canon, so there was a parallel silence after John delivered Revelation. This leads
of the book of this prophecy, God will take away
his share in the tree of life and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18–19
Several significant observations, when taken together, have convinced the church over the centuries that the canon of Scripture is actually closed, never to be reopened.
1. The book of Revelation is unique to the Scripture in that it describes with unparalleled detail the end-time events which precede eternity future. As Genesis began Scripture by bridging the gap from eternity past into our time/space existence with the only detailed creation account (Gen. 1–2), so Revelation transitions out of time/space back into eternity future (Rev. 20–22). Genesis and Revelation, by their contents, are the perfectly matched bookends of Scripture.
2. Just as there was prophetic silence after Malachi completed the Old Testament canon, so there was a parallel silence after John delivered Revelation. This leads to the conclusion that the New Testament canon was then closed also.
3. Since there have not been, nor now are, any authorized prophets or apostles in either the Old Testament or New Testament sense, there are not any potential authors of future inspired, canonical writings. God's word, "once for all delivered to the saints," is never to be added to, but to be earnestly contended for (Jude 3).
4. Of the four exhortations not to tamper with Scripture, only the one in Rev. 22:18–19 contains warnings of severe Divine judgment for disobedience. Further, Revelation is the only book of the New Testament to end with this kind of admonition and was the last New Testament book to be written. Therefore, these facts strongly suggest that Revelation was the last book of the canon and that the Bible is complete; to either add or delete would bring God's severe displeasure.
5. Finally, the early church, those closest in time to the apostles, believed that Revelation concluded God's inspired writings, the Scriptures.