Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

REVELATION

The “opening” or “uncovering” of a previously hidden reality. God is hidden from humankind because of human sinfulness and can only be known through a special revelation. While the creation itself reveals something of the invisible or hidden Creator (Ps. 19:1-6[MT 2-7]; Wis. 13:5; Rom. 1:20), the biblical concept most often relates to an act of God in history which reveals God as Savior. Although the terminology of revelation may apply to personal secrets (Prov. 11:13) or private messages (Luke 2:26; Gal. 2:2) or esoteric matters (1 Cor. 14:26; 2 Cor. 12:1-7), the biblical references are usually intended for public dissemination and communal benefit. That is, God’s actions reveal his desire to save Israel (Jer. 33:6) and the nations (Isa. 40:5).

Old Testament

The broad scope of the Hebrew verb “to reveal” is illustrated by the fact that it often appears in conjunction with related terms such as those meaning “to see,” “to hear,” and “to speak.” The emphasis falls on visions or auditions, and these combine in the theophany in which manifestations of God’s presence are seen and his voice heard. This is the case in the key revelatory event of the OT when the Lord descends on Sinai to give the Law to the people redeemed from Egypt (Exod. 19–20). In addition, Moses is portrayed as the mediator of this revelation, a role that was also extended to include the angels (Acts 7:53). The commitments of the nation of Israel to God its Savior are reflected in the maxim, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).

The emergence of technical expressions in the OT further illustrates the concept of revelation: God “opens the eyes” (Num. 22:31), or “opens the ear” and “says . . .” (2 Sam. 7:27). Similarly, the prophets see a vision (Isa. 1:1) or the Word of the Lord comes to them (Jer. 1:4). God’s secret is revealed to prophets (Amos 3:7) and later to seers (Dan. 2:19). Perhaps the most telling technical expression is: “God reveals himself to someone” (Gen. 35:7; 1 Sam. 2:27). Fundamentally, revelation in the OT is the self-disclosure of God to his chosen servants so that God’s people may know his saving deeds and live in harmony with his will.

Postbiblical Jewish Literature

In the Second Temple period, revelation is often regarded as the disclosure of something hidden in a sacred book or in heaven. For instance, Ben Sira teaches that Scripture contains hidden wisdom. Personified Wisdom hides in the Torah (Sir. 24:23) and reveals her secrets to those who diligently seek her (4:18; 38:34–39:3; 39:6-8). As a scribe who finds wisdom in the Torah, Ben Sira is a bearer of revelation to his students.

The texts unique to the Qumran community portray its founder, the Teacher of Righteousness, as a mediator of revelation. God has revealed himself and his marvelous mysteries to the Teacher (1QH 4:23, 27). The mysteries involve things hidden in the law of Moses and the prophets which are now revealed to the remnant community through the interpretations of the Teacher (CD 1:11; 3:13-14; 1QpHab 7:4). Community members freely pledge to practice all that has been revealed (1QS 1:3; 8-9; 5:8-12).

There is a large body of pseudepigraphal literature in which the revealer figures are great biblical characters of the past. These texts may state that Moses was given the (additional) revelation on Sinai (Jubilees, Apoc. Moses) or texts may relate how a great figure such as Enoch or Abraham journeyed to heaven and returned with revelation (1 Enoch, T. Abraham). The obscure nature of what is seen in heaven necessitates the role of an angel as the “interpreter of revelations” (3 Apoc. Bar. 11:7).

In short, revelatory claims abound in the period between the testaments. The content of the revelation may reinforce peculiar observances of the law, lay bare the structure and operation of the cosmos, shed light on the hardships being faced by the readers, or describe the coming judgment.

New Testament

The kingdom of God is a mystery or secret that is disclosed to the chosen (Mark 4:11). Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and demonstrated its arrival with his deeds of power, but this activity did not always move the recipients or witnesses to repentance. The Father has “hidden these things” from the wise and intelligent and has “revealed them to infants” (Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21). The Father reveals that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Mark 8:29; Matt. 16:16-17; Luke 9:20). Although the term “to reveal” does not occur in John’s Gospel, it is there that Jesus is preeminently the revealer figure (John 14:9; cf. Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Moreover, in each of the Gospels, when Jesus opens the eyes of the blind or unstops the ears of the deaf, there are definite allusions to the OT phenomenon of revelation. The self-disclosure of God is experienced by the person who sees Jesus and hears his message. Finally, the Gospel tradition looks to the future when it describes the day of judgment as a time when everything covered will be revealed (Matt. 10:26; Luke 12:2) and the Son of Man will be revealed (Luke 17:30).

The death and resurrection of Jesus have resulted in his hiddenness until the Parousia. The mystery of the kingdom is now more properly the mystery of the Servant King who was crucified and raised in glory. God granted the Apostle Paul a vision of the risen Son and commissioned Paul to proclaim him among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:12, 16). Along with Christ, faith is now revealed as the way of salvation (Gal. 3:23). The gospel or kerygma reveals the crucified Lord of glory and, when attended by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10; Eph. 1:17), imparts God’s saving power to the person of faith (Rom. 1:16-17; 16:25-26). The revelation of the mystery includes the union of Jews and Gentiles in one body (Eph. 3:3-6). In the future, there will be a revelation of judgment (Rom. 2:5) and glory (8:18) when Jesus Christ returns to bring salvation to his own and eternal destruction to the wicked (2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:5, 13; 4:13; 5:1). This theme is carried forward within the developing literary genre apocalypse by the last book of the NT, which describes itself as the “revelation (apokálypsis) of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1).

Bibliography. M. N. A. Bockmuehl, Revelation and Mystery in Ancient Judaism and Pauline Christianity (1990, repr. Grand Rapids, 1997); A. Oepke, “apokalýptō,” TDNT 3:563-92; H.-J. Zobel, “gālâ (gālāh),” TDOT 2:476-88.

Randal A. Argall

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

REVELATION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)