Sunday: General and Special Revelation
Daily Lesson for Sunday 25th of October 2026
Read Hebrews 1:1-2. Why is God so interested in speaking to us? What is He telling us through Jesus and the prophets?
What would the Creator of the cosmos have to say to us? Why does He communicate with us? It is because we are fallen human beings in a sinful world and face death, suffering, and trials; God, therefore, speaks to us because He wants us to know why we are here, why things are so bad, and why, despite it all, we can hope in His love for us.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
God’s general revelation, as seen in the natural world, speaks eloquently of His infinite power and caring love. King David exclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalms 19:1, NKJV). The apostle Paul added, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, NASB).
It is also amazing to reflect on God’s restoring power manifested in the mysterious healing processes in our world. Indeed, “God’s healing power runs all through nature. If a tree is cut, if a human being is wounded or breaks a bone, nature begins at once to repair the injury. Even before the need exists, the healing agencies are in readiness; and as soon as a part is wounded, every energy is bent to the work of restoration.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 113.
As beautiful and instructive as the natural world can be, it reveals not only God’s power and love but also the presence of evil (see Genesis 3:14-19, Matthew 13:24-30). This ambiguous message can be properly understood only in light of God’s special revelation—in both Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and in the Bible, the Written Word of God that testifies of Him (John 5:39).
The Scriptures are the inspired record of God’s messages to all human beings throughout the ages. They tell us about the Creation of the world and its tragic fall, and about God’s amazing plan of redemption and the final restoration of planet Earth. As brief and selective as some biblical narratives can be, they are always reliable, because it’s God speaking to us (see 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
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Though nature surely points to the reality of the Creator’s power and love, why do we still so desperately need the Written Word, as well? What does the Word tell us that nature, in and of itself, doesn’t? |
The Word of God should be seen as a love letter to humanity. It’s one thing to intellectually and cerebrally believe that God loves us, it is taken to a whole other level when we read time and again why and how much God loves us.
Remember when you were in love and dating, how you looked forward to receiving or sending a love letter to the person you were in love with? What if we had the same excitement, desire and eagerness to spend time in communion and communication with the lover of our souls?
We can only imagine what it must have been like for Adam and Eve to meet face to face with God. Because of sin that privilege has been lost, yet God still desired to communicate and commune with his people. Until that day when our faith is made sight may we desire to have a relationship with God whom Himself desires to have one with us. Now we see through a glass dimly, but then we will see Him face to face. 1 Cor. 13:12 Until then we can only gaze upon his face through the pages of his love letters to us, the Bible. It is like letters from home to soldiers on a distant battlefield.
One day the war between Christ and Satan will be concluded and Christ himself will return to take his Bride to his home. There will be great celebration in heaven as we the soldiers and prisoners of war are airlifted and repatriated to our real home. It’s all there in God’s love letters to mankind, the Bible. It’s still the greatest (love) story ever told.
I Will Bring You Home, Michael Card
Today’s lesson is like a repetition of lesson 1 of this quarter, “The Creator Speaks”, with a memory text, Hebrews 1:1 -2. Throughout the ages since creation, God has spoken to human beings in various ways: through prophets, visions, dreams, nature, revelations, apostles, and His Son, Jesus Christ. However, sadly, these messages seem to appear to have so little influence on many people’s lives? The Bible frequently reflects human beings who hear God’s messages but refuse to respond appropriately. Human beings have a tendency to suppress the truth for wickedness (Romans 1:18–25). People reject light and prefer darkness (John 3:19–20).
In our time, in this age, God has already revealed all the truth to save all mankind. It is not a lack of information which is the issue; the issue is not wanting to change. Few instances may make this view clearer:
a) People condemn injustice but continue to pursue wealth at the expense of others.
b) People desire forgiveness but refuse to reconcile with a family member.
c) People praise compassion but fail to stop exploiting the vulnerable.
