Introduction: Think about when you were growing up. Your family had a general view of what was right and what was wrong. Your parents usually acted in accord with this general view. At the same time, your parents gave you specific advice and instruction on how to deal with different situations. Contemplating this gives us an idea of how God reveals His will to us. We have a general revelation of God by looking at the world around us. But God does not leave things so general, He spoke through prophets to give us advice on specific situations. Let’s dive into the Bible and learn more about general and special revelation!
I. General Revelation
A. Read Psalms 19:1-4. How many humans hear and see the glory of God? (Everyone. King David calls the heavens “speech” that conveys “knowledge” about God.)
B. Read Romans 1:18-19. Paul the Apostle tells us that every person who is ungodly and unrighteous has no excuse for bad behavior. Why? (God and His plan is “plain to them.”)
C. Read Romans 1:20. How are God and His requirements “plain to them”? (In the things that are made. Paul writes that the creation itself tells us at least the minimum that we need to know to please God.)
1. How can that be? For example, I believe that claiming the life, death, and sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf is the only way to salvation. How does the creation that we can see reveal that?
2. In his most recent sermon my local pastor said, if I understood him correctly, that he believes some non-Christians will be in heaven. How can this be true if Jesus is the only path to heaven?
D. Read John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. What do these texts suggest about how a person is saved? (They support my view that Jesus is the only path to salvation.)
1. These two statements by Jesus and Peter are examples of special revelation. Would general revelation modify this?
2. Romans 1:20-21 tells us that God’s “divine nature” is clear from the creation and that should cause humans to “honor Him as God.” What do you think about a person who has never heard of Jesus, yet from considering creation believes that there is a God who must be honored and thanked? Does a person like that get the benefit of what Jesus has done if Jesus determines that is what is just?
3. Let’s assume that what my pastor preached is right (at least my understanding of what he said) and that my position is wrong. What does that teach us about the relationship between general and special revelation? (General revelation is important, as far as it goes, but special revelation is needed to have a more complete understanding of God’s will.)
II. The Means of Special Revelation
A. Read Revelation 1:1-2. How did the revelation recorded by John come to him? (God the Father gave it to Jesus, who then told an angel, who was then sent to John to tell him so that he could tell us.)
B. Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:21. How does this suggest that Bible writers decided what to write? (Timothy says God “breathed out” the language and Peter says the Holy Spirit “carried along” the men who wrote. This does not say that God dictated the Bible word for word to the prophets.)
1. Compare that with how John described how he received the Book of Revelation. Do they seem the same? (They clearly are not always the same. First, Revelation 1:2 refers to what John “saw,” not what he heard. Second, an angel is not the Holy Spirit. John also heard things, for Revelation 19:9 records that an angel gave John specific words to write.)
C. Read Revelation 4:1-2. How is John given a message here? (He is both “in the Spirit,” and he is also given specific spoken instructions.)
1. What lesson do you draw from these texts that do not agree with each other on the method of inspiration? (The lesson must be that special revelation is given in different ways – even to the same prophet. Sometimes direct words are given, other times a vision appears that the prophet must describe in his own words. Sometimes the Holy Spirit guides (carries along) the thoughts of the prophet who then writes his thoughts down.)
D. Read 1 John 1:1-4. What other way has God communicated to humans? (“That which was from the beginning” is a reference to Jesus. John tells us that his interaction with Jesus when He was on earth is a special revelation that John recorded to make our joy complete.)
1. Is Jesus merely one example of special revelation? (No. He is its climax. John 14:9 tells us that Jesus is God revealing Himself personally: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”)
III. Special Revelation Riddles
A. Read Numbers 12:5-8. In defending the honor of Moses, God describes several ways in which He reveals Himself to humans. What are God’s methods? (When God is dealing with regular prophets, He communicates through visions and dreams. When God dealt with Moses, He spoke directly to him.)
1. Notice that God says He did not use “riddles” when He spoke to Moses. Why would God ever use “riddles?”
2. Is the book of Revelation a riddle?
3. Was the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream a riddle? See Daniel 2. (Revelation and the visions in Daniel are riddles.)
B. Read Proverbs 25:2. What does this suggest is one reason why God uses riddles? (They draw the followers of God into the search for understanding. The searcher is invested in learning God’s message.)
C. Read Matthew 13:10-13. The disciples ask Jesus a similar question, Why not speak plainly? What is Jesus’ answer? (God wants us to search Him out. He wants us to be rewarded for learning more about Him and His will.)
D. Read Matthew 13:13-15. What other reason does Jesus give for riddles and parables? (It separates those who care about understanding God from those who do not care.)
E. Read Daniel 12:4. The book of Daniel is filled with riddles and symbolism. What reason does God give here for making His plans a mystery? (Sometimes it is a matter of timing. God does not want us to know certain things until a specific time in the future.)
IV. A Hybrid?
A. What we have learned so far is that if we keep our eyes open to view the creation we learn general things about God. In addition, God will give us specific messages which range from being clearly stated to being riddles. Is there a hybrid revelation, a combination of general and special revelation? Can you think of any?
B. Read Hebrews 8:3-5. Put yourself in the place of a young Hebrew. What would you think about the sanctuary service? (I suspect it would be like when I was a young man attending church. It was something I did because I was raised to attend church each week.)
C. Read Hebrews 8:6. What else should our young Hebrew have been able to see if this young person looked deeply? (The sacrificial service was a prophecy of what Jesus would do for humans. It was a general revelation in that it was part of the surroundings, but it was also a special revelation about God’s plans for His people.)
1. How far does this kind of revelation go? The Hebrews not only had the sanctuary services and the Day of Atonement, but they had other annual feasts. Are these feasts a hybrid revelation?
D. Read 1 Corinthians 5:7. What does this tell us that the Passover feast reveals about the future?
E. Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-23. What does the Feast of Firstfruits teach us about the future? (Jesus is the first to be resurrected, guaranteeing the resurrection of those who belong to Him.)
F. Is the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) a revelation of what the Holy Spirit does to help us harvest believers? (The answer is, “Yes.” I’m in a Bible study right now where we are considering what the unfulfilled feasts may reveal about the future.)
G. Friend, God has given us both general revelation and special revelations. The nature of prophecy is that we will continue to have special revelations, and we will, if we are diligent, continue to unravel the riddles God has given us about the future. Will you commit to paying greater attention to what God is saying to you?
V. Next week: The Prophetic Writings.
Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
