My Summary of Christian Doctrine. 2 Revelation

Based on the Book Summary of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof.Louis Berkhof was an American-Dutch Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.

God has Revealed Himself to Mankind

1. God has revealed Himself to man otherwise man could have no Knowledge of God. He has revealed Himself through the Universe, through the Scriptures and also through the Appearance of Jesus Christ, God's Son.

So-called Atheists and Agnostics say they do not believe in revelation. Some say there is no such thing as special revelation as we have in Scripture.

The Bible teaches both General Revelation and Special revelation.

Look at these Verses from the Apostle Paul.

Rom 1:18  For God's anger is being revealed from Heaven against all impiety and against the iniquity of men who through iniquity suppress the truth. God is angry:

Rom 1:19  because what may be known about Him is plain to their inmost consciousness; for He Himself has made it plain to them.

Rom 1:20  For, from the very creation of the world, His invisible perfections--namely His eternal power and divine nature--have been rendered intelligible and clearly visible by His works, so that these men are without excuse.

Rom 1:21  For when they had come to know God, they did not give Him glory as God nor render Him thanks, but they became absorbed in useless discussions, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Rom 1:22  While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

            2. The General Revelation of God comes to us in the amazing facts, the forces and the Laws of Nature such as gravity.Gravity or gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass are brought towards (or 'gravitate' towards) one another including stars, planets, galaxies and even light and sub-atomic particles. Gravity is responsible for the complexity in the universe, by creating spheres of hydrogen, Wikipedia.com

A Spiral galaxy with Billions of stars

We see this revelation in the constitution and operation of the Human mind.

A mind /ˈmaɪnd/ is the set of cognitive faculties that enables consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement, and memory—a characteristic of humans, but which also may apply to other life forms.[3][4]Wikipedia.com

The Design and Efficiency of the Universe shows us the Great Designer and Creator.

Look at these scriptures.

Psa 19:1  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psa 19:2  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Psa 19:3  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Rom 2:14  For when Gentiles who have no Law obey by natural instinct the commands of the Law, they, without having a Law, are a Law to themselves;

Rom 2:15  since they exhibit proof that a knowledge of the conduct which the Law requires is engraven on their hearts, while their consciences also bear witness to the Law, and their thoughts, as if in mutual discussion, accuse them or perhaps maintain their innocence--

Rom 2:16  on the day when God will judge the secrets of men's lives by Jesus Christ, as declared in the Good News as I have taught it.

How could we have a conscience and understand that there are Laws and a Law-giver without general revelation.

1. The Insufficiency of General Revelation. Certain Pelagians, Rationalists and Deists maintain that this revelation is adequate for our present needs Roman Catholics and Protestants are agreed that this is not sufficient.

It has been warped by sin in God’s creation. and thus, though not indistinct it has not        been erased entirely. It is not completely reliable to allow us to clearly have a Knowledge of God. Thus those who worship nature are completely confused about the Origins and beauty of this whole Universe.

          General Revelation gives no clear knowledge of the Person of Christ and His Great       Salvation even though there is the Gospel written in the stars such as the Southern Cross.

The Southern Cross

b. The value of General Revelation.

Some peoples feel that God created them but somehow they have grieved Him and they have lost contact with Him. I lived for many years amongst the Basonge of Central Congo. They had a special name for God, Efile Mukulu, and Creator, Sha Kapanga, and the Maker of the Hills and Mountains, Mbunda’Ngulu. This was ever before the Bible was introduced and Missionaries arrived. They are not an exception but the norm all over the world.

• Gentiles feel they are the Offspring of God. see Acts 17 :28
• They seek after Him if perhaps they might find Him. Acts 17: 27
• They see in Nature God's everlasting Power and Divinity. 1:19-20

Though they live in darkness,, sin and ignorance, and pervert the truth of God. They believe their ancestors can intercede for them to satisfy their needs now. So they feed their dead bodies alcohol to placate them. Science and History illuminate the pages of Holy Scripture.

3. Special Revelation.

Beside the Revelation of God in Nature there is His Special Revelation which is found in the Scriptures. In the Bible facts and words go hand in hand, the words interpreting the facts and the facts giving substance to the words. L.B. p.14

1. The Necessity of Special Revelation.

Because of the Corruption of sin has entered the world there is a necessity for Special Revelation. Man is spiritually Blind and dead. His whole existence is subjected to error and unbelief. God has provided a Revelation of man's sinful condition, his dire situation vis-a-vis the wrath of God; his need for the Revelation of Redemption though the precious blood of the lamb of God. John 1:29

   b.   The Means of Special Revelation

God has used   many means to Reveal His Presence.

