The meaning of the word (phrase) is divine revelation. What is divine revelation

God communicates His main revelation to people in a special, unusual way, or, as we say, in a supernatural way - this is when God reveals about Himself directly by Himself or through angels. This revelation is called supernatural Divine revelation.

Since not all people can themselves receive revelation from God Himself, due to their sinful impurity and weakness of spirit and body, the Lord chooses special, righteous people who can receive this revelation.

The first heralds of the revelation of God were: Adam, Mine, Moses and other prophets and righteous people. All of them received from God and preached the beginnings of God's revelation.

In fullness and perfection, God's revelation was brought to earth by the incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and spread it throughout the earth through His apostles and disciples.

This Divine revelation is now spreading between people and is preserved in the true, holy Orthodox Church in two ways: through Holy Tradition and Holy Scripture.

The original way of spreading the revelation of God is Sacred Tradition. From the beginning of the world to Moses there were no sacred books, and the teaching about the faith of God was transmitted orally, legend, that is, by word and example, from one to another and from ancestors to descendants.

Jesus Christ Himself transmitted His divine teachings and institutions to His disciples by His word (sermon) and the example of His life, and not by a book (Scripture).

In the same way, in the beginning, the apostles also spread the faith and established the Church of Christ.

Holy Tradition has always preceded Holy Scripture. This is quite understandable, because not all people can use books, and the tradition is available to everyone without exception.

In the future, in order for the Divine revelation to be preserved quite accurately, according to the inspiration of the Lord, some holy people wrote down the most important things in books. God Himself the Holy Spirit invisibly helped them so that everything that is written in these books was correct and true. All these books, written by the Spirit of God, through people consecrated for that from God (prophets, apostles and others.) Are called Holy Scripture, or The Bible.

The word “Bible” is Greek and means “books”. This title indicates that the Sacred Books, as having come from God Himself, are superior to all other books.

The books of Scripture were written by different people and at different times, but they are all divided into two parts: books Old Testament and the books of the New Testament.

The books of the Old Testament were written before the birth of Christ. The books of the New Testament were written after the birth of Christ. All these sacred books are called the biblical word "covenant", because the word means will, since they contain the Divine teaching bequeathed by God to people. The word "Covenant" also means union or contract (union, contract of God with people).

I. Law-positive books, which constitute the main foundation of the Old Testament, are as follows:

1. Genesis.

2. Exodus.

3. Leviticus.

4. Numbers.

5. Deuteronomy.

These five books were written through the prophet Moses. They talk about the creation of the world and man, about the Fall, about God's promise of the Savior of the world, about the life of people in the early times. They mainly contain a statement of the law given by God through Moses. Jesus Christ Himself calls them the Law of Moses (Lu. 24 , 14).

II. Books historical, which predominantly contain the history of the religion and life of the Jewish people, who retained faith in the true God, are as follows:

6. Book of Joshua.

7. Judges, and together with her, as if her addition, the book Ruth.

8. First and second books of Kings like two parts of one book.

9. The third and fourth books of Kings.

10. The first and second books of Chronicles(additions).

11. The first and second books of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah.

12.Book of Esther.

III. Teaching books, which predominantly contain the doctrine of faith, are as follows:

13. The Book of Job.

14. Psalter, contains 150 psalms or sacred songs, written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Most of the psalms were written by King David. The Psalter is used in almost every Orthodox service.

15. Proverbs of Solomon.

16. Ecclesiastes(i.e., church preacher).

17. Song of songs(i.e. the most excellent song).

Vi. Books of prophecy which contain prophecies or predictions about the future, and mainly about the Savior, Jesus Christ, the following:

18. Isaiah.

19. Jeremiah.

20. Ezekiel.

21. Daniel.

22. The books of the twelve prophets called small ones: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Zechariah and Malachi.

All of the listed sacred books of the Old Testament are called canonical, that is, undoubtedly true both in origin and in content. The word "canonical" is Greek and means "exemplary, true, correct".

In addition to the canonical books, the Old Testament books also include "non-canonical" ones. These are the books that the Jews lost and which are not in the modern Hebrew text of the Old Testament. They are taken from the Greek translation of the Old Testament books, made by 70 interpreters (learned people), three centuries before the birth of Christ (in 271 BC), and have been placed in the Bible since antiquity. This translation is especially respected in the Orthodox Church. Our Slavic translation of the Bible was made from it.

The non-canonical books of the Old Testament include:

1. Book of Tobit.

2. Book of Judith.

3. Book of the Wisdom of Solomon.

4. The book of Jesus, son of Sirakhov.

5. The Epistle of Jeremiah.

7. Three Maccabean books.

8. The third book of Ezra.

Sacred books Of the New Testament twenty seven, and they are all canonical. According to their content, just like the Old Testament ones, they can be divided into: positive, historical, teaching and prophetic.

I. Books law-positive, that is, predominantly constituting the basis of the New Testament:

1. Gospel of Matthew.

2. Gospel of Mark.

3. Gospel of Luke.

4. Gospel of john.

"Gospel" is a Greek word, which means "gospel", that is, good or good news about the coming into the world of the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, promised by God, telling about His earthly life, death on the cross, resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven, as well as setting forth His divine teachings and miracles. The Gospels were written by the holy apostles, disciples of Jesus Christ.

II. Books historical:

5. Book of Acts of the Holy Apostles, written by the Evangelist Luke. It tells about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the spread of the Church of Christ through them.

