In the Biblical context, revelation is the supreme unveiling or manifestation of God’s truth in the Christian’s life. God also reveals Himself to people, as He did to Abraham (Genesis 12) and Moses (Exodus 3), by which He unfolds His character and mighty deeds to assert His communion to humans. Divine revelation is a work of the Holy Spirit, and can also happen through prophets, as in the Old Testament. A believer’s revelation brings them closer to the mystery of Christ, and thus to God’s desire.
Rev 1:1: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon occur. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.
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Acts 1:8: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Brazier, 2012, p. 91; Loke, 2018, p.385)
Sin
Sin means missing the mark, or ideally, transgression against divine law. In sinning, humans become filthy, and they attract God’s wrath (1 John 3:4). Sin typically comes in breaking the Decalogue, and it separates people from holiness. While sin distances humanity from its sovereign creator, there is a single remedy. That is the essence of Christ, who brings redemption (cleaning) to sinners (Luke 19:10). Given that all humans are prone to transgression, the earnest sinner must confess the condemnation and seek renewal.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 59:2: But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
(Van Oort, 2019, p.412; Kilcrease, 2017, p.234)
Reconciliation
The reconciliation between humanity and God, its sovereign creator through Jesus Christ, is Christianity’s noblest task and philosophy. Divine reconciliation is God’s mission to reconcile a broken world back to His lovingkindness. Ideally, the only requirement for a sinner to be reconciled is to admit their status, pledge their realization that sin leads to death, and confess the acceptance of Christ as the conduit to salvation. Reconciliation comes hand in hand with forgiveness, mediated through Christ, who bore the blame.
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Proverbs 28:13: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
(Reconciliation Network, 2005, 8; Morris, 2017, p.312)
Creation
Biblically, humans are stewards of creations. The position designates them the overarching role of thoughtful caretaking of the world as God’s ordained habitat. Therefore, the Christian must be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth to fulfil God’s plan for humankind after creation in Genesis 1:26-28). Central to creation is marriage, by which God expects adults to engage in consummation to continue His works of creation. Furthermore, we are reminded in Genesis that men and women were created with concrete objectives. That means our living must be praise and glorify God.
Romans 8:19 : For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
Isaiah 43:7 : Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
Revelations 4:9-11: And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever.
(Cobern, 2012, p.25; Schultz, 2018, p.315)
Eschatology
Eschatology refers to ‘the last times’ and the associated happenings. Every Christian ought to prepare for eschatology because it is the second coming of the Messiah, which implies the fulfilment of Old Testament prophesies. As a central part of the Christian storyline, eschatology is dual to creation because they are the beginning and the end, respectively, in God’s calendar. Notably, Christians must be on the watch for indicators like pestilences, epidemics, and mass murders, which were foretold to mark its beginning. Christians must, therefore, remain devout and preach and adhere to the counsel of God. The happy part is that the eschatology will bring relief to Christian’s suffering and persecution.
1 John 3:2-3: Beloved, now we are children of God… We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
James 5:8-9: You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Romans 8:18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
(Jenson, 2019, 449; Dei, 2018, p.21.)
References
Brazier, P. H. (2012). CS Lewis: Revelation, Conversion, and Apologetics: Revelation, Conversion, and Apologetics (Vol. 1). WIPF and Stock Publishers.
Cobern, William W. (2012) “One Christian’s Perspective on Creation and Evolution.” Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project. 25.
Dei, D. (2018). Trends in Evangelical Conception of Christian Eschatology. Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies , 8(2), 17-34.
Jenson, R. W. (2019). Eschatology. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology , 444-456.
Kilcrease, B. (2017). A History of Pregnancy in Christianity: From Original Sin to Contemporary Abortion Debates. Anglican and Episcopal History , 86(2), 233.
Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, citing T. H. Hughes, The Atonement , p. 312.
Loke, A. T. (2018). Revelation: Towards a Christian Interpretation of God’s Self-revelation in Jesus Christ. By Gerald O’ Collins. The Journal of Theological Studies . 22(6) 381-388.
Reconciliation Network. “Reconciliation as the Mission of God .” Retrieved https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/documents/cfr/reconciliaton-as-the-mission-of-god.pdf
Schultz, C. (2018). Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology ). Christian Scholar’s Review , 47(3), 315-317.
Van Oort, J. (2019). Augustine On Sexual Concupiscence and Original Sin. In Mani and Augustine (pp. 411-417). Brill.
