Revelation

Revelation is the act by which God makes himself known to creatures who could not otherwise reach him. The unaided eye cannot find God — Yahweh dwells in unapproachable light, and the gulf between Creator and creature is presented in scripture as a real one. Yet that same God speaks: through the heavens he made, through theophany and law on Sinai, through the prophets to whom his secret is disclosed, through [the Speech] who became flesh in the Gospel of John, through the mystery now preached to the nations in the Pauline letters, and through the visions given to John on Patmos. The pages below trace these movements as the UPDV records them.

God Hidden, God Self-Disclosing

A double note runs under everything that follows. On one side, God is invisible and unsearchable: "No man has seen God at any time" (Jn 1:18); "to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, [be] honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim 1:17); he "alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see" (1 Tim 6:16). Job confesses, "Look, he goes by me, and I don't see him: He passes on also, but I don't perceive him" (Job 9:11), and again, "Look, I go forward, but he is not [there]; And backward, but I can't perceive him" (Job 23:8). The hiddenness can become a complaint: "Why do you stand far off, O Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (Ps 10:1); "How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Ps 13:1); "How long, O Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever?" (Ps 89:46). Isaiah names the paradox directly: "Truly you are a God who hides yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior" (Is 45:15).

On the other side stands the limit of creaturely knowing. "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the Almighty to perfection?" (Job 11:7). His works are "great things and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number" (Job 5:9); "[Concerning] the Almighty, we can't find him out: He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict" (Job 37:23). Ecclesiastes adds, "He has made everything beautiful in its time: also he has set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end" (Ec 3:11). Paul echoes the same depth: "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!" (Rom 11:33); "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Rom 11:34). The secret things, Moses says, "belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Dt 29:29). It is on the revealed side that the rest of the topic turns.

Revelation in Creation

The first revelation is the world itself. "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows his handiwork" (Ps 19:1); "The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory" (Ps 97:6). Paul makes the same point doctrinally: "For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, [even] his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse" (Rom 1:20).

Sirach develops the theme at length. After surveying sun, moon, stars, rainbow, fire, snow, ice and the deep, Ben Sira pulls back and lays the limit alongside the witness: "Yet more things like these we will not add, And the end of the matter is: He is all. We will still magnify, though we cannot fathom, For greater is he than all his works" (Sir 43:27-28). "Who has seen him that he may declare him? And who shall magnify him as he is? Many things, greater than these, are hidden, I have only seen a few of his works" (Sir 43:31-32). Earlier in the same book, Wisdom looks back at her own scope: "No man can take [from them] nor add [to them], Nor can any trace out the marvellous acts of the Lord" (Sir 18:6).

Theophany, the Name, and the Law

When God moves from creation's general witness to particular self-disclosure, the form is theophany. To Moses at the burning bush: "the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush... [the Speech of] God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses... I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God" (Ex 3:2-6). The name is given there: "[the Speech of] God said to Moses, I AM WHO ALWAYS IS: and he said, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you⁺" (Ex 3:14). The same name marks a fresh stage: "I appeared [by my Speech] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them" (Ex 6:3).

The pillar of cloud and fire makes the presence visible to a whole people: "[the Speech of] Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light" (Ex 13:21); "the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them" (Ex 14:19); "the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud" (Ex 16:10); "when Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the Tent: and [the Speech of Yahweh] spoke with Moses" (Ex 33:9). The cloud guides, halts, and starts the camp through the wilderness (Nu 9:15-17, Nu 10:11, Nu 12:5, Nu 16:42; Dt 1:33; Dt 31:15; Ne 9:12; Ps 78:14; Ps 105:39; Is 4:5). And yet at the very same scene of disclosure stands the limit: "You can not see my face; for man will not see me and live" (Ex 33:20).

The cloud settles into the Shekinah of tabernacle and temple. "Moses wasn't able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle" (Ex 40:35). At Solomon's dedication, "the cloud filled the house of Yahweh" (1 Ki 8:10); at the Chronicler's parallel, "the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Yahweh" (2 Ch 5:13). To Aaron Yahweh warns: "[my Speech] will appear in the cloud on the mercy-seat" (Lv 16:2). The ark itself bears the name of Yahweh "who sits above the cherubim" (2 Sa 6:2; Is 37:16; Ps 80:1), and Ezekiel watches "the glory of the God of Israel" rise from its cherub to the threshold of the house (Eze 9:3).