III. Books teachable:

6-12. Seven conciliar epistles(letters to all Christians): one apostle James, two apostles Peter, three apostles the evangelist John and one apostle Judas (James).

13-26. Fourteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul: to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, the Bishop of Ephesus, to Titus, the Bishop of Crete, to Philemon, and to the Hebrews.

IV. Books prophetic:

27. Apocalypse, or the revelation of John the Evangelist, written by the Apostle Evangelist John the Theologian. This book contains a mysterious picture of the life and future destiny of the Church of Christ and the whole world.

The sacred books of the New Testament were originally written in Greek, which was the most commonly used language at the time. Only the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews were first written in Hebrew. But the Gospel of Matthew in the first century was translated into Greek, as it is assumed, by the apostle Matthew himself.

The books of Holy Scripture, both the New Testament and the Old Testament, being a Divine revelation, written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are called inspired. The Apostle Paul says: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3 , 16).

The truth of the Divine origin of the Holy Books is convinced by the height and purity of the Christian teaching in these books, prophecies and miracles. A special sign of the inspiration of the sacred books is the powerful effect of the word of God on a person. Wherever the sermon of the apostles was heard, it conquered the hearts of people to Christ's teaching. The Jewish and pagan worlds armed themselves against the Christians with all the strength of human malice, Christians died in martyrdom in thousands, and the proclaimed word of God grew and was established. There have been examples of people taking up the Bible with a desire to refute the teachings it contains, and end up being sincere admirers and believers of it. Each of us, carefully reading the Holy Scriptures, can experience His mighty power, and be convinced at the same time that it is the revelation of God Himself.

All Divine Revelation: the books of Holy Scripture (i.e., the Bible) and Holy Tradition, i.e. that which was not originally recorded in these books, but transmitted orally, and only then was written by holy people in the early centuries of Christianity (IV, and V centuries) and, therefore, has a deep antiquity and reliability - all this is preserved in the Holy Church... The Church was founded by the Savior Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and made her the keeper of His Divine Revelation. God the Holy Spirit invisibly guards her.

Saint Orthodox Church, after the death of the apostles, is guided by Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition... We read the words of the prophets and apostles there as if we lived with them and heard them ourselves.

In special cases, to expose false teachers, or to resolve various misunderstandings, based on the commandment of the Savior Himself(Matt. 18 , 17) and by the example of the Holy Apostles(Apostolic Council in 51 - Acts. 15 , 1-35), are collected Cathedrals... They are Ecumenical, to which the shepherds and teachers of the Church gather, if possible, from all over the universe, and local when shepherds and teachers of one particular area gather.

Ecumenical Council there is the highest power on earth of St. Church of Christ led by Of the Holy Spirit, as it was said for the first time in the decree of the Apostolic Council: " be pleased with the Holy Spirit and us"(Acts. 15 , 28).

Ecumenical Councils It was seven... At these councils, on the first and second of them, our Orthodox Symbol of Faith.

The term "revelation" in theology is commonly understood to mean those actions by which God reveals Himself and His will to people. In this case, revelations can be sent down 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 concepts such as supernatural revelation and natural knowledge of God, which is also often called revelation. The supernatural form is understood as a wide range of Divine actions aimed at imparting to people the knowledge necessary for their salvation. In this regard, among theologians (theologians) there are two different concepts - general and individual Revelation.

What is its general form, it is clear from the name itself - it is a Divine message addressed to a significant number of people, maybe even a separate nation or humanity as a whole. Such a general Revelation is the Holy Scripture and the Holy Writ of the New Testament, as well as the utterances of the prophets and apostles, which were the result of the influence of the Holy Spirit on them.

They give Revelations to people created in the image and likeness of God, but as a result original sin who have lost their unity with their Creator, and, as a result, are 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, equal to which history did not know before. This category includes the Revelations of angels and other disembodied forces, for example, the gospel of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.

Gospel revelation

In the general Revelation, revealed through the holy evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as in people, the foundations of a new doctrine were taught, in which the truth about the Divine Trinity, about the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, about His crucifixion, and subsequent resurrection was revealed. It also reported about the second, coming coming of the Savior, about the general resurrection and the Last Judgment. These were no longer the Old Testament commandments, but Revelations to the people of the New Testament.

Prophecies and their fulfillment

The supernatural nature of Christian Revelations is indisputably evidenced by the fulfillment of the prophecies contained in them, which in their 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.

Suffice it to recall the Gospel words of Jesus Christ that over time the Gospel will be preached to all nations and throughout the entire universe. He pronounced them to a narrow circle of His followers, and meanwhile, having gone through all the persecutions, Christianity today has become one of the main religions of the world.

The words of the Virgin Mary that all generations will glorify (gratify) Her may have seemed incredible, and meanwhile, for almost 2 thousand years, the entire Christian world has been giving her honor. And how can one naturally explain Jesus' prediction about the destruction of Jerusalem, which came true forty years later? Thus, all subsequent history has incontestably proved that the Gospel prophecies are nothing more than the Revelations of a new age that came on earth with the coming of the Son of God. They could not become the fruit of the activity of any, even the most powerful human mind.

Individual Revelation

What are the Revelations given to individuals (most often to the saints), you can understand by reading the patristic literature - books written by the church fathers, canonized after they completed their earthly journey. In them, as a rule, new, previously unknown truths are not communicated, but only preconditions are created 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 out in his second letter to the Corinthians, literally they “cannot be told” to other people. Therefore, from the patristic writings and hagiographic literature (the lives of the saints), one can only learn the outer side of the miracle that happened. They, as a rule, talk about the state of people at the moment of the Revelation given to them, their experiences and feelings.

