Christian revelation

“ First, we affirm that the being and attributes of God are apprehended with a metaphysical certitude. Second, that the motives of credibility proving the Christian revelation are apprehended, when that Revelation is sufficiently proposed, with a varying degree of probability, according to varying circumstances in which the mind may be placed, but capable of being increased to the highest kind of moral demonstration. ”

“ But our experience, together with the experience of the holy prophets and apostles, is a stronger motive to induce us to believe, that divine inward revelation is sufficiently clear and convincing by its own light and evidence, than his own bare and jejune supposition to the contrary, by reason of his want of experience or attention. ”

“ The external divine are miracles and prophecy; the external human are the historical proof as to the authenticity and genuineness of the literature which contains the narrative of the miracles and the prophecy. The internal divine are sought in the accordance of the materials of the Revelation, the character of Christ, the scheme of Redemption, &c. with the moral sense of man, and with the expectations which we should form antecedently of the contents of a revelation; the internal human, in the critical evidence of undesigned coincidence. ”

“ The divine revelation which is in the experience has been at times identified with the thought that interprets it, or even with the words which attempt to describe it. "Faith in the thing grows faith in the report"; and fantastic doctrines of the verbal inerrancy of the Bible have been held by numbers of earnest Christians. ”

“ But one aspect of Revelation must not be allowed to exclude or to obscure another; and Christianity is dogmatical, devotional, practical all at once; it is esoteric and exoteric; it is indulgent and strict; it is light and dark; it is love, and it is fear. ”

“ If we look at the singular diversity of views entertained, not only with regard to the doctrines, but also to the evidences, of Christianity, we cannot but be struck by the helpless position in which Divine Revelation is now placed. ”

“ Now can you, or any man know this gospel by the power of God, that brings life and immortality to light, but by divine revelation: and do not you that deny revelation, deny the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; for Christ saith, 'when the Son of man shall be revealed, that the world should be doing as in the says of Noah, etc. ”

“ The purpose of the Bible, the form of it, the gradual formation of it, the steadily-growing Revelation contained in it, these harmonise with the moral law revealed originally in the conscience. And the effect which the Revelation has produced on human history is real and great. The power which God's Revelation has exerted on the world is an undeniable fact among phenomena. ”

“ Since we have placed Justification in the Revelation of Jesus Christ formed and brought forth in the Heart, there working his Works of Righteousness, and bringing forth the Fruits of the Spirit, the Question is, How far he may prevail in us while we are in this Life, or we over our Souls Enemies, in and by his Strength? ”

“ I can attest from experience that this supernatural illumination of the mind is the great secret in personal religion. Without it we are in darkness, while encompassed by the light of revelation; may admit the inspiration of the Bible, while the veil of mystery hangs over its sacred pages; may condemn, as Puritanical or Methodistical, the very principles we theoretically acknowledge to be divine; and, amidst all our professions of reverence for the character of God, and love to the person of the Redeemer, may be destitute of that mental peace which arises from a scriptural belief of the truth. ”

“ This is an inquiry that every man, who professes any faith whatever, in Christ, should make, even if he does not indorse [endorse] the idea that has been taught and testified to by the Latter-day Saints, viz, that God is a God of revelation, and that He has revealed Himself again in the latter days as He did in former days. ”

“ In Revelation, as in John's Gospel and First Epistle, the consciousness of a world-conflict, a world-process, and a world-triumph is manifest. The return of Jesus is contemplated in relation to the enlarged environment in which Christianity stood. Revelation testifies to the existence of the hope with which Christianity had begun; but also to the fact that into that hope had centered the fuller conception of Christ and His salvation which the apostles had taught, and the broadened vision of the purpose of God which history had made clear. ”

“ Now, can any know God's salvation, or his righteousness, but by the revelation of the Son? (Christ saith, 'they cannot,') and they that do know salvation , and the righteousness revealed must keep judgment and do justice; and they that do not, will deny revelation, and true judgment and justice.
And Christ saith, in Matt. x. 26. 'there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known.' Now, are not all things covered and hidden unto you until they be revealed? [mark, revealed.] And how do you know any thing, but by revelation? ”

“ Now we must, above all things, come to an understanding as to what is meant by revelation before we attribute revelation to the Bible. There are not many now who really believe that an angel in bodily form descended from heaven and whispered into the ear of the apostles, in rather bad Greek, every verse, every word, even every letter of our Gospels. ”

“ A good many people, and those professing Christians, will sneer a good deal at the idea of present revelation. Whoever heard of true religion without communication with God? To me the thing is the most absurd that the human mind could conceive of. ”

“ It is true—'he prophesies of times that are far off' and it is the glory of the gospel of Christ's revelation, and of the religion that is based thereon, that its centre is beyond the grave, and that its eye is so often turned to the clearly discerned facts that lie there. ”

“ Why, the Gospel, and with that Gospel light and revelation and communication with God, and ministering of angels and the gifts of tongues and healing and prophecy, and the power of God made manifest among the people as it was in former times. Life and immortality were again brought to light, the heavens were again unveiled, angels ministered to man, and they had a knowledge of things to come. ”

“ If we examine what is termed the sacred history of the Bible, we shall find that in the various ages of the world, until soon after Christianity was introduced, there was a feeling among men to call upon God and to have their prayers answered—a feeling that if they would approach the Most High and call upon his name in faith, he would answer their supplications and give unto them wisdom, intelligence and revelation for the guidance of their feet in the pathway of life ”

