By the term “revelation” in theology it is customary to understand the actions by which God reveals to himself the people and his will. In this case, revelations can be sent both by the Lord himself, and come from any intermediaries or through sacred texts. Most people in the modern world profess three main religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which are based on Divine Revelation.
What is supernatural revelation?
In all major world religions, it is customary to separate such concepts as supernatural revelation and natural knowledge of God, which is also often called revelation. The supernatural form refers to a wide range of Divine actions aimed at transmitting to people the knowledge necessary for their salvation. In this regard, there are two different concepts among theologians (theologians) - general and individual Revelation.
What is its general form, it is clear from the name itself - this is a Divine message addressed to a significant number of people, maybe even to an individual people or humanity as a whole. Such a general Revelation is the Holy Scripture and the Holy Giving of the New Testament, as well as the statements of the prophets and apostles, resulting from the influence of the Holy Spirit on them.
They give Revelations to people who were created in the image and likeness of God, but who, as a result of original sin, lost their unity with their Creator, and, as a result, were doomed to eternal death. It was for the salvation of all mankind that Jesus Christ appeared in our world, bringing with Him the greatest teaching that history has never known before. Revelations of angels and other ethereal forces, for example, the gospel of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, belong to the same category.
Gospel revelation
In the general Revelation, revealed through the holy evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as in the letters of the apostles, people were taught the basics of a new creed, which revealed the truth about the Divine Trinity, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and the subsequent resurrection. The second coming coming of the Savior, universal resurrection and the Last Judgment were also reported there. These were no longer Old Testament commandments, but Revelations to the people of the New Testament.
Prophecies and their fulfillment
The supernatural nature of Christian Revelations is undeniably evidenced by the fulfillment of the prophecies contained in them, which in essence could not be made on the basis of any calculations or historical analysis. They stretch into the distance for many centuries and even millennia.
It is enough to recall the gospel words of Jesus Christ that, over time, the gospel will be preached to all nations and throughout the universe. He uttered them to a narrow circle of His followers, and meanwhile, having gone through all the persecutions, Christianity today became one of the main religions of the world.
Incredible could also have been the words of the Virgin Mary that all births would glorify (appease) her, but meanwhile for almost 2 thousand years the whole Christian world has been honoring her. And how can one naturally explain the Jesus' prediction about the destruction of Jerusalem that came true after forty years? Thus, all subsequent history has undeniably proved that the gospel prophecies are nothing but the Revelations of the new age that came on earth with the coming of the Son of God. They could not be the fruit of any activity, not even the most powerful human mind.
Individual Revelation
What are the Revelations granted to individuals (most often saints), you can understand by reading the patristic literature - books written by the fathers of the church, canonized after they completed their earthly journey. They, as a rule, do not communicate new, previously unknown truths, but only create prerequisites for a deeper knowledge of what was revealed in general Revelations.
A characteristic feature of individual revelations is that, according to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, set forth in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, they literally “cannot be retold” to other people. Therefore, from the patristic writings and everyday literature (the life of the saints) you can find out only the external side of the miracle that happened. They, as a rule, talk about the state of people at the time of the revelation granted to them, their experiences and feelings.
The danger of unauthorized invasion of the spiritual world
Touching on the issue of individual Revelations, the Christian Church draws the attention of its followers to the inadmissibility of attempts to arbitrarily enter the spiritual world. In this case, curiosity combined with frivolity and reverie can lead to the most disastrous consequences.
That is why Orthodoxy is extremely negative about spiritualism. There are many cases when attempts to communicate with the spirits of deceased people ended in severe mental disorders and even suicides. The church fathers explain the reason for this by the fact that in most cases, not those to whom they turn to make contact with the spirits, but demons - gloomy spirits of the underworld, which bring madness and death with them.
Falsifications of Divine Revelations
Unauthorized entry into the spiritual world is not only dangerous, but also fraught with the generation of false revelations. A vivid example of this is the activity of organizations deeply alien to true Orthodoxy, such as the Mother of God Center and White Brothers. The extreme arbitrariness allowed by them in the interpretation of Christian doctrine often leads people who fall under their influence to severe mental and physical injuries. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that they are trying to pass off their fabrications as Divine Revelation.
What is natural knowledge of God?
In addition to the above-mentioned forms of knowledge of God, in the tradition of the Christian church, there is also the concept of natural or universal Revelation. In this case, this refers to the possibility of knowing God that He gives to people through the world created by him, nature and man himself. A characteristic feature of natural Revelation is that it dispenses with the intervention of supernatural forces, and only a person’s mind and the voice of his conscience are needed to comprehend it.
Since that time, when a person realized himself as part of the world around him, he has not ceased to sing his beauty and harmony. An infinite number of examples of this can be found in religious and secular literature, in the most ancient monuments of bygone civilizations, and in contemporary art.
Since the question of who is the creator of this world, believers give a definite answer - God, they attribute the merit in creating all the splendor surrounding them to him. Further, it is easy to draw a parallel between how, contemplating a work of an artist, we get a clear idea of the depth and characteristics of his talent, and how, when we see the diversity, grandeur and harmony, forms of the world, we make a conclusion about the wisdom, goodness and omnipotence of his Creator.
The gospel captured in the world
Visible nature is a kind of book in which, in a language accessible to all people in the world, it eloquently narrates the deeds of God. This was repeatedly testified not only by ministers of the church, but also by people of science. It is well known, for example, the statement of Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov, in which he refers to nature as the Gospel, relentlessly preaching the creative power of God. The scientist adds that the visible world is a true preacher of wisdom, omnipotence and greatness of the Creator.
However, for all this, it should be borne in mind that natural Revelation, like any other, cannot give an idea of the fullness of Divine being, and the human mind is powerless to comprehend it. For this reason, revealing Himself, God Himself descends to man. The Holy Fathers teach that it is impossible to know the Creator without His will, manifested in all sorts of Revelations given to people.
Modern Evidence of God's Will
An innumerable number of messages addressed to people from the High World suggests that the concept of “last revelation” often found in literature can be understood only in its ordinal value, but not as the final process of communication between God and man, which began with the creation of the world. From the time when the Lord spoke with the people of His chosen people through the mouths of the Old Testament prophets, and throughout all subsequent centuries, evidence of His will always appeared.
Therefore, even today, waiting for the promised second coming of the Lord, Christians are closely following everything that may somehow contain the Revelation of God. In this case, we are talking mainly about ancient texts that have received new interpretations in the mouths of modern theologians and new interpretations.
In addition, it is worth mentioning extremely rare, but still occurring today, when the Lord in one form or another expresses His will through the ministers of the church, chosen by Him for this high mission. In this regard, we can mention the so-called Revelations to the people of the New Year, that is, the manifestations of the Divine will at the turn, when the old year gives way to a new one.
Straight Talk
In conclusion, we note that the word "revelation", in addition to the purely religious meaning in which it was discussed above, has its own secular interpretation. In most dictionaries, it is defined as an explanation of something hidden by a secret and inaccessible to a wide circle of people. Usually this is the recognition of any facts that were not previously disclosed.
With the development of the Internet, various forums have become widespread, in which people have the opportunity, while remaining anonymous, to frankly share with their virtual interlocutors the most painful and tell them something that they could not trust real people. An example of this is the very popular revelation forum “My Family” these days.