Miracles of revelation and of providence 1 Golden Thread and Revelation

The miracle of providence

The golden thread

The unity of the Bible resides not merely in the fact that its many ancient books have   been brought together between two leather covers. Once read, it becomes obvious that these books are one in message, principle and aim. In revealing to men the purpose of God with the earth, the Bible presents a single Gospel of salvation from Genesis to Revelation. From the Garden of Eden to John’s vision of the heavenly Jerusalem coming down to earth, the same Divine purpose can be seen to continue unchanged: the glorification of God through the salvation of man. And this golden thread is woven
with many other basic strands into the very fabric of the Bible. The mortality and sinfulness of man, the promise of a Saviour, the need for sacrifice and faith, the place of God’s chosen people Israel in the Divine plan, and the coming Kingdom of God – these and countless other themes weave their way through Old and New Testament
alike, binding them together and stamping them as the product of a single mind.

The Bible claims to be God’s book. In its themes and structure, in its purpose and direction, it shows a unity consistent only with an omniscient designer. Coincidence would be a quite inadequate explanation of the beauty and intricacy of the Bible’s texture. Such wonderful design does not happen by chance. Seen under the microscope of the closest examination, the consistency of Bible themes reveals the evidence of God at work.
As an earlier writer so aptly put it:

“Here is a book written by forty authors, living in different ages, without possible concert or collusion, producing a book which in all its parts is pervaded by one spirit, one doctrine, one design, and by an air of sublime authority which is its peculiar
characteristic. Such a book is a literary miracle. It is impossible to account for its existence upon ordinary principles.”

The miracle of revelation

To call the Bible “a literary miracle” simply on the evidence of its unified message may seem to be a use of words which devalues the genuinely miraculous. But there are also other indicators of the Bible’s superhuman origin, not least of which is the evidence of
fulfilled prophecy. Men often guess about the future, but they cannot predict it with any degree of accuracy – and least of all the distant future. Yet the God of the Bible offers precisely this ability to foretell long-distant events as evidence of His existence and of the
reliability of His Word.

“Ask me of things to come”, said God through the prophet Isaiah, for “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done” (Isaiah 45:11; 46:9-11).

Even the Bible’s strongest critics will admit that the Old Testament was in existence long before the birth of Christ. Yet the writings of Moses, of the Psalmists and of the prophets contain the most detailed predictions of the life and work of Jesus. Just look, for example, at Genesis 3:15 and, especially, at Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, and ask yourself honestly how you can explain away the fact that such clear prophecies about Jesus came to be in the sacred scriptures of the Jews, who do not even yet recognise him as their
Saviour. Similarly, it is possible to show that the unfolding misfortunes of the Jews, as well as the fate of the leading nations of the world, were outlined long before they happened, in prophecies of quite extraordinary detail (Deuteronomy 28, Ezekiel 26 and
Daniel 2 are just three examples out of many). Yet such predictions are precisely what we should expect from the omniscient mind of a God who sees the whole of human history in a moment of time. They are clear evidence of the truly miraculous, revelatory character
of the Bible.

We need to be clear also about this important point: revelation, if it is properly understood as meaningful communication from God to man, is by its very nature miraculous. Like any miracle, revelation involves the exercise of God’s power, His Spirit; it does not merely ‘happen’ in the ordinary course of events, and it is not achievable by
men without the aid of God. The Bible exhibits all these characteristics of a miracle: its writers are continually reminding us that they were the instruments of revelation, not the originators of the message. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”, explains the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 1:21); and even the Lord Jesus himself, “the Word made flesh”, admitted that he too had been the subject of this miraculous work of God: “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49).

This miraculous work, most often referred to as inspiration, can be seen in operation throughout the pages of the Bible. For whether through dreams, visions, prophets, apostles, or angelic messengers, the Spirit of God is presented as the moving force behind the message. It is this, above all, that explains why the Bible has so much to tell us which, as human beings, we simply would not otherwise know. It is the miracle of revelation which brings the things of God into the arena of human understanding. The Bible is
the word of God made print.

