What is the end or goal of revelation?
Why has God revealed himself to men down through the ages?
- That man might forever have dreams about God?
- That man might strain continually, trying to put together the random pieces of information that keep coming from heaven?
- Is revelation an end in itself? Is the goal of revelation its own self perpetuation?
No, of course not!
- Revelation is not itself the end. Revelation is a means to an end.
–> The end or goal of revelation is (and always has been) to make known to men the one and only God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Revelation is the way by which the eternal God makes himself known to sinful men who are hopelessly lost apart from his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Therefore, is the “end” of revelation something to be regretted?
Where do we now stand in relation to this end?
Hebrews 1:1-3 – “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
- The goal of revelation has been realized, for in the “fullness of time” Christ came to earth.
- Through knowledge of Christ, sinful man reaches the limit of his capacity to know personally his Creator and Redeemer.
What it Means that Revelation has Ceased
1. To say that revelation has ceased because it has come to its end-goal in the person of Christ does not mean that God has stopped revealing himself in nature and through the works of providence.
Psalm 19:1-4 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Romans 1:20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
- However, “although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Section I)
- The revelation of God unto salvation has its end in Jesus Christ, and can reach its fulness only in him.
2. The fact that revelation has reached its end-goal in the person of Christ does not mean that God has stopped speaking and communicating with men through the Scriptures.
Ephesians 1:17 – “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
Philippians 3:15 – “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.”
- The only way men can understand the Word of God is through the illumining work of the Holy Spirit. This is as true today as it was in times past.
- But the illumination of the truth of the Scriptures and the special revelation of new truth are two entirely different things.
3. The end of revelation does not mean merely that no further additions may be made to the collection of inspired writings that make up the canon of Scripture.
- The claim that revelation has ceased certainly includes the idea that nothing can be added to the Holy Scriptures. But it means more than this.
- Even the most ardent Pentecostalist would agree that nothing can be added to the canon of Scripture.
- The claim that revelation has ceased means that no further inspired, authoritative communications come to people other than those that are found in the Bible.
- Not all God’s revelation was written down (whether this revelation was to the Old Testament prophets, to the New Testament apostles, or even through Christ himself):
John 21:25 – “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
John 20:30 – “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book…”
- However, all we need to know for life and godliness has been recorded in Scripture:
John 20:31 – “…But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
2 Timothy 3:16,17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
- All the special revelations of the past found their consummation in Jesus Christ, the goal to which they all pointed. All revelation is complete in him. God has, therefore, now committed the revelation of himself “wholly [i.e. exclusively] unto writing…those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people [signs, wonders, visions, and prophecies] being now ceased.” (WCF, Chapter 1, Section I)
The History of the Cessation of Revelation
The “Do not add” Declarations
Deuteronomy 5:22 – “These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.”
- In so far as a summary statement of the moral will of God is concerned, the ten commandments brought the revelation of his will to its completion.
Deuteronomy 4:1,2 – “Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. … Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”
- In so far as the Mosaic covenant as summarized in the book of Deuteronomy is concerned, the canon (the rule) is closed.
Deuteronomy 12:32 – “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.“
- This serves as an introductory statement to Moses’ warnings concerning false prophets (Deut 13).
Numbers 11:25 – “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him [Moses], and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.“
- Revelation never came in unbroken continuance. God’s word was completed in so far as each stage of his redemptive work was concerned, and then no more was to be added to the revelation.
Revelation 22:18,19 – “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
- In contrast to the earlier revelations (the shadows, types, and forms of the old covenant that demanded further revelations to come), John has now revealed his ultimate vision of the glorified Son of God, the goal of all revelation. As revelation could not be complete before Christ came, so it could not be incomplete after he came.
The “End” in Relation to the “Means” of Special Revelation
1 Corinthians 13:1,2,8 – “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,…but have not love, I am nothing.
…Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
- Objectively, the end or goal of God’s revelation to men is found in the person of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Yea and the Amen of all the promises of God throughout history.
