SPECIAL REVELATION DEFINED
God’s specific communication of Himself and His plan for salvation to certain people at certain times using dreams, visions, angels, theophanies, prophets, apostles, the incarnation of Christ, miracles, and Scripture.
WHAT IS SCRIPTURE?
1.) A Library
Scripture, or the Bible, is actually a repository of 66 individual books.
Cosmological Argument - Pythagoras, 6th century BC. For every effect there is a cause. The material world must have a beginning outside itself that caused it to come into existence.
Teleological Argument - Socrates, 5th century BC. The amazing harmony in creation must be ordered by an intelligent designer.
Teleological Argument - Socrates, 5th century BC. The amazing harmony in creation must be ordered by an intelligent designer.
2.) Unique
Scripture is unlike any other literary work in the history of mankind.
- 66 books written over 1500 year time span.
- Has at least 40 different authors (Kings, Peasants, Scholars & Fisherman).
- Written on 3 different continents (Europe, Asia, & Africa).
- Written in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic).
- Contains sermons, love letters, geographical surveys, battle plans, family trees, architectural designs, legal documents, and hundreds of controversial subjects … all with amazing unity.
3.) Written By God Through Man
“All Scripture is God-breathed” - 2 Timothy 3:16
“You accepted our Word for what it really is, the Word of God” - I Thessalonians 2:13
“Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” - 2 Peter 1:21
“You accepted our Word for what it really is, the Word of God” - I Thessalonians 2:13
“Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” - 2 Peter 1:21
CAN I TRUST SCRIPTURE?
The Bibliographical Test
- Scripture is the most historically scrutinized and also the most historically validated of all ancient literature.
- The works of Plato, Socrates, Caesar, and Tacitus have so few ancient manuscripts surviving they cannot be reconstructed as original; yet they are still taught as historical fact in modern universities.
- The works of Homer have 643 surviving manuscripts that can reconstruct his ancient work with 95% accuracy.
- The New Testament has 14,000 early manuscripts that reconstruct these 2000 year old books with 99.5% accuracy.
The Internal Test
- There are over 300 detailed prophecies (foretelling of future events before they occur) concerning the coming Messiah in the Old Testament.
- Jesus fulfills everyone of them.
- The odds are 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
The External Test
- Other historical and secular texts from the same time period of Christ corroborates the events of Scripture.
- Examples include Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus, & Pliny.
BIG IDEA OF SPECIAL REVELATION
All God’s special and specific communication is trustworthy and leads us to the person and work of Jesus. Reading the Bible won’t save you. To read the Bible and miss Jesus is a great adventure in missing the point. Believing what the Bible says about Jesus will save you. - John 5:39-46