What is Revelation?

The title of this course is "Revelation and Scripture." Obviously the first question in our dialogue is "What is Revelation?"

There are two words used throughout Scripture from which we get the word "revelation."

• Hebrew = gala – to reveal, uncover; 23 times in OT, especially in Daniel
• Greek = apokalupsis – to reveal; 18 times in NT, especially in Revelation; apokalupto 26 times.

If one were to study the context of each of these occurrences, you would find that God is showing Himself or something of His nature to the people involved. He is removing the uncovering what was concealed; He is opening the eyes to what was previously unseen, even mysterious.

Wegner (26) defines revelation as:
"the process by which God makes truth about himself known to man…" [people]

Millard Erickson (153) defines revelation as:
"God’s manifestation of himself to man in such a way that man can know and fellowship with him."

Along with the two words (gala and apokalupsis) noted above, these two definitions point out the key characteristics of "revelation."

• First, "revelation" is from God. "Revelation" is Divine. It is from God. God is the author and initiator of revelation. It is no something that human beings conjure up or derive on their own. The fact that we are able to even see or realize that God has given us His revelation is gift of His grace. First and foremost, revelation is divine in its origin.
• Secondly, "revelation" leads to God. Not all "revelation" is directly about God. But all revelation leads a person to God, or it is not truly divine revelation. Revelation leads us to know about God’s ways, His nature, His character, His will, His creation, and ultimately His salvation.
• Thirdly, revelation is truthful. Revelation can reveal truth about matters of life and death, about the events and history of the world, about social or psychological phenomena, etc. We believe that the Triune God is the Truth. Not surprisingly, since He is Truth, His revelation leads us to truth.
• Finally, revelation culminates in eschatology! As Grenz (513) notes, "The fullness of the divine self-disclosure lies in the future—at the eschaton."

Walvoord (33) describes three phases of revelation that are observed in the Scriptures:

• the Holy Spirit gives revelation in the primary sense of making known the will of God and His wisdom
• the inspiration of the written Word
• illumination of the inspired Word, making it known to man, applying it to specific problems

The next question then is how do we experience God's revelation? God's revelation can take many forms:

• theophanies (see Exodus 3; Isaiah; etc.)
• words on a page (the Bible; special revelation)
• Jesus Christ (Read Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:14)
• General Revelation

Bibliography
Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985.
Stanley J. Grenz. Theology for the Community of God. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.
John F. Walvoord. The Holy Spirit. Findlay, OH: Dunham, 1958.
Paul D. Wegner. The Journey from Texts to Translations. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.

This page was last updated September 8, 2000.
© Copyright 1999-2000 Prairie Bible Institute & Steven C. Ibbotson
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