- Subjectively, the end or goal of all revelation is identified by Paul as love, for God is love and all his will for men is summed up in the two commandments of love.
“When the Spirit of God is poured out for the purposes of producing and promoting divine love, he is poured out in a more excellent way than when he is manifested in miraculous gifts.” – Jonathan Edwards
Evidence of the Decline of the Revelational Gifts in the New Testament Era
1. The Pattern of the Manifestation of the Gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Miraculous Signs in Acts
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- The book of Acts records this pattern in both the spread of the gospel and the manifestation of the gifts related to new revelation.
- In each successive stage of the advancement of the gospel, the revelational gifts of the Spirit indicate the Lord’s sanction of the progression.
- Since no further distinctive stages of advancement remain, no further manifestations of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit should be expected.
2. The Contrast Between Paul’s Earliest and Last Writings
The Early Pauline Letters:
1 Thessalonians 5:19,20 – “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.”
Romans 12:6 – “…If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.”
1 Corinthians 12-14 – Paul’s fullest discussion of the gifts of tongues and prophecy.
The Middle Pauline Letters:
Ephesians 2:20 – “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone.”
Ephesians 3:2-6 – “…the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.”
Ephesians 4:11 – “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,…”
The Later Pauline Letters:
Titus 1:9 – “He [an overseer] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
Titus 2:1 – “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.”
2 Timothy 1:13,14 – “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Jesus Christ. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
2 Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
- Paul places much less stress on the gifts of revelation in his later writings. Instead, he emphasizes holding fast to sound doctrine. This provides significant evidence of the decline of the revelational gifts as the canon of inspired Scripture (the body of doctrine) was completed.
Objections to the Concept of the Cessation of Revelation
Scriptural Objections
1 Thessalonians 5:20 – “Do not treat prophesies with contempt.”
1 Corinthians 14:39 – “…do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
Objection: Who would dare to oppose these God-inspired commands and forbid people to prophesy or speak in tongues?
- The question, however, is not whether prophecy and tongues should be forbidden by men. The question is whether prophecy and tongues have been brought to their completion and their end by the plan and purpose of God.
- Many divine injunctions throughout history are no longer binding on God’s people today.
a. Consider the ceremonial laws.
b. Compare Luke 10:4 with Luke 22:36.
c. Compare Matthew 10:5,6 with Matthew 28:19 and
Acts 1:8.
d. Compare Acts 15:19-29 with 1 Corinthians 8.
- If the “tongues” and “prophecies” today were identical to the Spirit’s gifts as they functioned in the days of the apostles, it would obviously be wrong to forbid them. However, if they are not the same, it is quite appropriate to forbid their exercise in the worship of God. For God must be worshipped only in the ways He has prescribed in his Word. We have no right to invent ways of approaching the Almighty.
Theological Objections
Objection: Does not the assertion that revelation has ceased have the effect of limiting God?
- Absolutely not! The question is not whether God can continue to reveal Himself through inspired prophecies, tongues, or any other means of His choosing. The question is, Has He chosen to continue to reveal Himself in these ways?
Objection: Why should unbelievers today be denied the confirming power of signs, wonders, and revelational experiences that could be instrumental in bringing them to saving faith?
- First, according to the New Testament record, the manifestation of the revelational gifts was most extensive among God’s people, not out in the eyes of the world.
- But more importantly, the Holy Spirit does not need miracles to convince men in their hearts of the truth of His Word, and we should not think that he does.
Matthew 12:39 – “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!”
Practical Objections
Objection: Since so many people strongly believe that God has communicated with them, is it practical to conclude that all of them have suffered from an illusion?
- Would we dare use this argument with respect to salvation? (i.e. Since so many people do not believe in Christ, is it practical to conclude that all of them are on their way to hell? See Matthew 7:13,14.)
- What could be more practical than teaching believers to make responsible decisions based upon the objective teachings of the Word of God, rather than to wait for God to somehow “reveal” his will to them before they can act.
