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Understanding Revelation and Inspiration

The document discusses the concepts of Revelation and Inspiration in a theological context, defining Revelation as God's act of making Himself known to humanity and Inspiration as the divine influence on biblical writers. It outlines various types of revelation, including Original, Verbal, Redemptive, and Biblical Revelation, as well as the differences between general and specific revelation. Additionally, it critiques several false theories of biblical inspiration and emphasizes the correct understanding of plenary or verbal inspiration, asserting that all parts of the Bible are divinely inspired.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
8 views5 pages

Understanding Revelation and Inspiration

The document discusses the concepts of Revelation and Inspiration in a theological context, defining Revelation as God's act of making Himself known to humanity and Inspiration as the divine influence on biblical writers. It outlines various types of revelation, including Original, Verbal, Redemptive, and Biblical Revelation, as well as the differences between general and specific revelation. Additionally, it critiques several false theories of biblical inspiration and emphasizes the correct understanding of plenary or verbal inspiration, asserting that all parts of the Bible are divinely inspired.

Translated by

ScribdTranslations
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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REVELATION AND INSPIRATION

The word Revelation comes from the Greek noun Apokalypsis,


literally meaning the act of uncovering something hidden, so that
can be seen as it is. The Greek verb Apokalipto means
unravel, reveal, make known.

God used the gifts, the will, the disposition, and the ability
intellectual of the writers in the transmission of the divine message.

God is known according to the Old Testament not because the


men in their intellectual efforts discovered it, but only
because God Himself revealed Himself. It was not man who found Him.
God, but it was the Lord who chose him (John 15:16, Amos 3:7, Daniel 2:
19,28).
God used nature to reveal His power, His wisdom, the
His glory and His goodness (S1.104; SI. 19:1; Jr. 10:12).

REVELATION - Definitions:

1It is the exclusive work of God Dn.2:47; Jr. 1:12


2It is the communication of the knowledge of His Person, of His
Purposes and of
Your Will to man, for he is unable to discover through
powers of your own intellect the Divine Truths -1 Cor 2:14 -16 ;
ICo 1: 18,19.

3- It is the process by which God makes Himself known to


man.
["Jeremiah 24:7","Hosea 6:3","Galatians 1:15, 16"]

4- It is the opening of the eyes, of the ears, through speaking, brought into effect.
by the Lord.
["Nm 22:31","I Sm. 9:15","2 Tm. 1:10","Tt. 2:11","Tt. 3:4","Hb. 1:1,2","I Jo. 1:1"]

We can say that there are two meanings to the revelation: ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE.
ACTIVE: it is the activity of God Himself as He makes Himself known to
man.
PASSIVE: it is the knowledge that is given to man. Example: God
He reveals His law to Israel. Ex. 20:22

TYPES OF REVELATION USED BY GOD

Original Revelation:
God,inrevealingHimselftoAdam,mancreatedinHisImageand
Similarity, He did it so that He could know, love, serve, and glorify.
Your Name. Adam enjoyed a deep communion with
God, knowledge that transcends our intellect. Gen. 3:8.

2- Verbal Revelation (The Logos of God).


It is the most complete revelation, made through Jesus Christ, the Word.
of God, the Word of Life. 1 John 1:1; Revelation 19:13.
1
Logos, a Greek word that can be translated as 'Word'.
points to Jesus. In John 17:17 the Scriptures tell us that: "Your
The Word is the Truth. Jesus came to this world to give His life.
in the rescue of many (Mt 20:28); to announce the Gospel of
Kingdom of God (Lk 12:49); to seek and save the lost (I Tim.
1:15); for judgment (John 9:39); to bear witness to the Truth (John
18:37

3- Redemptive Revelation :
It is the revelation operated by the Holy Spirit, in the inner man,
connecting him with His Creator. Acts 20:23; 21:4; John 14:26; Luke 12:12; I
Co. 2:10-12.

4- Biblical Revelation:
The Scriptures are one of the ways by which God reveals Himself to
Man, although not everything that God revealed is in the Word of God.
II Cr.9:29 ; Jo. 21:25; At.20:35; Dn.2:22.

WAYSOFREVEALINGGODTOMAN

1 - Through actions:
a) Thunder - 1 Samuel 7:10; Job 37:4
b) Cloud and fire column through the desert - Ex. 13:21; 14:20;
19:16
c) By the Plagues - Ex. 7:12
d) Through the Works of Creation - Gen. 1; Am. 5:8; Rom. 1:20

2 - Through visions and dreams - Nm. 12:6


3 - Through His Word - Job 29:3; Psalm 119:130; Matthew 16:17
4- Through man's personal experience with God - Job 42:5
5 Through Jesus Christ - Mt. 11:27; Jo. 8:19; 12:44; Gl. 1:15,16.

The ways in which God reveals Himself to man in the Old Testament,
are called Theophanies, that is, they are visible manifestations of the
Invisible God to His creature, man Ex. 3:2. All Theophanies
they are means used that signify the presence of God, indicating to
even though the fullness of His Person cannot be
perfectly known by the intellectual powers of man - Is.
55:8; I Corinthians 1:19,21; 2:14.

INSPIRATION-Definitions

1 - It is the term that describes in a biblical sense the qualification.


two writers who produced the books of the Bible. Jer. 36:2, 27, 32.

It is the supernatural influence of the Spirit of God as a


I breathe over the writers of the Bible, empowering them to receive and
2
to transmit the Divine message without error - Ex. 34:28; Is. 34:16; Job 32:8
.

Thus God urged the men He had chosen and prepared. l:5
to write exactly what He would desire them to
it was written, in order to convey the knowledge of Salvation to its
people and through them transmit to the world this knowledge,
however, not annulling God's personality of the writers
biblical.
The Revelation precedes the Inspiration. God reveals Himself to the
man (Revelation) and His Spirit enables to write the Word of
God (Inspiration).

