Touch Not the Scroll That Gloweth: On the Spiritual Dangers of Electronic Bibles

Touch Not the Scroll That Gloweth: On the Spiritual Dangers of Electronic Bibles

By Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone

Beloved Saints and Those Yet Unplugged,

I have read with a mixture of gratitude and grave concern the recent ministerial report from Charlotte, in which Presiding Evangelist Gerald E. Weston raises a cautious hand regarding the use of electronic Bibles from the pulpit. While I commend Brother Weston—long respected for his efforts to preserve what remains of order in the Church—for identifying a potential spiritual compromise, I must note that his language bears the soft edges of a newer dialect, one more common among the cautious pragmatists than the prophetic remnant.

He speaks of “rare and legitimate exceptions.” He acknowledges the usefulness of digital tools. And thus begins the descent.

It saddens me, truly, to see even formerly unmoving pillars begin to lean—ever so slightly—toward the flickering glow of cultural accommodation. What begins as allowance soon becomes adoption; what is tolerated from the pulpit today is translated into doctrine tomorrow. Brother Weston speaks of “unintended consequences.” I speak of incipient digital abomination.

Let us be clear: this is not a matter of screen vs. page. This is a matter of scroll vs. sorcery.

Of Tablets and Temptations

It was upon stone tablets that the original Commandments were delivered. Stone, beloved. Not plastic. Not lithium. And certainly not something requiring a USB-C to receive divine power. To hold a glowing rectangle aloft in the pulpit is not merely poor optics—it is optical delusion. The flickering glow of an e-reader is no match for the weight of vellum and ink. A Bible app may contain the words of Scripture, but it is not the Word. It is a replica of righteousness, a simulacrum of sanctity, a backlit blasphemy.

Does the serpent not also illuminate? “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). And yet we bring forth light from our laps and call it holy?

Swiping Away the Sword

In the glory days, a man knew his Bible. He turned its pages, and the rustling of onion-skin parchment was as the sound of the Spirit moving over the face of the waters. Today, the page is replaced by the swipe—an action nowhere endorsed by apostolic hand. With each swipe, we lose our grip. The sword of the Spirit becomes not a double-edged blade, but a blinking cursor.

Shall we not consider how swiftly heresy spreads when transmission requires no ink? When a false gospel may be downloaded in milliseconds? When the red-letter words of Christ are displayed in Comic Sans, beneath a notification from TikTok?

Indeed, I recently witnessed a young minister attempt to quote Habakkuk, only to be interrupted by a push alert from something called “Fantasy Football.” I ask you: what is fantasy, if not doctrine divorced from discernment?

The Scroll as Covenant

Brethren, the book—the physical, printed book—is not a convenience. It is a covenantal object. When a man opens the leather-bound Word, he is not merely reading; he is entering into a tactile pact. He feels the covenant. The crackling of the spine, the marginalia of his forebears, the faint scent of mildew and sanctification—all these things testify that the Word of God is not a thing to be streamed.

No revival has ever broken out over a Kindle.

The Rise of the Digital Beast

Let us now speak plainly: this is not just a technological transition. It is the soft preamble to the Beast System. When the Man of Sin arrives, he shall not wield a scroll. He shall brandish a device. And many shall say unto him, “Siri, open to Matthew chapter 24,” and it shall be opened—but it shall not be understood.

Revelation warns of a mark without which no man can buy or sell. Might we also imagine a future in which no man can preach or teach without first logging in?

Already I have heard whispers of algorithmic translations—Scripture adjusted in real time to suit the emotional needs of the reader. This is not exegesis. This is exe-gnosis—the hidden, digital heresy of those who seek to code the cross.

Prescriptions for the Elect

To those who are tempted by the convenience of glowing Bibles, I offer these apostolic remedies:

• Preach only from a hard copy, preferably one bound in animal hide, not neoprene.
• Never trust a verse that comes with a hyperlink.
• Refrain from charging your Bible. The Word of God requires no adapter.
• If your Bible requires a software update, throw it into the sea (Revelation 18:21).

If you must use an electronic Bible due to failing eyesight or weak lighting, cover the device with organic sackcloth when not in use, and make daily intercession for discernment lest you be led astray by the “scrolls of silicon.”

Final Exhortation

Brother Weston’s concern is not misplaced, only mismeasured. We cannot afford to manage this issue with administrative restraint when apostolic urgency is required. We must not settle for policies when the times demand prophecy.

Let the remnant remain watchful. Let us not trade ink for interface. Let us not exchange the scroll for the screen. For the Word was made flesh—not firmware.

Stand firm. Turn pages. Resist the swipe. And remember, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”—not a blue light unto my face.

Steadfast in print,

Percival Thaddeus Grone

Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone

Senior Lecturer in Scrollology and Prophetic Interface Studies.
Dean Emeritus of the Portable Tabernacle Technology Advisory Board
Still Watching Since 1844

When the WCDebris Tells You One Thing and Your Stomach Tells You Something Else, The WCDebris is Lying to You

The Old and New Testament is filled with men who are sure that "the Lord spake unto me thus..." Evidently, they kinda take it for granted they deserve to be believed or that for sure it was really God speaking to them and not their disordered personality quirks. 

If, in the NT, the Apostle Paul says he went to the 3rd Heaven and saw things he can't or is not permitted to reveal, then it must be true, right? 

If he says " I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ," it must be true, right? 

So it was and yet is still with the stars of the WCDebris to this day. 

Here's a good modern example of perceiving the "cannot be argued" improbable and when politics and delusional religious beliefs mix.