We, as a community of believers, our church, regard prophecy highly to the point that it is one of our Fundamental Beliefs, number 18.
“The Gift of Prophecy — The prophetic gift is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Adventists believe it was manifested in the ministry and writings of Ellen G. White, which they regard as helpful for spiritual guidance while the Bible remains the ultimate standard of faith.”
As Seventh-day Adventists, we have been richly blessed with God’s Word and the prophetic counsel of Ellen G. White. But are we living the truth we profess, or have we merely grown familiar with it? We can possess great light yet remain unchanged in character. Perhaps our greatest need is not more truth, but a heart willing to obey the truth we already have. For what value is the light we have received if it does not lead us closer to Jesus and make us more like Him?
Nature doesn’t tell us that because of sin, Jesus, left Heaven and became human though still fully God and was born to a poor family and eventually fulfilled His plan of redemption and died the worst possible death to save us from death John 3:16 He became sin for us.
My brother, please read the first chapter of Steps to Christ. There you will see through the pen of inspiration, that though the earth has drastically changed since it’s creation, it still bears the fingerprints of it’s Creator. In spite of it’s fallen and marred condition, nature still testifies of the goodness and love of God. Allow me to drop a couple breadcrumbs on the pathway to paradise.
I invite you to read the rest of the page to see that though degraded by sin, nature still testifies of God’s love for his children. It’s still his first book which leads us to his second, the Bible.
Steps to Christ, by Ellen G. White. Chapter 1: God’s Love for Man
Yes, it is true that
We need “special revelation” to know that.
Yet, John refers to Christ as the “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9 And Christ explained that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would guide His followers into all truth. I believe that in Romans 1:18-20, Paul was saying that those willing to listen to the Holy Spirit would be able to recognize God as the Creator in nature. And I believe there will be some in heaven who did not know that the Creator became incarnate in humanity and came to this world. They will discover that in heaven.
God understands humanity’s tendency to misinterpret, distort, and stretch the truth; therefore, He has revealed Himself through both general and special revelations. Through the Holy Scriptures, God has shown us who He is, what He expects of us, and what He has done for our salvation. This revelation finds its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ, His only Son, for all Scripture, both before and after His coming, points to Him (John 5:39; Hebrews 1:1–2). Through Christ, God has made His character and saving purpose known to humanity.
General revelation refers to what God has made known to all people, at all times, and in all places through creation, revealing His existence, power, wisdom, and glory. Nature is like an open book through which we glimpse the Creator’s greatness, kindness, provision, and creativity. Just as a piece of music or artwork reveals something about its composer or artist, creation reflects the magnificence of its Maker. As Paul declares, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen” (Romans 1:20; see also Psalm 19:1). However, general revelation does not replace special revelation, through which God communicates His will and redemptive plan more clearly through Scripture and, ultimately, Jesus Christ.
Finally, we must remember that neither general nor special revelation means God has disclosed everything about Himself or His purposes. Some things remain beyond our understanding, for “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). When Job encountered the immeasurable wisdom of God, he acknowledged matters “too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3). We must therefore humbly recognize that we are finite while God is infinite. Nevertheless, He has revealed everything necessary for us to know Him, live godly lives, and receive salvation through Christ. As 2 Peter 1:3 assures us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” His revelation is sufficient for our good and His eternal glory
Reading the inspired EG white writting,have pointed me to the saving grace of God. We are not created by chance, but by God’s plan,God wants to reveal himself to us through his prophets.In everything we do we must seek God’s guidance through his word.
The great God and the Only Wise God, finds pleasure in His children. He has given us everything that pertains to life, and yet, like Adam and Eve, we try to hide from Him. Like the Hebrews who wanted Him to speak to Moses and not to them it is sad that the pattern continues when all God wants is for everyone to find time to get to know Him. He craves our attention. He says to ask Him. He wants us to abide in Him. To seek and find Him. To put Him to the test. He is our Helper. He has good plans for us for today for the future. He just wants a chance to prove Himself to us. If that is not love what is?
