In this teaching, James Jacob Prasch argues that the church first went wrong by exceeding what is written in Scripture and replacing apostolic authority with tradition, a pattern he traces to early post-apostolic developments and later institutional Christianity. Using passages such as 1 Corinthians 4:6, Isaiah 29, Mark 7, Matthew 15, Deuteronomy 4, Proverbs 30, and Revelation 22, he contends that adding to or subtracting from God’s Word inevitably nullifies biblical truth and produces doctrinal error and moral corruption. He applies this framework to Roman Catholic theology and practice, criticizing sacramentalism, Marian doctrines, papal authority, and tradition-based teaching as examples of doctrines that require exceeding Scripture to exist. Jacob then identifies Ignatius of Antioch as a pivotal early figure who helped redirect the church away from the apostolic model by promoting the pursuit of martyrdom and the concept of mono-episcopacy (single-bishop rule), which he sees as the seedbed for later hierarchical and papal systems. The message concludes that patristic authority must never supersede Scripture, warning that whenever tradition usurps apostolic teaching, deception, division, and spiritual decline inevitably follow. 

This teaching was originally taught on RTN TV's "Word for the Weekend" on June 28, 2025 and can be found on RTN and Moriel's YouTube and ministry channels. Word for the Weekend streams live every Saturday. See RTNTV.org for more information