Divine Revelation

My teenage daughter recently told me of a Christian leader who spoke to a group in which she attended. She was moved by his insight regarding the Lord’s will for them, but there was a certain statement that particularly drew her attention. The guest speaker confided toward his audience that he had not intended to talk about God’s will regarding these young people; rather, he had prepared a different topic of speech that he now set aside because God’s spirit was leading him in a different direction. Although my daughter marveled at this proclamation and took the man seriously, my heart sank as she told me this detail. I broke the news to her that I had witnessed this same statement several times by different Christian speakers in my life. It was a common tactic to influence weak minds. Believing that the man had a special message for her, she still chose to believe his sincerity. At which point, I asked her who was glorified in that moment. Not understanding my question, I explained that the speaker provided neither truth nor fact but implied by his statement that he has a rare connection to God and is therefore trustworthy. In other words, he commended himself not with knowledge or wisdom but with self-professed divine awareness. This is an example of what Christians call “Divine Revelation.”

Divine Revelation is real and substantiated in Christianity. Every true prophet of God in the Bible received their inspiration divinely from the Lord. Someone might ask, how are we to know if a person living today has Divine Revelation. In fact, I once debated with two pastors on whether the Bible was inspired by God and infallible. When all pretense was stripped away, the lead pastor admitted that he knew the inerrancy of the Bible because the Holy Spirit revealed to him that it was so. However, before asking about today’s speakers, let’s answer the rarely asked question, how do we know that the prophets truly had Divine Revelation?

When Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Hosea spoke on behalf of the Lord, were there ways for the Israelites to know the truth of the matter? Fortunately, the answer is yes. First, they had the prophecies of previous prophets. One way to verify the legitimacy of a prophet is to see if his messages conflict with previously accepted prophecies. If we take this rabbit trail all the way back to the first prophet, we (arguably) come to Moses (Deut. 34:10). How did the Israelites know that Moses was God’s prophet if he’s considered the first? This leads us to our second reason: the answer is, by his miracles (cf. John 10:37-38). Moses performed miracles in the presence of Israelites, Egyptians, and possibly other nationalities (because the Canaanites were aware of the plagues upon Egypt) in the name of YHWH. This provided evidence that he spoke on behalf of a God capable of such supernatural occurrences. But what defines what is supernatural? This leads us to our third reason: the answer is, what is outside of natural possibility to a reasonable and well-informed person. The Israelites could determine certain characteristics about God’s character based on the universe He created and the content of their stories depicting how it was created. Understanding the great care, time, and detail involved in bringing about a life-sustaining planet full of materials and splendor tells them (and us) a lot about the God who created everything. The last reason that Israelites knew whether they could trust a prophet is specifically stated in Scripture and presents the common sense of the issue. If what a prophet has spoken in the name of the Lord comes true, then he spoke for the Lord. If it did not come true, then he has spoken presumptuously and is not to be trusted (Deut. 18:21-22).

To come back to our initial dilemma; if it is established that God’s messages could be found trustworthy in biblical times, then can people today experience Divine Revelation? I would answer, yes. Although not all believers may experience it, just like miracles of healing, there are many who do. But here is the caveat. It shouldn’t matter to anyone except the one who experiences it. By definition, the knowledge that one receives is through divine and not natural means. No one can possibly verify the divine experience of another. Even if two people were to experience the exact same Divine Revelation it should only give each individual confidence in God’s message for themselves and not necessarily make the other person's account trustworthy. For instance, both a woman and man are convinced that they experienced Divine Revelation instructing them to marry each other. The groom believes it is God’s will, but he cannot know for sure that the bride experienced the same revelation. He can only choose to trust her.

This choice, to trust or distrust, is what my daughter had been tricked into doing. She chose to believe that the speaker had a message from God because she is a trusting person. Everything she heard afterwards was based on her preconception that this man was honest and capable of discerning Divine Revelation. In other words, her faith was not increased in the Lord but in this man’s relationship with the Lord. This is dangerous for believers to practice, because congregants might trust their leadership’s assurances of God’s will rather than discern information for themselves (like the Bereans in Acts 17:11).

The first-century historian, Josephus, chronicled such an abuse. He wrote of how men with wicked intentions influenced many in Jerusalem to act like madmen during the reign of Felix over Judea. You can probably guess how they influenced the Jews. Josephus explained, “These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense of divine inspiration (The Wars of the Jews, 2.13.4)." These men promised the Jews exactly what they wanted to hear: signs from God that they would soon be free from Roman oppression. Coincidently, the message to my daughter and the rest of the teenagers was promises of freedom from family trials and standard teenager concerns.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor who was executed in 1945 for opposing the Nazis. He witnessed pastors throughout his country proclaim God’s will being achieved through the Third Reich. At 31 years of age, Bonhoeffer wrote these words:

“The call of Jesus teaches us that our relation to the world has been built on an illusion. All the time we thought we had enjoyed a direct relation with men and things. This is what had hindered us from faith and obedience…. Between father and son, husband and wife, the individual and the nation, stands Christ the Mediator, whether they are able to recognize him or not. We cannot establish direct contact outside ourselves except through him, through his word, and through our following of him. To think otherwise is to deceive ourselves (The Cost of Discipleship, chap. 5).”

These last two sentences set the three criteria for making contact with others. Relationships with others must be (1) through Christ, (2) through His teachings, and (3) through our example of living for Him. This is where we will relate to other believers and shine Christ’s light for the world to see. Divine Revelation is real but should not be used to influence anyone’s beliefs. First, sharing one’s Divine Revelation with others will not provide truth or knowledge but merely a personal experience. We must meet others on common ground. Second, if the revelation truly comes from God, it will not communicate any principles that are not already taught by our Savior. Lastly, sharing Divine Revelation can be, and often intentionally is, misleading. No matter who tells you that they felt God give them a message, I encourage you to disregard significance for yourself. When God does contact someone in this way, it was meant for them just as healings are meant for some and not for others. If you have experienced Divine Revelation yourself, I recommend only addressing it with those close to you for the purpose of getting feedback on understanding what you experienced. We have a reasonable faith in Jesus Christ and do not need to resort to convincing others of our supernatural personal experiences in order to enhance His appeal.

August 24, 2023