The Means of Divine Revelation
by Jack Deere
by Jack Deere
The Bible - "The primary way that God speaks to all believers is through the written word of God, the Bible. The Bible has more authority than present-day, personal revelation because its authority extends to all people everywhere at all times."
The Audible The Voice of God - 1) Audible Voice - "God spoke in an audible voice to individuals, to crowds, and even to a whole nation. Moses regularly heard the audible voice of the Lord, but outside his experience, the audible voice is the rarest way in the Bible that God speaks" - Jack Deere (Numbers 12:6-8). 2) Audible Only to Your Ears - "You may hear the voice with your own ears, but no one else does, even though someone might be standing beside you when the voice speaks. " - Jack Deere. 3) The Internal Audible Voice of God - "This is just as clear as the audible voice, only you do not hear it with your ears but in your mind."
Sentence Fragments (Words and Phrases) - "The most profound and beautiful truths are simple and clear on the surface (though its interpretation may not be)... Sadly, that's where most of us stay. on the surface. But when we leave the realm of superficial acceptance of a particular truth and surrender our heart to prolonged contemplation of that truth, we journey into endless realms of mystery... Every revelation to us from an infinite Person can never be more than a partial unveiling of the One who is drawing us after him into eternal realms of mysterious beauty."
A Knowing - "There are times when a divine revelation comes in a way you simply [just] know. And there may be no rational reason for how you know."
Impressions - "Impressions differ from inner knowings in that they are less certain. They are feeling that we ought to do something or that something is true. God uses such impressions or feelings to guide us."
Dreams - "God uses dreams to speak to us in our sleep when our defenses are down and we are more receptive.
Visions - Visions are similar to dreams, but normally they occur while we are awake."
Trances - "A trance is a vision in which we lose the use of our physical senses... Trances are not common in the Biblical record..."
Appearances of the Lord - "We read that no one can see God and live (see Exodus 33:20). And yet he appeared to his friends and even to an occasional enemy (Genesis 20:3). Sometimes he appeared in a dream or a vision. Other times he appeared in physical form (see Genesis 18:1ff). Sometimes he came as an angel of the Lord (see Exodus 3:2ff). Other times he came wrapped in his glory (see Exodus 16:10; 33:18—34:8). He appeared to help at moments of crisis, at turning points in the history of his people, at moments of rebellion to warn or to judge, and sometimes he appeared simply to share his plans or to promise a blessing."
Angels - "Angels do many things for us. They protect us when we walk through fire, deliver us from the hand of the enemy, and bring messages to us from heaven. When we leave this life, they escort us to heaven (see Luke 16:22). Angels may appear in thier glory or in human form as a guest in our home without ever revealing their real identity (see Hebrew 13:2). Or they may perform their service for us, giving us no hint of their presence... In the Bible, encounters with angels increase just before turning points in the history of God's people." - Jack Deere
The Natural World - "God speaks to us through His creation in at least three different ways. First the design and beauty of creation reveals the existence of a Designer who is both beautiful and powerful (see Romans 1:19-20). Second, the natural world bursts with analogies to the spiritual world, which illustrates spiritual principles for us (see Proverbs 6:6-11)... Third, God may illumine natural events to communicate his plans or express his ways (see Joel 2:25-27, 1 Kings 19:11-12)... God will illumine anything in the natural world to speak through us if we have trained our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to receive."
Fleeces - "God sometimes speaks through 'fleeces' (see Judges 6:36-40). I think it can be appropriate to lay out a fleece when we have to make a decision, especially when we have come to an impasse. We have prayed and waited, but we are still uncertain. [But] make sure the fleece is supernatural [in nature]..., is used sparingly and as a last resort..., because they are a lower, less personal form of revelation."
Physical Manifestations in Our Bodies - "Today it is not uncommon for God to speak to prophetic people through bodily signs..."