The Danger of Unauthorized Intrusion into the Spiritual World

Concerning the issue of individual Revelations, the Christian Church draws the attention of its followers to the inadmissibility of attempts to unauthorized entry into the spiritual world. In this case, curiosity, combined with frivolity and daydreaming, can lead to the most disastrous consequences.

That is why Orthodoxy has an extremely negative attitude towards spiritualism. There are many known cases when attempts to communicate with the spirits of deceased people ended in severe mental illness and even suicide. The church fathers explain the reason for this by the fact that in most cases it is not those to whom they turn that come into contact with the spiritualists, but the demons - the dark spirits of the underworld, bringing madness and death with them.

Falsification of Divine Revelations

Unauthorized penetration into the spiritual world is not only dangerous, but also fraught with the generation of false revelations. A striking example of this is the activity of such organizations deeply alien to true Orthodoxy as the Mother of God Center and the White Brothers. The extreme arbitrariness they allow in interpreting Christian teachings often leads people who have fallen under their influence to severe mental and physical trauma. Special attention should be paid to the fact that they try 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 ubiquitous Revelation. In this case, we mean the opportunity to cognize God, which He gives to people through the world, nature and man himself created by him. A characteristic feature of natural Revelation is that it dispenses with the intervention of supernatural forces, and only the mind of a person and the voice of his conscience are needed to comprehend it.

Since those ancient times, when a person realized himself as a part of the world around him, he never ceases to praise its beauty and harmony. An endless number of examples of this can be found in religious and secular literature, in the most ancient monuments of bygone civilizations, and in modern art.

Since the question of who is the creator of this world, believers give an unambiguous answer - God, then they attribute the merit in creating all the splendor around them to Him. Further, it is easy to draw a parallel between how, contemplating the work of an artist, we get a clear idea of ​​the depth and characteristics of his talent, and how, at the sight of diversity, greatness and harmony, forms of the world, we draw a conclusion about the wisdom, goodness and omnipotence of his Creator.

The gospel sealed in the world

Visible nature is a kind of book in which the language, accessible to all people in the world, eloquently tells about the deeds of God. This has been repeatedly testified not only by the ministers of the church, but also by the people of science. It is well known, for example, the statement of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, in which he calls nature the Gospel, incessantly preaching about 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, with 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. It is for this reason that, revealing Himself, God Himself descends to man. The Holy Fathers teach that it is impossible to cognize the Creator without His will, manifested in various kinds of Revelations given to people.

Contemporary Testimonies of God's Will

The innumerable number of messages addressed to people from the Heavenly world suggests that the concept "last revelation", which is often found in literature, can be perceived only in its ordinal meaning, but not as the final process of communication between God and man, which began with the creation of the world. Since the times when the Lord spoke with the people chosen by Him through the mouth of the Old Testament prophets, and throughout all subsequent centuries, evidence of His will has invariably appeared.

Therefore, even today, while awaiting the promised second coming of the Lord, Christians are closely watching everything that in one way or another may contain the Revelation of God. In this case, we are talking mainly about ancient texts that have received new interpretations and new comprehension in the mouths of modern theologians.

In addition, mention should be made of the extremely rare, but still occurring in our days, cases 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 manifestation of Divine will at the turn when the old year gives way to a new one.

Straight Talk

In conclusion, we note that the very word "revelation", in addition to the purely religious meaning in which it was considered above, has its own secular interpretation. In most dictionaries, it is defined as an explanation of something hidden in secret, and inaccessible to a wide range of people. Usually these are admissions of some facts that were not previously subject to publicity.

Divine revelation- manifestation in the world; self-disclosure of God to the world and man, within the framework of which knowledge is given about Himself, about Him, plans, actions (as well as about the results of some of His actions).

We can say that Divine Revelation is God's disclosure of Himself to man in response to a human desire to cognize his Creator, in response to an active search for God on the part of people. God created the entire human race so that people would seek Him, “whether they would feel Him and find Him, although He is not far from each of us” (). Striving for God, a person cannot cognize Him exclusively by his own efforts, but this striving itself has, in the consciousness of God, a certain value.

Within the framework of Orthodox theology, two types of Divine revelation are distinguished: natural and supernatural.

Natural Revelation is that God reveals Himself in His creation, just as an artist reveals himself in his painting or an author in his work. But this method of knowledge of God is very limited, because the Divine being is uncreated. In His God is superior to all His creatures. Not being an intelligible object or a phenomenon perceived by the senses, He cannot be cognized by the efforts of the human mind or senses, as the created objects of our world are cognized. That is why, revealing Himself, God descends to man Himself. “The Savior did not at all say that it is absolutely impossible to know God,” teaches St. , - but said only that no one can know God without Divine will, without teaching from God, without His revelation ("and to whom the Son wants to open"). But since the Father deigned that we know God, and the Son revealed Him to us, then we have the necessary knowledge about Him. "

Revealing to man, God imparts knowledge of Himself to him in a supernatural way. "Supernatural knowledge is that which enters the mind in a way that exceeds its natural methods and powers," teaches St. ... “But it happens from the one God, when He finds the mind cleansed of all material attachment and embraced by the Divine.” Supernatural knowledge about God is imparted to the human Divine soul, proceeding from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. It is through the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit that man assimilates the truths of Divine Revelation. The Apostle Paul affirms that: "... no one can call Jesus Christ Lord, except by the Holy Spirit" (). This means that confessing Christ as Lord can only be the one whose mind and heart have been influenced by Divine grace.

