Where Is the Evidence?
Driscoll argues that Latter-day Saints are not Christian because we believe in continuing revelation and an open canon. He claims the Bible is complete and closed.
But let’s replace the burden of proof:
- Where does the Bible itself ever declare that God’s word is finished?
- Where does scripture say there will be no more prophets?
- If the Bible is closed, why does it predict future revelation and future prophets?
What Revelation 22 Really Means
Driscoll will likely point to Revelation 22:18-19, where John warns against adding to or taking away from “the words of this prophecy.”
But let’s be clear: when John wrote those words, the Bible did not exist, and would not exist for hundreds of years, and would not be compiled, edited, or copied by those with apostolic or prophetic authority. There was no bound “Old and New Testament,” at this time. The only “this prophecy” John could be referring to is John’s scroll of Revelation. His warning applies to that book, not to every other book God might yet reveal.
Ironically, the very councils that compiled the Bible centuries later treated John’s line as a convenient ‘bookend’ to close their collection. Yet Revelation was not the last inspired text written. The Gospel of John and the Johannine epistles, and perhaps even the Pastoral Epistles, were likely composed later. The canon was not fixed until long after the apostles were gone.
So the “closed canon” claim rests not on the Bible itself, but on post-apostolic committees deciding which books the rest of us plebeians would be allowed to keep.
What the Bible Actually Says
Far from closing the door, the Bible itself anticipates more revelation. If prophecy and revelation were meant to end, why does scripture repeatedly say otherwise?
Joel 2:28–29: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” The phrase “afterward” (אַחֲרֵי־כֵן, acharei-ken) is often translated in Jewish and Christian tradition as “in the last days.” The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) renders it as “in the last days” (ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις), the same phrase the New Testament uses.
Ephesians 4:11–13: Paul says the Church will have “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers… until we all come in the unity of the faith.” That unity has clearly not yet been reached. The warning, “that we henceforth be no more tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and sleight of man, whereby they lie in wait to deceive,” is seen clearly with the divisive debates between Christian sects. Where does scripture say these offices were temporary if we so clearly need them right now to find unity and sound doctrine?
Revelation 11:3, 10: John foretells that in the last days, God will “give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” When they are killed, the wicked rejoice “because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” Even the Book of Revelation itself predicts future prophets.
Hidden Books and Modern Discoveries
If the Bible were the final and only word of God, then discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library should never have existed. Yet God preserved these records for centuries, waiting for the right time to reveal them again.
Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered 1947–1956): Hidden in caves near Qumran for nearly 2,000 years, they contained multiple copies of biblical books (Isaiah, Psalms, Deuteronomy) along with dozens of other sacred texts such as The Book of Jubilees, The Book of Enoch, The Community Rule, and The War Scroll. These reveal that ancient Israel’s scripture collection was broader than today’s Protestant Bible. Some scrolls even predict a coming Messiah and an “end-time prophet.”
Nag Hammadi Library (discovered 1945 in Egypt): Early Christian writings buried in jars for 1,600 years. These include gospels, apocalypses, and teachings that show Christians treasured many inspired texts beyond the 27 books later canonized.
Other Apocrypha: Books like 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the Shepherd of Hermas were widely read and sometimes even treated as scripture in the early church. Some are even quoted in the Bible itself (for example, Jude 1:14 quotes directly from 1 Enoch).
Different branches of Christianity still use different canons (Ethiopian, Catholic, Protestant). The doctrine of a “closed canon” is itself post-biblical, a human tradition, not a biblical teaching.
These finds prove that “the Bible” was never the totality of God’s word. Post-apostolic councils narrowed the canon, but God never stopped revealing His word or preserving it for future generations.
The Restoration fulfills this pattern: God brings forth hidden books in the latter days, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, just as He always has.
The Restoration’s Witness
The Book of Mormon speaks directly to this debate. In 2 Nephi 29, the Lord anticipates those who will reject further revelation, crying: “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.”
The Lord’s reply is blunt: “Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God…? Because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another… Ye fools, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible.”
God calls those who reject further revelation fools, and warns that if we reject His gifts, we will have what we had taken away from us. Why? Because to deny that He can speak more is to deny that He is God. A God who spoke yesterday but cannot speak today is no God at all.
Replacing the Burden of Proof
Questions for Mr. Driscoll:
Why should John’s warning in Revelation 22, written before the Bible existed, be applied to books that were compiled centuries later?
Where does the Bible say there will be no more prophets?
How do you reconcile Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4 that apostles and prophets would remain “until we all come in the unity of the faith”?
Why does Revelation itself prophesy of future prophets if prophecy had ended?
Why should post-apostolic councils, rather than the Bible itself, determine the boundaries of revelation?
Until those questions are answered, the charge that open canon is a problem for Christianity fails. The Bible itself points forward, not backward, to a God who still speaks, to prophets yet to come, and to scripture not yet written. The Restoration is not a supplanting of the Bible, but the fulfillment of its promises.