Bibliology - Week 2 - Revelation / Inspiration

Revelation

Good morning. Welcome to our second class on Bibliology, the study of the Bible. And in case you weren’t here last week, we are going to be talking about the nature of the Bible - how God inspired it, how the individual books were assembled together, how it was transmitted, and how it was translated into different languages. We also will spend some of our last classes talking about how to study the Bible for ourselves.

But even after our first week, I’ve already gone off course from my original schedule. We were supposed to cover the doctrine of ‘Revelation’ last week, but I was being a bit too ambitious. And so that will be our subject for this week.

Let’s pray.

OK. So today we are going to talk about ‘Revelation’. By that, I don’t mean the Book of mean that in a more general sense. So let’s start with a definition (you can fill this in).

Revelation is: any truth which God discloses to humans that could not be known by any other way.

*Revelation deals with the WHAT and not the HOW. In other words, revelation defines what the Bible is. It does not necessarily say how the Bible was revealed to men. We’ll cover that in next week’s topic of inspiration.

But really the point that you should get from today’s lesson is that if God didn’t chose to reveal Himself, we would not know Him. That means that we are dependent on God to reveal Himself. If the Bible had never been written, or if God chose to never speak to men, then we all would have perished with no way to reach God. We only know what God tells us about Himself.

Now we can divide ‘revelation into two categories:

The Two Categories of Revelation

General Revelation - All that God reveals in the world around us. It reaches all people and it is found across every part of the globe.

This kind of revelation is given to all people at all times.

Special Revelation - Truth that God has disclosed only to certain people in specific ways.

Special Revelation - Truth that God has disclosed only to certain people in specific ways.

*The first kind (general revelation) reaches all people, while the second kind (specific revelation) is only revealed to certain individuals. The Bible is of the second type, and all types of revelation will fall into one of these two categories. Let’s explore them…

1. General Revelation. (

General revelation is sufficient to condemn, insufficient to save.

*General revelation alone is limited because it does not directly reveal Christ. However, it is useful because it is evident to all people, and therefore it is a place where you can start if you want to witness someone who does not believe in God.

Three Kinds of Evidence for the Existence of God

Creation () – Because everything we know had to have been caused by something, the whole universe had to have been created by a First Cause (God’s act of creation)

You may remember the law from science: Matter cannot be created or destroyed. So if this is true, an atheist must admit that matter always existed. So both Christians and atheists believe in something eternal. The question is: Which one is it- 1.) matter, or 2.) a God who created the matter?

says this: "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

Conscience () - Because we have a sense of right and wrong, there must be a God who gave us that sense.

"Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

Complexity (, ) – Because everything is so complex, there must have been a skillful Creator who made it all.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard."

"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

So here we have two passages that illustrate this point in two different ways. In , we see that the heavens, the skies, everything, declares the glory of God. That goes back to our first point - you look at everything around you, on ponder the size of the universe, one is forced to ask the question, “Where did this all come from?” The universe is massive - so massive that we can’t even contemplate it. We often see pictures of our own solar system with all of the planets and the sun in one picture. But I guarantee you that every single picture you’ve seen of our solar system is not to scale. If you can see all of the planets and the sun in one picture, I guarantee you that it is wrong. How do I know? Because if we represent the solar system in a to-scale model, and the earth is a marble, the planet of Neptune would be about 4 miles away. If the earth is a marble, that means that Neptune would be a different marble, over at the Lebanon Walmart. And we are just microscopic specs on this marble. Do you see how large the solar system is? And not only that, but then how massive our universe must be? When we look up at the heavens, we are forced to ask, “Where did this all come from?” And so the answer has to be God. God created it all.

But even more than that, not only does the existence of everything around us demonstrate God’s existence, but it also displays his glory. For not only do we see that everything exists where it shouldn’t exist, but we see that what exists is glorious. It is beautiful, it is massive, it is amazing. And if the creation itself is glorious, then the God who made it must be even more glorious.

(pictures of creation)

If

Additionally, if we go back to the verse, “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” that verse speaks to how complex our bodies are. It is truly amazing that something as complex as our bodies exists at all. The complexity demands a Designer. Christians have often used the example of a watch: If you took all of the individual pieces of a watch, threw them up in the air, you wouldn’t expect that by chance, they would fall to the table and assemble as a watch. It is just as unlikely that all of the complex systems in our bodies would have developed together as well. And just like how when we see a watch, we know there is a designer, when we see the complexity of our own bodies, it implies a designer as well.

There is another aspect to this idea of complexity that serves as evidence of a Creator. And that is the idea of ‘irreducable complexity’. What do I mean? Well, there are some systems in living organisms that exist, that are so complex, they couldn’t have evolved one part at a time. Why? Because if you take out any single part of the system, the whole mechanism doesn’t function. An example of this is the bacterial flagellum. (Picture)

Here, you’ll see a close up picture of the tail (flagellum) of an e. coli bacteria. The tail actually is made up of many parts that make a tiny motor. But if you remove any of those parts, the motor doesn’t function. Watch this video:

(Video).

That is irreducable complexity. Why did I get into all of this? It is an example of general revelation - God revealing that he exists through what he has made.