“ The message, however, viewed in its entirety, while it contains a sympathetic element of encouragement for the saints, and a monitory element of exhortation and warning for all men, is yet fundamentally a philosophic interpretation of the divine method in history for all who would see God in the story of man's life on the earth—a theodicy based upon prophecy. ”

“ But what we cannot say of such a religion is that it takes the place of Christianity, and is such a religion as Christianity has been and claims to be. There must ever be all the difference in the world between a religion which is or professes to be a revelation, and one which cannot be called such. For a revelation is a direct work and message of God ”

“ In 1874 he published anonymously two volumes entitled 'Supernatural Religion; an Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation,' in which he impugned the credibility of miracles and the authenticity of the New Testament. ”

“ Now, we ask seriously, Do not the foregoing facts and arguments show that there is no moral or religious necessity for a divine revelation to man? Let the believers in the necessity of the Bible, or a divine revelation, show their fallacy, or for ever abandon the old mythological assumption that it is necessary. ”

“ The revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to the human family is all the learning we can ever possess. Much of this knowledge is obtained from books, which have been written by men who have contemplated deeply on various subjects, and the revelations of Jesus have opened their minds, whether they knew it or acknowledged it or not. ”

“ It is well to look at the matter of visions and revelations in the light of Holy Scripture. That the servants of God have seen visions divinely shown to them, no one can doubt who believes the Bible; nor that they have from time to time received direct revelations from God. Also, we read as a promise made to Christian people, that “your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on My servants and on My hand-maidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” ”

“ The Bible is just as plain and easy of comprehension as the revelation which I have just read to you, if you understand the Spirit of God—the Spirit of revelation, and know how the Gospel of salvation is adapted to the capacity of weak man.
If you could see things as they are, you would know that the whole plan of salvation, and all the revelations ever given to man on the earth are as plain as would be the remarks of an Elder, were he to stand here and talk about our every day business. ”

“ Through this insight, they were the beginners of a new type of Christianity, which has become wide-spread and impressive in the modern world, a type that finds the supreme significance of Christ's Life in His double revelation of the inherent nature of God, and the immense value and potentiality of man, and that changes the emphasis from schemes of salvation to interpretations of life, from the magic significance of doctrine to the incalculable worth of the moral will. ”

“ Previous to the days of John the Baptist, and before the days of Moses and Abraham, revelation had ceased. These men were raised up as so many new revelators, in order to overthrow the false and discordant religions, and establish the knowledge of the true God on the earth. As soon as prophets have ceased to reveal the will of God, people have turned into jangling about creeds. ”

“ To most of us, on the contrary, the Revelation is a whole, capable of being looked at from many sides, and found to be divine from whatever side it is seen; and one of its aspects is this supernatural character by which it appears to assert its identity with that Moral Law which claims absolute supremacy over all the physical world. ”

“ Strong being disposed to represent the divine economy of grace less extensive than the plain and positive promises of God, the testimony of the prophets, the word of life through Christ and the witnessing apostles, have declared it to be, stand forever refuted by that cloud of witnesses, as they are also by the spirit of Christ in every humble believing heart. ”

“ It is of course the merest commonplace to say that the revelation of God in the Scriptures comes to its climax in Christ. The revelation in Christ gathers up all that is loftiest in the utterances of the Old Testament and gives it embodiment in a human life. ”

“ Thou art indeed the One Who forgiveth the sins of all mankind. And in this second year of my Revelation—a Revelation which took place at Thy behest—I bear witness that Thou art the Most Manifest, the Omnipotent, the Ever-Abiding; that of all things that exist on earth and in the heavens nothing whatsoever can frustrate Thy purpose and that Thou art the Knower of all things and the Lord of might and majesty. ”

“ Of the reality of the divine revelations, accompanied by miracles and prophecies, the Christian, i.e., the believing Christian, has already a pledge in the miracle of regeneration and the working of the Holy Spirit within his own heart. ”

“ And in the second place, while the creation, the more closely it is examined the more distinctly shows the marks of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, so the history of the world exhibits in the Revelation made to man clear proofs of that heavenly love which corresponds to the character of Him who has put love at the head of all the requirements of His law. The Revelation given to us has undeniably made a real mark on the world. It has upheld millions of men in a holiness of life corresponding in a very real degree to the holiness required by the law of duty. ”

“ If then you would know whether christianity be true, it is first of all needful that you read and ponder the Christian books. These books prove themselves. The religion of Christ is felt to be true, as you read the writings in which it is recorded. Just as the works of nature prove to the contemplative mind the being of a God, so do the books of the Christians prove the truth of their religion. ”

“ To construe or spiritualize tie Bible is the same as to inspire it over again, by the judgment, fancy or enthusiasm of men; and thus the common people, by receiving God's supposed revelation at secondary hands (whether at the thousandth or ten thousandth remove from its first premised inspiration they know not) cannot in fact be taught by the revelation of God. ”

“ The determination of the meaning of words used for the expression of dogmas (e.g. ὁμοούσιος) , and of passages in Holy Scripture and other documents, are instances. In like manner many truths are inseparably connected with matters of morals, e.g. discipline, ceremonies, Religious Orders, the temporal power of the Pope, etc.
SECT. 6.—PROGRESS OF REVELATION
I. Supernatural Revelation was not given at once in all its completeness. From the day of Creation to the day of Judgment God has spoken, and will speak, to mankind at sundry times and in divers manners (Heb. 1:1) . ”