We must be willing and intentionally driven not only to focus on God’s words but to live it in our daily encounters with others.
The world frequently misinterprets Christian kindness and humility as weakness, equating success with self-assertion and arrogance.
However, biblical humility is not a lack of strength, it is strength under control. It requires profound spiritual maturity to resist the cultural pressure to perform or boast, choosing instead to reflect the character of Christ. Nature doesn’t tell us this. …
John 15:15 Jesus said, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his Lord does. But I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my Father I’ve made known unto you.” All things. Friends.
Revelation in Greek is apokalupsis… apo = take away , kalupsis = covering or veiling. Jesus uncovers what is hidden for those who long for an intimate relationship with Him. We read the Bible and the Bible is reading us. No secrets. More than information, all of God‘s messages are invitations.
Nature reveals an amazing, creative Creator! The Word reveals Jesus, who He is and what He can do for us! God is amazing!
Nature tells us that God is there; the Written Word tells us who He is, what happened to His creation, what He has done about it, how we may be saved, and where He is taking us.
Creation reveals God’s eternal power and divine nature as the creator but it does not reveal His saving grace nor His plan for salvation. It is only in the scripture that Jesus is revealed as our redeemer, a perfect sacrifice for our atonement of sins at the cross.
Nature does not tell us WHO made the world (the WORD does – John 1:1-3, 14, etc.), WHY the world was made (the WORD does – Revelation 4:11 KJV), HOW the world was made (Genesis chapter 1 and 2) – otherwise some scientists won’t be confused or ignorant, etc. In short, without the WORD (Scripture) of God, merely studying or researching nature does not provide the accurate reasons behind why, how, where, when, … as the basis of creation. If there was no Revelation of God through His spoken and written Word, it is impossible to research nature and know the creator, talk less of finding out why and how our world was made. Such research exercise will be a mere guess work fraught with abundant errors.
Hello Henry, and welcome to the Sabbath School Net forum. Thank you for contributing to the discussion.
You are correct in stating that nature does not tell us who created the world. It mearly testifies that it was created by some highly advanced and caring Being. The exquisite design, the detail and harmony of function testify that there must be a benevolent designer and creator behind it all. Although the devil, through the introduction of sin, greatly ruined all of creation, it still retains the fingerprints of God. When we marvel at the majesty of creation we are led to ponder how did it all come to be. That pondering leads us to two vastly different conclusions. Either it evolved or it was created.
Once a person honestly looks at all the evidence they can’t help but come to the conclusion that it couldn’t possibly have arisen out of random chance and chaos. No, order and design do not come from chaos any more that an explosion in a junk yard could produce a fully functional and flyable 747 airplane. It takes too much faith to believe that possibility. This is why I believe that nature is God’s first book which leads to His second book, the Bible.
While the natural world undeniably bears the fingerprint of a Creator—revealing His power, divine nature, and artistry (as noted in Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1)—theology distinguishes between this “General Revelation” (nature) and “Special Revelation” (the Written Word).
While nature is a magnificent testament to God’s existence, it is inherently limited. We desperately need the Written Word because nature, in and of itself, is silent on the most critical questions of human existence.
Here is what the Written Word tells us that nature cannot
The Diagnosis of the Human Condition (Sin and the Fall)
Nature shows us that something is wrong with the world. We see decay, predation, natural disasters, and death. The Apostle Paul notes that creation is “groaning” (Romans 8:22). However, nature cannot explain why this is happening. It cannot tell us about the Fall, human rebellion, or the concept of sin. Without the Written Word, we might view suffering as merely the cruel, random mechanics of the universe, or we might blame the Creator for a broken world. The Bible provides the missing context: the world is broken because of human sin, not because of a flawed Creator
Nature is one of the way God reveals Himself to His children; Then the inspiration is a direct communication from God to His jewels.