*Of course, you cannot prove the existence of God with these things. Romans says that though men know God, because of his general revelation, they still deny His existence and do not acknowledge Him. But even if a person does see God in these things, that knowledge is not enough to be saved. Another, more specific kind of revelation is needed.

2. Special Revelation. (,; ,)

Unlike general revelation, it is sufficient to save.

So this is the heart of our lesson. Specific Revelation. And this is the category that the Bible falls in. This is important, because even though general revelation can give us a sense that God exists, and even that he must be powerful and glorious, it doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about God.

And in fact, here is the key thing about knowing God. Though we can have a sense that God exists, we cannot truly know God, unless He chooses to make himself known through some form of special and specific revelation. Many people who disagree with the Bible often say, “Well I just don’t think God would do that. I don’t think he would judge people. Or I don’t think God cares about how someone lives.” And to that I always say, “Based on what? You’re doing nothing but guessing. And guessing about God is worthless.” Unless God specifically has told us what he is like, and what he cares about, no one knows. And why should I base my belief in what God is like, based solely on your guesses, which are based on nothing but your own opinions?

No, if God exists, the only way we can say anything definitive about what he is like is if he specifically revealed himself, either by an appearance, or speaking in some way… you get the idea. And it turns out, that in biblical times, God gave specific revelation in a number of different ways.

Types of Special Revelation

Dreams

God used these many times. Sometimes these came to unbelievers, such as Abimelech king of Gerar () or to believers, such as Jacob ().

"From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”"

God spoke to non-believers in dreams, like Pharoah in the time of Joseph, or Abimelech here, or to Pontius Pilate’s wife. God also has spoken to believers as well.

Visions

Visions are similar to dreams, except that man is usually awake and sometimes plays a role in the vision ().

“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah."

This is also true of Ezekiel who saw the creatures and the wheels in a vision (Ezek 1).

The Urim and Thummim

In the breastplate of an Old Testament high priest, there was a beautiful piece of material folded into a pouch. The Urim and Thummim were probably two precious stones that were used to determine God’s will.

"Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped."

Theophanies

This is a physical appearance of God to man. (Ex 33:18-20)

"Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”"

Angels

These brought specific messages to the people from the Lord ()

"There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son."

The Prophets

These individuals spoke as the Holy Spirit carried them to give God’s messages.

Miracles

The deliverance of Israel from Egypt revealed God to be a righteous God ()

Jesus Christ

His words and works revealed the nature, power and glory of God ()

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power."

The Bible

This records all of the other forms of special revelation, but also inspired words from every author. The Bible is “inspired by God” or, literally, “God-breathed” (). Therefore, all of its words are part of God’s revelation.

* The Bible is a summary of all of these things, and it is perfect in everything that it records.

The Main Point: The Bible is our means of receiving God’s special revelation. It is God’s way of speaking to us.

A Defense of the Bible as Revelation

The Bible claims for itself that it is from God (, , )

The Bible contains prophecy that is fulfilled in later Scripture (such as – 400 years later!)

This is only possible if its author is omniscient (knows all things, so that He can predict) and omnipotent (all powerful, so that He can bring about what He predicted). (see /, /, ;).Even though it was written over hundreds of years, and by many authors, the Bible contains one central theme and one way of salvation.The Bible is inerrant.The Bible portrays characters as sinful. If these were only stories, than the human authors would have idealized the great leaders, and made them appear great.Archeology and history has proven over and over that the Bible is historically accurate.The Bible is indestructible- over 2000 years (even in times of persecution), the Bible never was lost or completely destroyed.The Bible is the most widely distributed and most frequently read book of all time.It has impacted our society more than any other book (art, music, etc.)It has caused men and women to completely turn their life around (, examples of conversions, martyrs, etc.)*Always remember that none of these can PROVE that the Bible is revelation. We can never prove that. But this IS strong evidence to show that what we believe isn’t just founded on blind faith. We have reasons as to why we believe the Bible to be true, and you can share these reasons with the next person who challenges your faith. But remember, you hold the Living Word in your hands every time you read the Bible. If it is truly God’s only specific revelation to this world, then ask yourself, “Am I acknowledging that in the way I read my Bible?”

This is only possible if its author is omniscient (knows all things, so that He can predict) and omnipotent (all powerful, so that He can bring about what He predicted). (see /, /, ;).

Even though it was written over hundreds of years, and by many authors, the Bible contains one central theme and one way of salvation.

The Bible is inerrant.

The Bible portrays characters as sinful. If these were only stories, than the human authors would have idealized the great leaders, and made them appear great.

Archeology and history has proven over and over that the Bible is historically accurate.

The Bible is indestructible- over 2000 years (even in times of persecution), the Bible never was lost or completely destroyed.

The Bible is the most widely distributed and most frequently read book of all time.

It has impacted our society more than any other book (art, music, etc.)

It has changed the lives of countless men and women throughout history .(, examples of conversions, martyrs, etc.)

*Always remember that none of these can *prove* that the Bible is revelation. But this IS strong evidence to show that what we believe isn’t just founded on blind faith. We have reasons as to why we believe the Bible to be true, and you can share these reasons with the next person who challenges your faith. But remember, you hold the Living Word in your hands every time you read the Bible. Let us treasure it as God’s revealed Word to us.