The law itself is revealed at Sinai. Sirach summarizes: "He set before them knowledge, And the law of life he gave them for a heritage. He made an everlasting covenant with them, And showed them his judgements. Their eyes beheld his glorious majesty, And their ear heard his glorious voice" (Sir 17:11-13). And again: "All these things are the book of the covenant of God Most High, The law which Moses commanded [as] a heritage for the assemblies of Jacob" (Sir 24:23). Wisdom herself takes residence in Israel by divine commandment: "the Creator of all things gave me a commandment, And he who created me fixed my dwelling place, And he said, In Jacob let your dwelling place be, And in Israel take up your inheritance... In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him, Moreover, in Zion I was established. Likewise in the beloved city he caused me to rest, And in Jerusalem was my authority" (Sir 24:8-11).

The pattern of the temple is itself a disclosure: "All this, [said David], I have been made to understand in writing from the hand of Yahweh, even all the works of this pattern" (1 Ch 28:19). And at the priestly office, the Urim and Thummim served as a means of inquiry — placed in the breastplate of judgment (Ex 28:30; Lv 8:8), used by Eleazar (Nu 27:21), invoked over Levi (Dt 33:8), demanded by David in flight from Saul (1 Sa 23:9; 1 Sa 30:7), withheld when Saul "inquired of [the Speech of] Yahweh" and was given no answer "neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sa 28:6), and lacking in the post-exilic restoration (Ezr 2:63; Ne 7:65).

The Voice of the Prophets

Where law and theophany establish the covenant, the prophets speak inside it. The principle is Amos's: "Surely the Sovereign Yahweh will do nothing, except he reveals his secret to his slaves the prophets" (Am 3:7). Daniel concurs: "he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him" (Da 2:22). Sirach extends the line: "For many are the mercies of God, And to the meek he reveals his secret" (Sir 3:20); "Then at the time his heart is filled with me, I will lead him again, and reveal to him my secrets" (Sir 4:18); the wise scribe "seeks out the hidden things of proverbs, And is conversant with the obscure things of parables" (Sir 39:3); and Yahweh himself is "Declaring the things that are past and the things that will be, And revealing the traces of hidden things" (Sir 42:19).

The prophetic mode is often visionary. Isaiah's oracle opens, "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem" (Is 1:1); Amos sees his words "concerning Israel" (Am 1:1); Obadiah's book is simply "The vision of Obadiah" (Ob 1:1); Nahum's, "The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite" (Na 1:1); Daniel records, "In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first" (Da 8:1). Ezekiel is carried "in the Spirit of Yahweh" into the valley of bones (Eze 37:1-2), brought "in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea" (Eze 11:24), shown waters issuing from the temple (Eze 47:1); his contemporaries dismiss the visions as "for many days to come" (Eze 12:27). Isaiah sees a grievous vision against Babylon (Is 21:2). Visions came to the patriarchs as well — "After these things the Speech of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, Don't be afraid, Abram: [my Speech is] your shield, [and] your exceedingly great reward" (Ge 15:1); "God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob" (Ge 46:2).

Signs accompany the prophetic word. The man of God cries against the altar at Bethel by the word of Yahweh, naming Josiah three centuries before his birth (1 Ki 13:2). Hezekiah is given the receding shadow as a sign of healing (2 Ki 20:9; 2 Ch 32:24). Isaiah promises a sign to the house of David: "the young woman will be pregnant, and give birth to a son, and will call his name Immanuel" (Is 7:14). And the new creation itself will be "to Yahweh for a name, for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off" (Is 55:13). Gideon's fleece, soaked while the ground stays dry, confirms his calling (Jdg 6:38). The prophets themselves stand in a continuous chain — until "there arose a prophet like fire" (Sir 48:1) — Elijah, who "from the womb... was a prophet, To pluck up, to break down" (Sir 49:7) — and Sirach asks "that your prophets may be shown to be faithful" (Sir 36:16) and remembers "the Twelve Prophets, May their bones sprout beneath them, Who made Jacob valiant" (Sir 49:10). The prophet "like you" promised in Deuteronomy stands at the head of this line and points beyond it: "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I will command him" (Dt 18:18).