Divine grace abides in the Church, is given to. Therefore, she is also the keeper of Divine Revelation. “God is cognized only by the Holy Spirit,” teaches St. ... "It has been given to our Most Glorious Church by the Holy Spirit to understand the mysteries of God." All the fullness of the truth received from Christ, the apostles announced (). According to the word of St. , the apostles put into the Church everything that relates to the truth. As “the pillar and confirmation of the truth” (), the Church keeps the revealed doctrinal truths called.

Christian doctrine of revelation

From the book of Professor Ivan Mikhailovich Andreev (Andreevsky),
"Orthodox Apologetics".

The word "revelation" means the supernatural revelation by God of unknowable truths to people. Man is part of the world. The world was created without human participation. A person is limited by the time of his birth and death and the space of his stay. Just as a part cannot know the whole, so a person cannot know everything. He cannot, by his own powers of mind, comprehend neither the root causes of everything that exists, nor the meaning of his own and world life, nor the purpose of the universe. These questions, which arise and require resolution in the consciousness of each person, are insoluble by the human mind. The only way to resolve these and many other pressing spiritual needs is through revelation. If God wants to reveal to people these unknowable truths, then and only then can a person know them.

God wanted this and revealed the truth to people. He sent to earth his Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought people the truth, the way of knowing it (the method or way of knowing the truth) and true life (for without the help of God there can be no eternal life). “I am the way and the truth and the life,” said Christ ().

Elsewhere He said: “Without Me you can do nothing” ().

No one has ever spoken like one who has the power to reveal the truth.

Christ is the fullness of the revealed truth. God Himself spoke through His mouth, His every word was absolute pure truth. For He Himself, the Savior of the world, was the Son of God, was the true God.

The revelation took place gradually. The Lord did not immediately reveal Himself and His will. First, He gave, through the miraculous and wondrous phenomena of nature and its laws, the so-called natural revelation. Then he gave supernatural revelations through spirit-bearing prophets and through miraculous phenomena in human history. And finally, he gave full gospel revelation in the Son, the God-man Christ.

The composition of any supernatural revelation certainly includes: the prediction of the future, the disclosure of the mysteries of God and the clarification of such religious and moral truths that exceed all the possibilities and abilities of human knowledge.

The revelation of nature (both surrounding a person and the person himself, mainly his consciousness) suggests that outside of a person, above him, that is, above him, there is a reason, strength and wisdom of the creative principle, indicating the presence of a Supreme Being, having the character of a person, that is, that there is a God. All the so-called proofs of the existence of God are the result of this natural revelation.

An honest and normal human mind, through consideration of the nature of the world and the nature of its own consciousness, comes to the conviction of the existence of God. And only a crafty or abnormal mind can deny Him.

"The madman said in his heart: there is no God" () ...

But besides the conviction of the existence of God, man also desires personal communication with Him.

Religion begins not with the recognition of God (this is, strictly speaking, the task of philosophy), but with communication with Him. This communication of man with God is impossible without the help of God. It is this help that is given by the so-called supernatural revelation.

In addition to the division of revelation into natural and supernatural, other types of revelation are also distinguished: direct and mediocre, external and internal.

Direct revelation is the communication by God Himself of certain religious truths to the chosen people (for example, the prophet-god-seeing Moses).

Mediocre revelation occurs when it is communicated to people through divinely inspired persons (for example, prophets) or higher intelligent beings - Angels (for example, the gospel to the Virgin Mary).

External revelation is called the very fact of communicating the truth, and internal revelation is the fact of assimilating what is communicated. The latter requires supernatural inspiration, which is usually defined by the word "divine inspiration."

Usually "inspiration" refers to the supernatural influence of the Spirit of God on the prophets and apostles, under whose inspiration they correctly interpreted the revelations communicated to them and correctly presented them in the sacred books. Such sacred books were called "divinely inspired".

A. Early and Medieval Church

The early Christian writers did not discuss the issue of revelation-inspiration as a separate issue, but the Church Fathers talked about it a lot. In the early days of the Church's development, there was general agreement that a new and complete revelation was given in Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, Christ is called the Word of God, the image of the Father, Lord, Teacher, Path, Light of the world. Irenaeus (130-200) calls Christ “the only true and steadfast Teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ” (“Against Heresies,” 5) and states that “we would not have known God in any other way if our The Lord who exists as the Word did not become a man. For no other being had the power to reveal the Father to us, with the exception of His own Word ”(“ Against heresp ”, 5.1.1). Clement of Alexandria (150-215) says that “our Teacher is the holy God Jesus, the Word, who is the guide of all mankind. The loving God Himself is our Mentor "(Mentor, 1.7).

However, this emphasis on Christ as the supreme Divine Teacher and the Word of God did not mean denying or belittling the revelations given in the pre-Christian era. According to the same Clement, the Word "appeared as our Teacher." He is "the Lord, who from the beginning gave revelations through prophecy, but now directly calls for salvation" ("Instructions to the Gentiles", 1). In contrast to the Gnostic heresies, Irenaeus emphasized the unity and progress of revelation in the Word: from the creation of the world to its culmination in the incarnation of Christ and the subsequent testimony of the apostles.

René Laturel summarizes this as follows: “Irenaeus is aware of the dynamic and historical aspects of revelation. He emphasizes movement, progress, deep unity. He sees the Word of God in action from the very beginning ... the apostles, the Church - all these are the distinguishing moments of the activity of the Word, for the Father more and more clearly manifested Himself through the Word ... Hence the indivisible unity of the two Testaments ”(14, p. 105). These points of view express the common position of the early Christians on this issue.