Difference between revelation and inspiration:


Revelation provides knowledge of the Person of God.
God's inspiration gives man knowledge of His Word.
Note: The apostles testified about the authority that
received from God - 1 Cor. 2:13; 1 John 1:5.
The Inspiration did not override the personality of the biblical writers,
more than human and divine factors worked together in the production
from the books of the Old Testament over long periods
historical.

GENERALAND SPECIFIC REVELATION

General Revelation is that which enables all men to know that


God exists. -Rm 1:18-20.

Specific Revelation is that which reveals God personally to man,


who He is, what He has done and what He is doing, what He will do and what
requires that men do. Ex.: God revealing Himself to Noah, Abraham,
Moses, to Israel regarding the laws and the promises of His Covenant and in the days
current is Your visible Church on Earth.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRED WORD AND INSPIRED RECORD

The entire Bible is Inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16), with some


passages in the Scriptures were given by Revelation, which may be cited:
book of Genesis and part of the book of Exodus.
Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dreams (Gn
40:8.
Daniel declaring the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar (Dn. 2:2-
7, 19, 28, 30). Citations from the Apostle Paul (Gal 1:11,12; 1 Cor
11:23-26.

On the other hand, in Luke 1:1-3, we observe that this servant of the Lord,
beloved doctor, as per Col. 4:14, was inspired to examine works already
known, and writing the Gospel that bears his name. However
we can still say that some passages mentioned in the Scriptures had
3
your records inspired by God, so that such facts could be inserted
n
i theBb
ie
l asawarnn
igforthepeope
l ofGod(Psam
l 141:3;ICorn
itha
ins)
10:6,11.

Exemplos de tais registros inspirados:


Mt. 4:3, 5, 9 - Satan's declaration while tempting Jesus in the desert.
1 Sm 31:4 and 2 Sm 1:6-10 - The death of Saul questioned
by Davi.
Judges 16:7,11 - The lie of Samson to Delilah.
1 Rs 13:18 - Lie of the Prophet.
At 5:2 - The lie of Ananias and Sapphira.

FALSETHEORIESOFBIBLEINSPIRATION

Theory of Natural, Human Inspiration

Theory that says the Bible was written by wise men, endowed with
special generality. This denies the supernatural, for it was GOD who spoke.
to the men revealing Himself to them, speaking through them. Ex.: II Sam 23:2; II
Cr 20:14,15; Jr.1:9; Ez.3:16, 17; 11:5; At. 28:25.

2) Theory of Common Inspiration

It teaches that the inspiration of the Bible Writers is the same as today.
men possess when they pray, preach, teach, and walk in
communion with GOD. This goes against what the Bible records when
mention that the knowledge and spiritual anointing of the believer is granted
the Holy Spirit is in proportion to how much one seeks Him, now, if one consecrates oneself to
Lord, sanctify your life (Joshua 3:5).
Likewise, the inspiration of the Bible Writers does not allow for degrees: either it
it was inspired or not, for it would have to fulfill its purpose, to have
for personal gain (II Tim. 3:16; Titus 3:8). Common inspiration may be
permanent (I John 2:27), while that of the writers is temporary, as
the expression of the prophets: And the Word of the Lord came to me (Ez. 3:16;
6:1)

3) Theory of Partial Inspiration

It teaches that the Bible contains the Word of GOD, but that it is not the
Word of GOD.
In IITm. 3:16, the Bible rejects this theory. (Eph. 6:17; 1 Pet. 1:25)

4) Theory of Verbal Dictation

Teaches the inspiration of the Bible only concerning the words, leaving no room
for the activity and style of the writer. (Moses - prince and lawgiver; Joshua

4
-commander;)
David and Solomon - kings; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel - prophets; Daniel - chief
of state; Amos - man of the field; Ezra - priest; Peter, James,
John - fishermen; Matthew - tax collector; Paul - theologian). This
theory makes writers true machines, writing books without
any notion of mind and reasoning.
Luke conducted a careful investigation of known facts (Luke 1:4).
We know that GOD revealed, inspired, and cared for the writers so that
there was no error in the registration of the revelation (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15, 16).

5) Theory of the Inspiration of Ideas

The theory says that GOD inspired thoughts or ideas, not them.
words and expressions of the writers, that is, God inspired men,
leaving the selection of words to their discretion. If that were the case, such
men when writing thoughts or ideas, would introduce great
errors in your writings.
On the other hand, it is difficult to separate words from thought. A
thought is a word before it is spoken. Divinely thoughts
inspired, they would naturally have their expressions in divinely words
inspired - Col. 2:12,13; Heb. 1:1;
1 Peter 1:20, 21; Revelation 22:19.

Correct Theory of the Inspiration of the Bible

Also called the Theory of Plenary or Verbal Inspiration, it affirms


that all parts (records) of the Bible are inspired, equally
stating that sanctified men wrote it using words of
your vocabulary, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Job 32:8; II
Cr. 20:14,15; 24:20

PURPOSE OF GOD'S REVELATION

Preservation of Truth, from generation to generation. Ex:

Heavenandearthwilpassaway,butmywordswilneverpassaway.

- To reveal the person of GOD, through Christ because He is the


image of the Father.
John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; John 10:30.

To authenticate the Deity of Christ. Ex.: John 20:31.

- Reveal perfectly the saving purpose of GOD, for Christ is


the wisdom of God. Ex.: 1 Cor 1:24

- To give hope and knowledge to man of Eternal Life - Ex.: Tt.


1 John 5:13.

- Establish a personal relationship between GOD and men Ex: Lv.


26:12; Mt. 28:20

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