Revelation is God's communication to all people
concerning Himself, His moral standards and His plan of salvation.
God is invisible and holy. The finite and sinful man cannot see
God and live (Exodus 33:20). The glory of the Lord is too great and
glorious for anyone to behold. Thus God graciously unveils and
manifests Himself, little by little, to man, both Christians and
pre-believers, through His marvellous creation.
He has given every man and woman a human conscience, which is
able to distinguish right from wrong. Through this conscience, God
connects with man, and displays His glory to everyone (Psalm
19:1-6). Other religions and philosophies are human quests for God;
but Christianity is God's quest for lost humanity.
Some Christians think that only some spiritual believers can see
and have the revelation of God. But the apostle Paul taught
otherwise:
For the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is
manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the
creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor
were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their
foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise,
they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible
God into an image made like corruptible man-- and birds and
four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to
dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged
the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed
forever. Amen. Romans 1:18-25
The unrighteous
see God clearly through His creation. But they suppress the truth in
unrighteousness. They know God but they alter the truth and become
disobedient, worshipping the created rather than the Creator! They
do not retain God in their knowledge (Rom. 1:28). Knowing the moral
laws of God, they disobey them (Rom. 1:32). Therefore the ungodly
are "inexcusable" (Rom. 2:1) before God's righteous judgment.
What can man
know about God from His creation? God's universal revelation makes
it clear that God exists (Rom. 1:20), and that God, the Creator of
Everything, from mountains, oceans, vegetation, animals to mankind,
is wise (Psalm 104:24) and all-powerful (Psalm 29; 93; Rom. 1:20).
All men and women are aware of their own moral responsibilities.
They know the difference between right and wrong conduct, and they
have a sense of guilt when they do wrong. The requirements of God's
moral law (the Ten Commandments) are written on their hearts (Rom.
2:14-15).
Abraham knew the
commandments (Genesis 26:5) even before they were written hundred of
years later in Mount Sinai. From Genesis, God declared His
commandments, statutes and laws even before their public release in
Exodus. The philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote, "Two things fill the
mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe... the starry
heavens above me and the moral law within me."
What is the
result of divine revelation in nature? Man will worship God - love
Him with all of his heart and love his neighbours as himself. But
man chooses to worship the created instead of the Creator. Though
clearly revealed, man exchanges the Truth of God for a lie. The
problem is not the revelation that the Law of God is holy, just and
good (Rom. 7:12); the problem is the sinfulness of man who chooses
to go his own way (Rom. 8:3-4).
The full and
final revelation of God is Jesus Christ. The Book of
Revelation is about One Revelation and
not Many Revelations. The Revelation of Jesus
Christ and not the revelations of angels, Satan, demons, the false
prophet and the antichrist. Let’s get excited about Him and not
them.
The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His
servants-- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and
signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness
to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all
things that he saw. Rev 1:1-2
Though the Book
of Revelation unveils and discloses hidden things known only to God,
everything must be viewed with the centrality of this Revelation of
Christ. This book depicts end-time events using symbols, images and
numbers.
Why was
Revelation written in such imagery? One reason is that it was
written in dangerous times. To protect each other from the enemies,
it was safer to hide the message in images than to speak plainly.
This symbolism preserved an element of mystery about details of
times, persons and places. The purpose of such symbolism, however,
was not to confuse, but to inform and strengthen believers in the
face of persecutions. The overall message of this book is clear: God
is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent! Nothing the devil did,
does or will do, can frustrate the divine purposes of God - Jesus
Christ being fully revealed and glorified!
God,
Who at various times and in various ways spoke in
time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these
last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the
worlds; Hebrews 1:1-2
Christ has
declared God to us personally (John 1:18). To see Christ is to see
the Father (John 14:9). Christ gave us the words which the Father
gave Him (John 17:8). On the Cross, Jesus revealed and demonstrated
God's sacrificial love. There He died, bringing us back to God (1
Pet. 3:18). He rose again triumphantly over sin, Satan and the
grave. He is alive forevermore, and He is coming back again.
Revelation is
all about Jesus, no one else.
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary