BIBLICAL TERMS AND THEIR MEANINGS—PART 1

REVELATION

Suppose you enter a house and see all rooms in the house open except one. That particular room is locked with highly coded and secure lock. Imagine your curiosity to discover and to know what is inside that room for which reason it has been securely locked! 

From the Greek word "apokalupsis", revelation means an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. 

Biblical revelation refers to God's uncovering of himself to man so that man could discover him so as to know him and know his will, relate to him, understand him, and do his will and pleasure. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times (Heb 1:1) to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been committed to writing. The Scriptures are not merely the "record" of revelation; they are the revelation itself in a written form, in order to ensure the accurate preservation and propagation of the truth.

Revelation Vrs Inspiration

Revelation and inspiration differ. Revelation is the supernatural communication of truth to the mind; inspiration secures to the teacher or writer infallibility in communicating that truth to others. It renders its subject the spokesman or prophet of God in such a sense that everything he asserts to be true, whether fact or doctrine or moral principle, is true, infallibly true.

Revelation is like pulling back the covers and helping one to see what would normally be hidden. It is like opening a room under lock so that one can see the room, discover and know what has been hidden inside the room. Revelation is a glimpse into what is happening from a heavenly perspective. 

God has revealed himself in two main ways, namely, General Revelation and Special Revelation. 

General Revelation

Refers to God's revelation of himself, his divine nature and attributes through creation. Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

Just by observing nature, a discerning person can see that someone brought nature into existence, and that person could be God. There is no denying that God exists because just by observing nature you can tell that there must be a creator, and you can even discern the invisible qualities and eternal power of the creator (Romans 1:20). 

Special Revelation

Refers to God's revelation of himself by means of selected individuals as his spokespersons; through angels, dreams, visions, trances, and personal encounters among other means. 

According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the last of God's special revelations. The Son makes the Father fully known, and completes the Father's purposes and plans for the world. The Son is the brightness of God's glory and the express image (icon) of his person. In other words, the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being. The Son, indeed, is Jehovah-God in bodily form. Since Jesus completes God's purposes and plans for the world, after him, preaching and teaching of the gospel become the most credible means of special revelation today.

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