline Epistles and the Gospels). From
these efforts, the Bible we know was finally gathered, as the Church became convinced that
certain books were truly inspired by God.

Yet even if the prohibition is only for Revelation, that means that not only the literal words are
"sacred," but also their full intent. Thus, if the Christ of the Apocalypse (who is also the Christ of
the Gospels and the Epistles and the Messiah of the Old Testament) is portrayed differently from
how He is revealed, then those who do so fall under the curses. Jesus had already said of the Old
Testament Scriptures that they testified of Him. And if any writings contradict the Bible, then the
spirit of the prophecy of "the book" is violated.

Besides this, the Bible truly is God's Word and any other "scriptures" must agree with it in
doctrinal content and historical accuracy. To validate the "truth" of their scriptures, the Mormons
must prove that their books are in harmony with all of the Bible. Yet Mormon writings contradict
some or all of the truth of many of the books of the Bible. While Mormons and Christians might
agree on much of the practical writing and both may accept the history at face value, much of the
rest of the Bible is understood vastly differently. Since the warnings in Revelation are no more
severe than the warnings against unbelief or false prophets in earlier books of the Bible, attention
should be paid to agreement in every detail of doctrine.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor, © 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
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