Special Revelation Of God
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SPECIAL REVELATION OF GOD
(Theology: Doctrine Of God)
* Revelation = God revealing Himself
* General Revelation = God revealing Himself through His creation
* Special Revelation = God revealing Himself to special people or specific people at a specific time
* eg. Prophets and apostles because they are special people and they have that privilege and honor
* The Bible is also special revelation
1. Special Revelation Cannot Be Learned On One's Own
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
* A normal man cannot understand the special revelation. He needs to be guided by the Holy Spirit
* When we got saved, we are able to recognise the spiritual things of God because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us
2. Special Revelation Is Accepted By Faith
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
* The word of God contains special revelation that can only be accepted by faith
* Eg. Accept by faith God exist, or hell exist
SECTION 2: NEED FOR SPECIAL REVELATION
1. Man’s Salvation Depends On It: Faith Comes From The Special Revelation Of God’s Words.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
* Many are lost because they don't hear the word of God to have faith
2. Man Cannot Appreciate General Revelation Until He Accepts Special Revelation
Romans 1:19-21 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Psalms 8:3-5 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
* General revelation is basically God revealing Himself not to one specific location, place, or person but in a general manner to a whole group
* eg. A lost man is not thankful to the true God for His creation because he doesn’t believe in His words. Creation is an example of a general revelation.
SECTION 3: PROPHETS GIVEN SPECIAL REVELATION
1. The Formula For A Prophet Is "Thus Saith The Lord"
a. Example Of Verses (There Are 413 Verses With This Exact Phrase)
Exodus 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Joshua 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Judges 6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
1 Samuel 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
2 Samuel 7:5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
1 Kings 11:31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
2 Kings 1:4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
1 Chronicles 21:10 Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
2 Chronicles 34:23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
Isaiah 7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
Jeremiah 2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
b. Example Of Lying Without The Formula And Telling The Truth Using The Formula
1 Kings 13:15-24 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase..
* Old man lied to the young saying that you can stop and eat on the way even though the young man knew that God told him not to stop and eat on the way. God saw that the young man disobeyed him and God told the old man to tell the young man that because he disobeyed God's words, he will be killed by a lion along the way. And the old man switched from lying into telling the truth and told the young man "Thus saith the Lord"
* Why did God kill that young man? The young man was innocent and he was just deceived? The problem is the young man is a prophet of God and he should have known better
* We christians are also prophet of God and we should know better.
* If there is a heretic pastor that says this is what God said or teaches, and if we fall for that, it will only hurt us ourselves.
* We need to keep our ears open on the genuine and right formula from God
* When the old man lied, he didn't use the formula by saying "thus saith the Lord" but when he started to tell the truth, he used the formula and said "thus saith the Lord"
2. When The Prophet Is Given Special Revelation From God, They Can Be Known To Do Some Strange Things
a. God Tells Ezekial To Use Poop To Make Cake And To Eat It
Ezekiel 4:12-15 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13 And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
* God wants the children of Israel to get the feeling of how disgusted God feels when they sin
b. God Tells Isaiah To Go Around The City Naked
Isaiah 20:2-3 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
c. Ahijah Rips Jeroboam's Clothes Into 12 Pieces
1 Kings 11:29-31 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
* Ahijah the prophet meets Jeroboam who will become king
* Ahijah tried to make his point by giving Jeroboam the 12 pieces of clothes which he ripped apart and told him that God will take 12 kingdoms from Solomon to give it to Jeroboam
d. A Prophet Asking People To Smite Him
1 Kings 20:35-42 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
* A prophet told his neighbour to smite him but the neighbour did not and God used used a lion and killed the man. Then the prophet went to another and asked him to smite him and the guy did. The prophet used that pain or wound to prophecy something to King Ahab by saying look at that wound, God is going to do something to his kingdom someday
e. God Told Hosea To Marry A Whore
Hosea 1:1-2 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
* to show that's what God feels when people worship idols
3. God Can Use Any Prophet
a. Woman
2 Chronicles 34:22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
b. Wild Looking Man: John The Baptist
Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
c. King: Saul
1 Samuel 19:23-24 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
* before Saul was going to capture king David, God made him like a mentally insane person. Saul started to do flips, roll around the floor and spit out of his mouth, rant his own clothes and prophesied for God
d. Evil Man: Balam
Joshua 13:22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.
Numbers 23:5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
e. Poets
Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
f. Priest
Luke 1:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Luke 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
g. Presidents, Government Leaders
Daniel 6:2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
SECTION 4: FALSE PROPHETS CLAIMING SPECIAL REVELATION
1. They Do Not Go By The Formula "Thus Saith The Lord"
1 Kings 13:18-21 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
* We know the old man is a false prophet because he did not use the formula "thus saith the Lord" when he lied He just said "an angel spake"
2. A False Prophet Uses Great Swelling Words
2 Peter 2:1-3, 15-18 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
* Swelling words = words that attract people
3. A False Prophet Is Proven When Their Prophecy Fails
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
4. A Prophet Whose Prophecy Does Come To Pass Is Still Wrong When He Does Not Follow The Commandments Of God
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
5. Paul Says That If One Thinks He Is A Prophet, He Must Go By Paul’s Writings In The Word Of God.
1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
* The commandment of speaking in tongues is to be by 2 or maximum 3 person and let one interpret
SECTION 5: MODERN DAYS OF SPECIAL REVELATION
1. John Wrote About The Things That Will Happen In The Future
Revelation 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
* God told John to write the future stuff.
* Book of revelation marks the final point to “one to one" special revelation.
* Because the bible is now complete, there is no more need for additional “special revelation” from God.
2. The Things That John Has Written In This Book Cannot Be Added To
Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
* Don't add more to it or God will add unto us plagues
3. Scriptures Are Man’s Prophecy
2 Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
* Quoting from the bible is prophesying
4. The Testimony Of Jesus Is The Spirit Of Prophecy
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
* Testimony: One is saved in the Lord Jesus Christ.
* Prophecy: One is going to heaven. He is not going to burn in hell.
* telling people about the testimony of Jesus is prophesying
3. The Word Of God Is Prophecy
2 Peter 1:17-20 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
* telling people about the word of God is prophesying