1. Theophanies or visible Manifestations of God. He has revealed Himself in fire Exodus 3:2 and clouds of smoke Exodus 33:9; Ps 8 :14; 99:7; in a stormy wind Job 38 :1; and Ps 18:10-16; and in a “still small voice or gentle whisper.” 1 kings 19:12

Among the OT Appearances there are the Christophanies; or the Second Person of the Trinity asGen 16:7  And the Angel of Jehovah found her Hagar] by a f the Angel of the Jehovah.

ountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

Gen 16:8  And He said, Hagar, Sarai's slave, where did you come from? and where will you go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

Gen 16:9  And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hands.

Gen 16:10  And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, I will multiply your seed exceedingly, so that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

Gen 16:11  And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah has heard your affliction.

Gen 16:12  And he will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall live in the presence of all his brothers.

Gen 16:13  And she called the name of Jehovah who had spoken to her, You are a God of vision! For she said, Even here have I looked after Him that sees me?

Barnes Notes on v.13 God of my vision - (El-roi). Here we have the same divine name as in Ishmael. “Have I even still seen” - continued to live and see the sun after having seen God? Beer-lahai-roi, the well of vision (of God) to the living. To see God and live was an issue contrary to expectation Exo_33:20. The well is between Kadesh and Bered.

See also Gen 31:11; Exodus 23: 20-23 and Malachi 3:1

The Supreme Manifestation of the presence of God among men was the Personal Appearance of Our Lord Jesus Christ through His Incarnation; Virgin born.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.

2. Direct communications. Sometimes God spoke to men in an audible voice,as He did to Moses and the Children of Israel.

Deu 5:4  Jehovah talked with you face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire;

Deu 5:5  (I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to show you the Word of Jehovah, for you were afraid because of the fire, and did not go up into the mountain,) saying,

Deu 5:6  I am Jehovah your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Deu 5:7  You shall have no other gods besides Me.

Moses at the Red Sea

Sometimes he spoke through the Prophets by an internal operation of the Spirit.

1Pe 1:10  There were Prophets who earnestly inquired about that salvation, and closely searched into it--even those who spoke beforehand of the grace which was to come to you.

1Pe 1:11  They were eager to know the time which the Spirit of Christ within them kept indicating, or the characteristics of that time, when they solemnly made known beforehand the sufferings that were to come upon Christ and the glories which would follow.

The prophet Isaiah writes of the Lamb of God Is. 53

He revealed Himself in dreams and Visions.

Num 12:5  And Jehovah came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both came forth.

Num 12:6  And He said, Hear now My words. If there is a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make Myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream.

or by Urim and Thummim

Num 27:21  And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask for him according to the judgment of Urim before Jehovah. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

Thummim Perfection (LXX., “truth;” Vulg., “veritas”), Exo_28:30; Deu_33:8; Jdg_1:1; Jdg_20:18; 1Sa_14:3, 1Sa_14:18; 1Sa_23:9; 2Sa_21:1. What the “Urim and Thummim” were cannot be determined with any certainty. All we certainly know is that they were a certain divinely-given means by which God imparted, through the high priest, direction and counsel to Israel when these were needed. The method by which this was done can be only a matter of mere conjecture. They were apparently material objects, quite distinct from the breastplate, but something added to it after all the stones had been set in it,Eaton’s Bible Dictionary

In the Hebrew Bible, the Urim and Thummim (Hebrew: האורים והתומים‎, Standard haʾUrim vəhaTummim Tiberian hāʾÛrîm wəhatTummîm) are associated with the hoshen (High Priest's breastplate), divination in general, and cleromancy in particular. Wikipedia.com

3. Miracles should always be regarded as part of God's special revelation. For example the Red Sea Crossing by the Israelites and the Miraculous opening up of the waters is a picture of Baptism into Christ Jesus by a Christian believer whereby He is separated from the World Egypt] and the Slavery of the Devil Pharoah]
4. Miracles are signs of the Kingdom of God and His Miraculous Redemptive Power. The Greatest Miracle was the coming of the Son of God in the flesh virgin Born. In Him the whole of the creation of God is being restored and Brought back to its Origin Beauty.

1Ti 3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among nations, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.

Rev 21:5  And He sitting on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.

c. The Character of Special Revelation : The Unfolding of the Great Drama of REDEMPTION.

This Special Revelation of God is the Revelation of His plan of Redemption of mankind.

It is instrumental in Renewing of mankind; it illuminates his mind and inclines his will to that which is good; it fills him with holy affections and desires and prepares him for his heavenly home.

It gives us the facts of Redemption in the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and transforms us by changing sinners into saints

They are Progressive appearing dimly at first and only coming to complete fruition in the New testament in all their beauty and fulness.

Heb 1:1  God, who in ancient days spoke to our forefathers in many distinct messages and by various methods through the Prophets,

Heb 1:2  has at the end of these days spoken to us through a Son, who is the pre-destined Lord of the universe, and through whom He made the Ages.

Heb 1:3  He brightly reflects God's glory and is the exact representation of His being, and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing man's purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,