Speaker of the Houe, Mike Johnson, Claims That God Prepared Him to Be a “New Moses”

"The Lord impressed upon my heart a few weeks before this happened that something was going to occur. And the Lord very specifically told me in my prayers to prepare but to wait. I had this sense that we were going to come to a Red Sea moment in our Republican conference and the country at large.

Look, I’m a Southern Baptist. I don’t want to get too spooky on you, OK? But the Lord speaks to your heart. And he had been speaking to me about this.

And the Lord told me very clearly to prepare. OK, prepare for what? I don’t know. “We’re coming to a Red Sea moment.” “What does that mean, Lord?”

I started praying more about that. And the Lord began to wake me up through this three-week process we were in, in the middle of the night, and to speak to me. And [I began] to write things down, plans and procedures and ideas on how we could pull the conference together. I assumed the Lord was going to choose a new Moses. And “Oh, thank you, Lord: You’re going to allow me to be Aaron to Moses.” [In the Hebrew Bible, Aaron is Moses’ brother and a priest who aids him.]

I worked to get Steve Scalise elected. And then Jim Jordan. And Tom Emmer. Thirteen people ran for the post. The Lord kept telling me to wait. And I waited and waited. And it came to the end, and the Lord said, “Now, step forward.” “Me? I’m supposed to be Aaron.”

 “Only God saw the path through the roiling sea,” he concluded.

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I have no doubt Mike Johnson is sincere. Or at least I hope so. 

It has to be some kind of high to imagine the gods or THE GOD has noticed your potential to fulfill His and end time needs. Dave Pack has latched on to the fact that God even named him "David Passover" and that he sees himself in just about every important Biblical character predicted in the scriptures.  Why he is even amazed in his name being "David" like Bible David and now, whenever he reads "David" in the scriptures, it's really him! It can't be just a coincidence. It's impossible and, frankly, cannot be argued with. It is inarguable. 

But yet it is delusional theology and belief. 

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What Critics Are Saying

Johnson's speech drew criticism online from figures like Mary Trump, the estranged niece of former President Donald Trump who is a frequent critic of conservative politicians.

"If Mike Johnson doesn't believe this, he's a manipulative cynic," Mary Trump wrote on X. "If he does, he's psychotic. Either way, he's a massive megalomaniac. If he wants to pretend he's Moses, he can start by removing himself to the desert for 40 years."

David Cay Johnston, an investigative journalist and author of the book, The Making of Donald Trump, also called Johnson's speech "deeply disturbing".

Same comments for the WCDebris , Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, Bob Thiel and all the assorted Prophets, Priests, Elijahs to Come, Messengers of Covenants, That Prophets and multiple copies of the Two Witnesses yet to be revealed. 

Of course, no God spoke to anyone, but it plays well to some. Not to many actually for it smacks of self-serving mental health issues which seem to show up more readily in those seeking power, money and authority over others.  

I have noted over the years that it is much easier for a man with mental health issues and possible personality disorders to hide in a church than to hide in a secular workplace. The quirkiness and even authoritarian tendencies seem like some kind of deeply spiritual superiority and conversion others just can't attain to. It is not. It is a man hiding in a church with mental health issues and probable personality disorders undiagnosed saying and doing ridiculous things. 

When they do it often enough, you kinda get used to it and forget it's nonsense. 

It seems politicians and preachers are particularly prone to this problem. It plays well to the less than critically thinking. 

Jeremiah, for all his depressive perspectives seems to at least understand the truth of his own times.

Jeremiah 23:21

“I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying.

May I suggest Dave Pack, Ron Weinland, Gerald Flurry and Bob Thiel, join On and On Anonymous and talk it out with other like-minded delusional religious addicts?

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Gerald Weston on the "unintended consequences of using electronic Bibles to preach from"

It's another bright day in California, and Armstrongism's fervor persists unabated, with the Living Church of God delivering as expected! Gerald Weston posted a piece questioning whether ministers should use an iPad or similar device as their Bible source during sermons. True ministers, it seems, stick to a physical Bible, color-coded and worn from years of use. Flipping through delicate onion-skin pages trumps typing in a verse or book. Plus, fumbling through the Bible can eat up at least 20 minutes of a sermon—especially for preachers who insist on citing 500 verses, perhaps to wow the congregation sitting on those chilly metal chairs.

Weston goes on to declare below that there may be "...potential unintended consequences before it is too late to “get the cows back in the barn."

Greetings from Charlotte, 

 

We held an hour-and-a-half online meeting for ministers worldwide on Wednesday. Mr. Rod McNair addressed several procedural subjects for our ministry. Dr. Douglas Winnail addressed what it means to be a “Pastor Emeritus,” whether or not we can use gluten-free bread for Passover, and circumcision. I spoke about how to deal with remote GOTOs and the use of electronic Bibles in preaching. 

 

On that subject, I acknowledged that electronic Bibles are powerful tools we can use in studying the Bible, and there are situations where it may be necessary to use them from the pulpit, such as when one has bad eyesight or is preaching in a congregation with poor lighting. But there are likely to be unintended consequences. Those of us who have studied the Bible for decades have a foundation that we may not fully appreciate when it comes to how the Bible is laid out and fits together. Those cutting their teeth on electronic Bibles most likely do not have the same overview. They may be able to jump back and forth from one translation to another—and this can be a wonderful study tool—but are they building a firm foundation on a recommended translation? Only now, after “the cows are out of the barn,” have we learned the dangers of social media—even from some of the executives behind it. We need to consider potential unintended consequences before it is too late to “get the cows back in the barn.” That is why I have asked our ministry to use a hard-copy Bible from the pulpit except in those cases that present rare and legitimate exceptions. 

 

—Gerald E. Weston