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Preceding articles:

Book of books and great masterpiece

Unread bestseller

Materialism, would be life, and aspirations

Looking to the East and the West for Truth

Testimony to Bible Truth

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie:

Wonder van openbaring

Wonder van voorzienigheid

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Additional reading:

Please do find to read:

1. This month’s survey question: Does God Exist?
2. Did the Inspirator exist
3. Science and God’s existence
4. Archeological Findings the name of God YHWH
5. The Bible: God’s Word or pious myth?
6. Book of Books
7. Bible word of God, inspired and infallible
8. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #1 Creator and His Prophets
9. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #3 A voice to be taken Seriously
10. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #4 Words in Scripture
11. Who Wrote the Bible?
12. Who Wrote the Bible? Written by Man… Inspired by God
13. Pure Words and Testimonies full of Breath of the Most High
14. The Metaphorical language of the Bible
15. Proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation
16. The Gospel was Preached in All the World
17. Isaiah prophet and messenger of God
18. Angels Preach the Gospel
19. Unsure about relevance Bible
20. What is the evidence that the Bible is special?
21. Why believing the Bible
22. Of the many books Only the Bible can transform
23. Bible guide Taking the Bible as a lead
24. Bible a guide – Bijbel als gids
25. Bible for you and for life
26. Bible like puddle of water
27. Bible power to change
28. Possibility to live
29. Power in the life of certain
30. Appointed to be read
31. Relapse plan
32. Unread bestseller
33. Youth has difficulty Bible Reading
34. Do Christians need to read the Old Testament
35. A Bible Falling Apart Belongs to Someone who isn’t
36. The “Recieved” Text
37. Seminar on Bible Translation in Prague
38. Hebrew, Aramaic and Bibletranslation
39. What English Bible do you use?
40. Paraphrases and Translations
41. Accuracy, Word-for-Word Translation Preferred by most Bible Readers
42. King James Bible Coming into being
43. Celebrating the Bible in English
44. The NIV and the Name of God
45. Use of /Gebruik van Jehovah or/of Yahweh in Bible Translations/Bijbel vertalingen
46. The Most Reliable English Bible
47. NWT and what other scholars have to say to its critics
48. 21st Century Version of the Christian Scripture or Mark Heber Miller Bible
49. HalleluYah Scriptures
50. What is the Basis for New Translations
51. The manager and Word of God
52. Scripture alone Sola Scriptora
53. Bric-a-brac of the Bible
54. We should use the Bible every day
55. The Bible is a today book
56. Feed Your Faith Daily
57. Working on the Bible being like re-wiring an old house
58. The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
59. How to look for and how to handle the Truth
60. Determined To Stick With Truth.
61. Cell phone vs. Bible
62. Raising digression
63. Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
64. Learn to read the Bible effectively
65. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
66. Jerusalem God’s City for ever
67. Preexistence in the Divine purpose and Trinity
68. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
69. Kingdom of God what will it be like
70. Creator and Blogger God 10 A Blog of a Book 4 Listening to the Blogger
71. Jesus begotten Son of God #4 Promised Prophet and Saviour
72. The Spirit of God brings love, hope and freedom

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Related articles

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  “How much of the Bible should a person know before accepting Jesus as their Savior?”, I would like to respond to the question, “How much of special revelation must a person know before accepting Jesus as their Savior?”  With this, I’m simply substituting “special revelation” for “the Bible”. In defending my reason for this substitution comes my response to the question.
• The Connectedness of Evangelism and Revelation (matthewayars.wordpress.com)
  This post, by no means claiming to be exhaustive, suggests three reasons why evangelism and the topic of revelation are necessarily connected: (1) because of the nature of the person of Jesus Christ, (2) because of the nature of the Gospel, and (3) because of the nature of communicating the gospel.  Providing a framework for discussion, this essay also highlights critical components at work in the concept of “Revelation” as specifically pertains to evangelism.
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  We study, learn and live God’s Word, and it is always prescient and pertinent. A student can never grow bored studying Scripture and should continually humble themselves before its brilliance.
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  Many New Testament focused Christians will try to tell you that the Old Testament is all about Jesus. This is a ridiculous statement that simply advertises the that fact these people don’t know their Bibles well at all. The Old Testament is not about Jesus, it’s about His Father. It is a long testimony of how much He desires to be in relationship with us, how patient He is, how much personal torment He endures in the face of our constant rebellion. The Old Testament gives power to the statement “For God so loved the world.”