Revelation

Event or group of events by means of which the divinity becomes known to humans. In the case of Christianity, "revelation" means the actions performed by God, _maxime_ the incarnation of Jesus Christ, through which mankind gets to know God’s loving character.

The Old Testament uses the Hebrew word _galah_ and the related Aramaic word _gelah_, both coming from the common root _glh_, which appears to mean "naked". This use leads us to the conclusion that both words have the sense of removing all obstacles to perception. The New Testament uses the Greek word _apokalupto_, meaning "unveil", when trying to convey the notion of "revelation". All three terms express the idea of revealing something that was formerly withheld.

Two species of revelation are to be singled, if we are to avoid confusion. First, there is a general revelation, continuously available to all men. God’s main agent in this case is nature (Ps. 19:1), even if God’s character can be seen, among others, in the daily miracle of life offered to every human being, whether believer or not. There is, also, a special revelation made exclusively to God’s servants. Several agents – the prophets, dreams, miracles – have been used to convey God’s message but, according to the author of Hebrews, God’s ultimate and main agent is Jesus Christ (Hb. 1:1).

Thus, through general revelation – also known as natural – God’s power and divinity are disclosed to all humans; natural revelation is communicated by means of natural phenomena, occurring in accordance with the course of nature. Through special revelation – also known as soteriological – God’s grace is made known to His servants; soteriological revelation is communicated through the media of special supernatural intervention in the human space/time _continuum_.

A study of the revelation process discloses two different perspectives: form and contents. Concerning form, we see a progression in revelation; it is first granted to an individual, then to a family and next to the nation, the eschatological achievement of the revelation to the whole world being expected. This is clearly seen in the history of the rise of the Hebrew people from an individual (Abraham), as well as in the progressive revelation by means of Moses.

As far as contents are concerned, we must take into consideration the reality of communication. Thus, while the communicator – God – disclosed the entire knowledge that was needed for salvation, the receptor – Man – needed a progression in understanding.

Proof to the previous assertions can be found in the fact that the whole message of salvation by faith in Jesus is stated in the Pentateuch. Either explicitly (Gen. 3:15) or implicitly (the desert sanctuary building and its ritual), the message is there. The remainder of the Old Testament Scriptures is a reminder of that message. Also, the fact that man understands this message in a progressive way is clearly seen at Prov. 4:18, where the message is compared to the rising sun, which is entirely there but is perceived in a progressive way.