Revelation

The Lord reveals Himself to us in different ways. We all know that the Bible is a revelation of God through the writers but just as valid is a word from the Lord given to us personally. Although we cannot elevate our own special words from the Lord as scripture, they can be just as true for us as any word from the Lord from any source. We must be careful here however because whenever God speaks to us, we have an adversary who would imitate God and attempt to muddle our thinking and falsify the witness of revelation. Personal revelation is surrounded with the prophetic gift and we must bear witness with others with the same gift to know if what we hear is truly from the Lord.

Locke declared that "revelation which accorded with reason must be accepted, however revelation which clashed with the clear evidence of reason was to be rejected. Whatever God has revealed to us is certainly true; no doubt can be made of it. This is the proper object of faith: but whether each instance is a divine revelation or not, reason must judge."

Revelation is often communicated through the gift that we call the word of knowledge. This is the communication of knowledge through rhema, or the spiritual word. It is information through which we become acquainted with something that we were previously unacquainted with so that henceforth it is known. Hume is quoted as saying that "nothing could set in a fuller light the infinite obligations which mankind have to Divine revelation, since we find that no other medium could ascertain this great and important truth."

The Lord can reveal Himself to us through nature and His created works. The scientist cannot explain how the world began and without the revelation of God, they must continuously search for answers. David tells us in Psalms 19:1 that "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork." In fact if we had no revelation of God through His word or from personal revelation, God's handiwork in nature would be sufficient to prove the existence of God. Nature cannot save us however, only God can. That precludes nature as an object of worship like many heathen cultures have done. God is not nature and nature is not God, we must make a careful distinction between the creation and the Creator. Nature has been obscured through the fall and must be seen in the light of a world containing evil.

Nietzsche wrote: One can hardly reject completely the idea that one is the mere incarnation or mouthpiece or medium of some almighty power. The notion of revelation describes the condition quite simply: by which I mean that something profoundly convulsive and disturbing suddenly becomes visible and audible with indescribable definiteness and exactness.. A thought flashes out like lightning, inevitably without hesitation - I never have any choice about it.

God has also revealed Himself through history, especially through God's dealings with Israel and the nations surrounding them. What other nation has been such an example to the whole world of God's plan? What happened to Egypt in the time of Moses, the Assyrians, Babylon in Daniel's time and the rise of Alexander were all examples of God dealing with these nations in history. David writes of nations being put down by God and exalting the righteous, that was surely true of Israel when they sinned. Paul tells us in Romans that the higher powers are ordained of God, we could point to many examples in history attesting to this. History is ongoing and this kind of revelation continues to this day, God reveals Himself throughout these experiences if we are only able to approach history in faith.

Throughout history, miracles are often given as 'signs' attesting the authority of a divine messenger, these are special revelation of God given at special times to special people. The life of Jesus is especially miraculous, everything about Him was super human, His virgin birth, healings, rising from the dead, all are special revelations from God to man. We believe that miracles still happen, we have to or we would not pray for them. Answers to prayer are a constant revelation from God. Every time a person is saved, it is a revelation from God, obviously to the persons saved but often times than not, to the people around them.

Revelation is often self-evidencing through our own experience. People throughout history have born witness to the fact that God has revealed Himself to them. It is a transforming power that lifted the veil previously blinding us so that we see truth with our own eyes. A discovery which we could never have reached by ourselves is brought to us, but after it is thus once made known we can now recognize its truth. When I receive a profound revelation and bear witness to the truth of it, God confirms it by a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost.
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