Already in the New Testament, and especially among Christian writers of the second century, we see an obvious acceptance of the New Testament writings as parts of Holy Scripture. Irenaeus speaks of the Scriptures as "good words of revelation" (Against Heresies, 1.3.6). Similar thoughts were expressed by other early Christian writers.

In opposing heresies such as Montanism, Gnosticism, or Marcianism, the Church Fathers defended the Christian faith on the basis of all of Scripture, appealing to subordinate apostolic tradition. There is almost no doubt that “among the early Christian Fathers of the Church, tradition (paradosis, tradition) means revelation given by God, which He transmitted to His faithful people through the mouths of the prophets and apostles” (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1983, p. 1388). However, as time passed, some tendencies began to undermine the higher authority of Scripture.

The appeal to tradition preserved in the churches formed by the apostles, especially the church of Rome, gradually gave way to the assertion that the Bible should be accepted on the basis of ecclesiastical authority. It was argued that it was the Church who determined which books are included in the biblical canon. In addition, under the influence of Basil the Great (330–379), Christians began to believe that unwritten traditions of apostolic origin, which were not included in the Scriptures, but preserved by the Church, could be accepted as having divine authority. Another tendency was to endow the writings of the Church Fathers with special authority. These changes did not occur immediately, but gradually; in the West, they were still consolidated by the papal power that was strengthening over many centuries.

In the Middle Ages, scholastic philosophy raised to the fore the problem of the relationship between reason and revelation. The first question analyzed by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) in his work "The Summa of Theology" is formulated as follows: "Do we need any knowledge besides philosophical science?" He answers this question in the affirmative, explaining that “for the sake of man's salvation it was necessary that certain truths surpassing the human mind be revealed to him (47) through divine revelation. " He adds that even those truths about God that the human mind could discover had to be transmitted through Divine revelation, since “the rational truth about God would appear only to a few, and even then after some time, and moreover, mixed with many mistakes ”(“ Sum of Theology ”, 1a.1.1). Thomas Aquinas makes a clear distinction between the truths of reason and the truths of revelation. The Christian's faith “rests on revelation given to the prophets and apostles who wrote the canonical books, and not on revelation given to any other teacher, if such exists at all” (ibid., 1a. 1.8). However, the believer needs to adhere to the teaching of the Church, which is based on the truth revealed in Holy Scripture, as an infallible and Divine rule (ibid., 2a: 2c. 3). Although Aquinas accepts Scripture as the primary source of revealed truth, nevertheless, with his teaching and through his rationalistic approach to theology, on the one hand, and his emphasis on the infallibility of church teaching, on the other, he erodes his authority. In the late Middle Ages, the question of the relationship between Scripture and tradition as sources of revelation became more acute. On the one hand, some scholars believed that Scripture and tradition are essentially identical and equal. Since tradition was perceived as a correct interpretation of the revelation given through the prophets and apostles, both of them seemed to come from the same divine source and preserved the unity of faith in the Church. Others believed that there were two different sources of revelation: the written tradition of Scripture and the oral tradition passed down by the apostles to their successors. Both of these sources must be accepted as having divine authority.

B. Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Martin Luther (1483-1546) argued that in their sinful, depraved state, people do not know God and cannot know Him. To solve this problem, God Himself revealed himself to them in a special way. God is not a vague thing, but “an open God, or, so to speak, God in plain sight. He limited Himself to a certain place, Word and signs, so that He would be recognized and comprehended "(" Commentary on, Ps. 50: 8 "). In the highest way, God revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Word became Flesh, and Christ is revealed in Scripture, the written Word, and in the preaching of the Gospel. Proper knowledge of God, as Luther said, "is uniquely given to us in the pages of Scripture."

At the very beginning of his career, Luther became critical of the rationalist method of scholastic philosophy and theology, as is evident from his "Controversy with Scholastic Theology", written in 1517. Luther came to the conviction that Scripture (sola scriptura) should be the supreme measure of faith and doctrine. "Only Scripture is the true master over all earthly writings and doctrines" ("The Works of Luther", 32:11, 12). All truth and doctrines that we need to know God and be saved are revealed in the Word.

Unlike scholastic theologians, Luther was reluctant to admit that the authority of the Church is required to determine the sacred canon of the Word of God or to correctly interpret Scripture. Rather, it is the mission of the Holy Spirit: to bring the word of Scripture into the heart and convince the human spirit that it is the Word of God.

John Calvin's (1509-1564) views of revelation and the authority of Scripture were similar to those of Luther. In his influential work Instructions in the Christian Faith, he took the position that a person blinded by sin cannot benefit from the revelation of “God's eternal Kingdom by looking into the muddy mirror of his deeds” (ibid., 1.5.11 ). By His goodness and mercy, "God added the light of His Word, which can make us wise for salvation" (ibid., 1.6.1). Like his predecessor Luther, Calvin rejected as a pernicious lie the claim that the reliability of Scripture depends on the judgment of the Church. Rather, the Church itself must be based on and dependent on Scripture. The reformer emotionally declared: “Let the truth stand that those whom the Holy Spirit has enlightened from within are truly resting in Scripture, and that this Scripture proves itself” (ibid., 1.7.5).

