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It's a revelation: Difference between revisions
→Is this defense a Biblical one?
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:''Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. '''At my first defense''' no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 2 Ti 4:14–17.</ref> | :''Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. '''At my first defense''' no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 2 Ti 4:14–17.</ref> | ||
==What is a "revelation"?== | |||
Imagine you are looking at a sculpture that is covered and another person looking on claims that the sculptor has already given him a look at the uncovered sculpture. | |||
People are speculating as to what it could be... | |||
One says, "that long part looks like it could be an elephant's trunk" | |||
Another says, "it's a giraffe" | |||
A person who has actually already seen the "revealed" sculpture cannot convey perfectly what he has seen, but their explanation of what the onlookers are seeing should make more sense than their own speculation. | |||
For instance, he might say, "actually that's not an elephant's trunk or a giraffe. It's actually a general on a rearing horse and what you see there is his extended arm and sword." | |||
The very definition of reveal means its recipient should be able to bring increased clarity, not increased mystery. | |||
If the person claiming to have already seen the sculpture said something like, "I can't explain what those shapes are. It's a revelation." That would be non-sensical. | |||
Yet, that is basically what we get told about twisted message scriptural interpretation, Willliam Branham's false visions and prophesies, vindication snafus, and the like. | |||
It's just nonsensical. | |||
=Conclusion= | =Conclusion= | ||