[The Speech] in the Gospel of John

In the Gospel of John, revelation gains a face. The principle is stated at the prologue: "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared [him]" (Jn 1:18). The Father remains unseen — "You⁺ have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form" (Jn 5:37) — but [the Speech] who sent and the Speech that he speaks are one. "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you⁺: nevertheless he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I speak to the world" (Jn 8:26). "For I did not speak from myself; but the Father who sent me, he has given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (Jn 12:49). "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say to you⁺ I don't speak from myself: but the Father staying in me does his works" (Jn 14:10). "He who does not love me does not keep my words: and the speech which you⁺ hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me" (Jn 14:24). To the disciples he says: "for the words which you gave me I have given to them; and they received [them], and knew of a truth that I came forth from you, and they believed that you sent me" (Jn 17:8).

Disciples' partial grasp is acknowledged, with promise of fuller knowledge. "What I do you don't know now; but you will understand hereafter" (Jn 13:7). "I have yet many things to say to you⁺, but you⁺ can't bear them now. Nevertheless when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you⁺ into all the truth: for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he will hear, he will speak: and he will declare to you⁺ the things that are to come" (Jn 16:12-13). And the relation itself shifts from servant to friend: "No longer do I call you⁺ slaves; for the slave doesn't know what his lord does: but I have called you⁺ friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you⁺" (Jn 15:15). The Spirit's descent at the baptism is part of the same disclosure: "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it stayed on him" (Jn 1:32). Some movements remain irreducible to sight: "The wind blows where it will, and you hear its voice, but do not know from where it comes, and where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (Jn 3:8).

The Mystery in the Pauline Letters

Paul's vocabulary for revelation is mystery. "We speak God's wisdom in a mystery, [even] the [wisdom] that has been hidden, which God predetermined before the ages to our glory" (1 Cor 2:7); "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But to us God revealed [them] through the Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor 2:9-10). The mystery is content-bearing — it is Christ. "Christ in you⁺, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27); "the mystery of God, [even] Christ" (Col 2:2); "the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds" (Col 4:3). The doxology of Romans gathers it: "Now to him who is able to establish you⁺ according to my good news and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept in silence through eternal times, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known to all the nations to obedience of faith" (Rom 16:25-26).

The mystery's timing is two-staged: hidden, then disclosed. "[Even] the mystery which has been hid since the ages and since the generations: but now it has been manifested to his saints" (Col 1:26). "Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth" (Eph 1:9-10). "By which, when you⁺ read, you⁺ can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit" (Eph 3:4-5). Paul ranks particular instances as "great" mysteries: the union of Christ and the church (Eph 5:32), the godliness "manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory" (1 Tim 3:16), and the eschatological transformation: "Look, I tell you⁺ a mystery: We all will not sleep, but we will all be changed" (1 Cor 15:51). The image of the invisible God is named: "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (Col 1:15). And present sight is acknowledged as partial: "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I will know fully even as also I was fully known" (1 Cor 13:12). Paul himself was given visions and revelations of the Lord (2 Cor 12:1).

The Apocalypse to John

The closing book gives the title back to the topic itself — apocalypse, unveiling. "I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands" (Re 1:12). The prophetic mode of Daniel returns as the mode of the seer: visions of heaven, earth, and the things between. Yet even within the unveiling there are sealed places. "No one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look on it" (Re 5:3). And John is told, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them" (Re 10:4). What the prophets saw in part, what Paul calls a glass darkened, what Daniel was told was "shut up and sealed until the time of the end" (Da 12:9), comes to its appointed disclosure here — and yet even here the ring of "secret things belong to Yahweh" (Dt 29:29; cf. Pr 25:2; Mk 13:32) holds. Until then, John writes what he sees and seals what is not given to be written, while the church waits for the last unveiling: "Beloved, we are now children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we will be. We know that, if he will be manifested, we will be like him; for we will see him even as he is" (1 Jn 3:2).