The essence of revelation, according to Calvin, is the Gospel, which is "a clear manifestation of the mystery of Christ." It includes the promises of the Old Testament and the testimonies given by God to the ancient patriarchs. However, in the highest sense, the word is “the preaching of grace manifested in Christ” (ibid., 2.9.2). Calvin pointed out that “if we mean the whole law, then the Gospel differs from it only in its clarity” (ibid., 2.9.4). Therefore, in essence, the Old and New Testaments form a single whole, since both are the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, in the New Testament, the person of Christ is revealed more clearly than in the Old.

In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church re-formulated its position at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), stating that apostolic tradition includes both Scripture and oral tradition as transmitted by the Church. In 1546, the Council issued the "Decree on the Canonical Scriptures", which stated that the ancient Gospel, promised by the prophets in Holy Scripture, was set forth by the Lord Jesus Christ and, at His command, was preached by His apostles to every creature "as the source of all saving truth and instruction in morality. ". However, "this truth and instruction is contained both in writing, in the books of Scripture, and in oral tradition." That is why the Old and New Testaments, as well as traditions related to faith and morality, should be received and honored with the same feelings of reverence and piety, "since they were either spoken personally by Christ or inspired by the Holy Spirit and preserved in the Catholic Church according to the law of succession." (5, p. 244). The Council included in the Resolution a list of sacred and canonical books, in which (48) entered the so-called apocrypha, and declared an anathema against everyone who does not accept this list in its entirety. Although the Council of Trent rejected the notion that the apostolic tradition is partly in the Scriptures and partly in oral tradition, it has generated a long debate. The dispute was about whether we have two sources of revelation: Scripture and tradition, or they should be considered two streams of the same tradition - written and oral.

C. The Age of Reason and Enlightenment

The modern debate about revelation and inspiration began in the age of reason, when rationalism, modern science, and biblical criticism arose. All this, along with such intellectual currents as deism and the Enlightenment, led many to question the necessity or even the very existence of divine revelation. Doubts challenged the very foundations of the Christian faith and manifested themselves primarily in sharp and harsh criticism or even in massive denial of the Bible as the inspired source and written form of divine revelation. This, in turn, prompted those who defended fundamental Christian beliefs to a deeper understanding of the reality and nature of revelation.

The discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) caused the rejection of the geocentric and the adoption of the heliocentric model of the solar system. When the scientific case for the heliocentric model was ultimately irrefutable, it challenged divine revelation and the infallibility of the Bible, which were believed to advocate the geocentric model. Other scientific discoveries made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, especially the laws of gravity of Isaac Newton (1642–1727), reinforced the mechanistic view of the universe. From this perspective, supernatural revelation seemed unnecessary and even confusing. It was perceived as a myth or a crafty invention of religious fanatics.

The dawn of modern science coincided with the emergence of rationalism, which declared the human mind to be the criterion of truth. René Descartes (1596–1650) laid the foundations for the philosophical revolution, formulating his axiom “Cogito, ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I exist”) in 1637 as the fundamental principle of acquiring true knowledge. As a zealous Catholic, Descartes had no intention of denying the need for divine revelation; however, his philosophy reluctantly became a catalyst for a discussion about the relationship between reason and revelation. His younger contemporary and admirer Baruch Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677) went even further and drew a clear dividing line between the realm of reason and the realm of revelation (by which, of course, he meant Scripture), declaring reason to be the main arbiter in the question of whether which in Scripture can be accepted as truth. Much in Scripture seemed unacceptable to Spinoza, because it contradicted rational ideas, and he pointed out what seemed to him insurmountable contradictions.

The emergence of biblical criticism, as in the case of Spinoza, strengthened rationalistic tendencies in relation to the Bible and accordingly corrected ideas about the role of divine revelation. Other factors also contributed to this development. Perhaps the first full-fledged work written in the spirit of biblical criticism, Historical Criticism of the Old Testament, was published in 1678 and earned its author, the French priest Richard Simon (1638-1712), the fame of "the father of biblical criticism." Simon wanted to demonstrate the inadequacy of Scripture and the need for ecclesiastical authority and tradition to interpret it. However, at that time, neither Protestants nor Catholics could accept his critical view of the Bible.

In England, criticism of the deists was directed primarily at the so-called moral imperfections of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. In 1693, Charles Blount (1654–1693) published a collection of articles and letters under the general title Sayings of Reason. In it, Blount rejected the need for a religion that recognizes the need for revelation. Deists generally believed that the human mind was sufficient to form a natural religion and that true Christianity was nothing more than the religion of reason. The sacraments of the Christian religion, such as the Trinity and the atoning death of Christ, were considered late additions that were not present in the simple, primordial Christian faith. Many of Boyle's famous lectures, beginning in 1692, dealt with the topic of revelation. Joseph Butler's (1692-1752) Comparison of Natural and Revelatory Religion with the Constitution of Nature and the Course in Natural Science, published in 1736, zealously argued that many of the objections to supernatural religion apply equally to natural religion, as they both acknowledge the existence of inexplicable mysteries. Butler insisted on an inductive approach to the question of divine revelation and, unlike Blount and other deists, rejected the idea that divine revelation must meet any a priori conditions.

To somehow bypass the issue of moral and historical criticism of Scripture, a number of British theologians have suggested that the inspiration of the Bible is partial, or that there are different degrees of inspiration. It was believed that the theory of degrees of inspiration allows for historical inaccuracies and moral imperfections in Scripture and at the same time defends its inspiration and authority in matters of faith and practical life. However, others, such as John Wesley (1703–1791) and Charles Simeon (1759–1836), rejected such a compromise with rationalist theology and advocated the inspiration and infallibility of the entire Bible.

In the eighteenth century, during the Age of Enlightenment, controversy over the necessity and nature of divine revelation, as well as authority and inspiration (49) The Bible, provoked by the English deistic literature, spread to other countries as well. François-Marie Voltaire (1694–1778), thoroughly familiar with English deists and their writings, never denied the existence of God, but was extremely critical of any form of organized religion. In Germany, the writings of the English deists played an important role in the emergence of higher criticism in the second half of the century. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), German writer and playwright, published seven excerpts from the previously unpublished Apology or Defense of the Intelligent Worshipers of God by Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694–1768) between 1774 and 1778. These fragments contained deistic arguments against supernatural religion, already familiar by that time. Lessing argued that historical records, including the biblical description of miracles, can only have relative reliability and that the truths of reason cannot be proven by history. Lessing himself did not completely deny revelation, but in the Enlightenment of the Human Race, published in 1780, he compared revelation to education. Just as education helps us to comprehend everything faster than we could do it on our own, so revelation teaches us truths that we could sooner or later reach with our minds. When the mind is perfected, the need for revelation will disappear.

D. Modern development

Over the past two centuries, the teaching of revelation and inspiration has become a key element in theological debate. An endless stream of literature on these topics, sometimes calm and balanced, and sometimes stormy and passionate, challenges Christians. Belief in divine revelation and inspiration, as well as in the reliability and authority of Scripture, can be seen to be diluted in a variety of ways.

In contrast to the rationalistic approach of the eighteenth century, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) put forward the idea that the basis of the Christian faith is the feeling of absolute dependence on God. He called revelation “the true fact underlying a religious community”, but did not want to accept its cognitive aspect, since “this, in essence, turns revelation into a doctrine” (22, p. 50). He gave inspiration a subordinate meaning. He clearly limited the authority of Scripture in formulating doctrine to the New Testament. Not Scripture, but spiritual experience has become the main criterion for spiritual values ​​and truth. The center of theological thought has noticeably shifted from the transcendent to the immanent.

Nineteenth-century liberal or modernist theology, with its anthropocentrism, often attempted to combine a strong belief in human progress with a critical attitude toward so-called dogmatism and bibliomania. According to this theology, the Bible cannot be equated with the Word of God; it just contains the words of God. Scripture is not so much the revealed Word of God as a unique chronicle of spiritual experiences in which Jesus Christ is the highest manifestation of God-consciousness or the greatest moral example.

Belief in human progress was reinforced by rapid scientific and technological development. Following the publication of the writings of Charles Lyell (1797–1875) and Charles Darwin (1809–1882), theories of geological uniformitarianism and biological evolution undermined the credibility of the creation, fall, and flood stories of Genesis by many. Belief in the veracity of biblical history, the accuracy of the biblical text, and the authenticity of the authorship of many biblical books have been further undermined by the supposedly verified results of historical and literary criticism. Adherents of a critical methodology, the premises of which excluded the possibility of supernatural revelations or interventions such as prophecy or miracles, studied the Bible like any other book, placing it on a par with the rest of ancient literature.

Theories of revelation and inspiration have been reinterpreted to fit the new theology. Albrecht Ritchl (1822-1889) in Germany defined revelation as the manifestation of the Divine ideal for man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. J. Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872) in England regarded it as a direct opening of God to the soul. From the point of view of Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), a leading representative of the school of the history of religions and the historical-critical method, no Divine revelation can be considered absolute due to the historical relativity of all events. Troeltsch emphasized that historical data, including biblical data, should be judged by analogy, which means that past events can be perceived as probable only if they are similar to current events. In keeping with this principle of historical criticism, many biblical events, such as the incarnation, virgin birth, and resurrection of Christ, cannot be considered historical.

Two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century shattered all dreams of human progress and exposed the inadequacy of mainstream theology with its emphasis on the immanence of God. Karl Barth (1886-1968) initiated a rebellion against this theology. He and other theologians such as Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) and Emil Brunner (1889-1966) emphasized the transcendence of God as a Being of a completely different order. Barthes developed the theology of the Word, according to which God speaks His final word in Jesus Christ, who alone can be considered true revelation. Scripture and the preached word are just a reflection of revelation, but God in His grace speaks to us and through them.

Although neo-orthodox theologians placed revelation at the center of their theology, they viewed Scripture as merely an imperfect human reflection of that revelation. Like their liberal predecessors, (50) they defended the historical-critical method as essential to the study and interpretation of Scripture and rejected or interpreted in their own way concepts such as the authority of the Bible, inspiration, and truth. Brunner taught that truth is not in propositional statements, but in an I – Thou meeting.

In connection with calls for a radical renewal and change in the understanding of revelation and inspiration, many theologians from different denominations have pointed to the teachings of Scripture itself, arguing that the concept of revelation includes all types of supernatural manifestations and interactions mentioned in the Bible, including deeds and the words of God Himself. This point of view was comprehensively expounded by Karl F. H. Henry (1913) in his comprehensive work "God, Revelation and Authority" (in 6 volumes, 1976-1983). Modern evangelical theologians generally advocate the idea of ​​unconditional, verbal inspiration and the infallibility of the Bible, although there is little agreement between them on the exact meaning of these terms. However, a number of evangelical theologians, such as Clark H. Pinnock (1937), have expressed some concern about these concepts.

Despite the influence of liberal theology, biblical criticism, and theories of evolution, the Roman Catholic Church took a very conservative position in the nineteenth century with regard to the doctrine of revelation and inspiration. The papal encyclicals rejected the modernist views and supported the traditional Catholic point of view, set out in the decree of the Council of Trent. However, this position has undergone dramatic changes in the second half of the twentieth century. Ever since Pius XII published the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu in 1943, Catholic theologians have quickly moved to the forefront of biblical criticism. This led to the emergence of a wide variety of theories of revelation and inspiration, as illustrated in Avery Dulles' Models of Revelation (1983). At its fourth and final session, the second Vatican Council promulgated the "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation," which emphasized that the object of revelation should be considered God Himself in His deeds and words, which are inextricably linked. “The most secret truth that this revelation gives us about God and the salvation of man shines in Christ, who Himself is both the mediator and the highest essence of Revelation” (8, p. 751). The Constitution supported the position formulated at the Council of Trent that “both Scripture and Tradition should be received and honored with the same feeling of devotion and reverence” (ibid., P. 755).

The position of some Protestants approaches the Catholic point of view. Even evangelical theologians began to place greater emphasis on the consensus and authority of the Christian tradition. It seems that this will inevitably lead to a limitation of the principle of sola scriptura, which for many centuries was considered the main principle of Protestantism.

E. Adventist understanding

Since the earliest publications, Seventh-day Adventists have declared that they accept the entire Bible as the inspired Word of God. In a short article entitled “A Word to the Little Flock,” published in 1847, James White succinctly summed it up as follows: “The Bible is perfect and complete revelation. This is our only rule of faith and practical life ”(p. 13). However, over the years, the topic of revelation and inspiration has hardly been discussed in denominational publications.

In 1874, George Ayd Butler (1834–1918), then president of General Conference, set forth the theory of degrees of inspiration in a series of articles published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. Although this idea was popular for a short time, it was not accepted by most Seventh-day Adventists. Nor was the theory of verbal or mechanistic inspiration accepted. Although the theory of inspiration of thought found widespread acceptance, the Church never formulated an exact doctrine of inspiration and revelation. For more than a hundred years, however, Adventists have developed beliefs that were shared by the pioneers of the Advent movement, grouping them into fundamental doctrines.

The latest statement of fundamental beliefs, adopted by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at its session in Dallas, Texas, in 1980, states that the one God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is “unlimited and beyond human comprehension, yet known through Him revelation about Himself ”(No. 2). This revelation of the Divine about Himself found its fullest expression in the incarnation of the Son - the Word made flesh. “Through Him everything was created, He revealed the character of God, the salvation of mankind was accomplished, and the world will be judged” (No. 4).

However, this revelation of God is transmitted to the world through Scripture through enlightenment from the Holy Spirit and through the preaching of the Church. The first paragraph of the fundamental doctrine summarizes this thought in the following words: “Holy Scripture, Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote, being moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God gave people the knowledge necessary for salvation. Holy Scripture is the infallible revelation of His will. It is a measure of character, a criterion of experience, an authoritative source of doctrine and a reliable chronicle of the historical deeds of God. " (51)

Divine revelation- the manifestation of God in the world, revealing to people the knowledge of Him and true faith in Him; self-disclosure of God to man. It differs into the natural - the visible world, the history of mankind, the conscience in man, and the supernatural, when God reveals Himself directly about Himself (the coming of the Savior to earth) or through righteous people - the prophets, apostles and holy fathers of the Church.

Divine Revelation is God's revelation of Himself to man in response to a human desire to cognize his Creator. The creation of man by God presupposes an active search for God on the part of man. God created the entire human race so that people would seek Him, “whether they would feel Him and find Him, although He is not far from each of us” (Acts 17:26, 28). While striving for God, a person cannot cognize God by his own efforts, but the very striving of a person has a value before God, Who opens up to a person in response to his free search.

Natural Revelation is that God reveals Himself in His creation, just as an artist reveals himself in his painting or an author in his work. But this method of knowledge of God is very limited, because the Divine being is uncreated. In His super-being, God surpasses all His creatures. Not being an intelligible object or a phenomenon perceived by the senses, He cannot be cognized by the efforts of the human mind or senses as a part of this world. That is why, revealing Himself, God descends to man Himself. “The Savior did not at all say that it is absolutely impossible to know God,” teaches St. Irenaeus of Lyons, - but said only that no one can know God without Divine will, without teaching from God, without His revelation (“and to whom the Son wants to reveal”). But since the Father deigned that we know God, and the Son revealed Him to us, then we have the necessary knowledge about Him. "

Revealing to man, God imparts knowledge of Himself to him in a supernatural way. "Supernatural knowledge is that which enters the mind in a way that exceeds its natural methods and powers," teaches St. Theodore the Studite. “But it happens from one God, when He finds the mind cleansed of all material attachments and embraced by Divine love.” Supernatural knowledge about God is imparted to the human soul by Divine grace, proceeding from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. It is through the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit that man assimilates the truths of Divine Revelation. The Apostle Paul states that: “... no one can call Jesus Christ Lord except the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12: 3). This means that confessing Christ as Lord can only be the one whose mind and heart have been influenced by Divine grace.

Divine grace abides in the Church, is given in the Holy Sacraments. Therefore, the Church is also the custodian of Divine Revelation. “God is cognized only by the Holy Spirit,” teaches St. Silouan the Athonite. "It has been given to our Most Glorious Church by the Holy Spirit to understand the mysteries of God." All the fullness of truth received from Christ, the apostles proclaimed to the Church (Acts 20:27). According to the word of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, the apostles put into the Church everything that relates to the truth. As “the pillar and confirmation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:14), the Church keeps the revealed doctrinal truths, called dogmas.