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“Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3

The Word of God: Revelation

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Page 1: The Word of God: Revelation

“Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.”

John 17:3

Page 2: The Word of God: Revelation

FRIENDSHIP BEGINS WITH ONE “HELLO”

It is impossible to love or to have a relationship with someone who is not known.

Introducing one’s self to another is basic in initiating friendship. This introduction should be sustained by constant communication through which the unfolding of self takes place.

Page 3: The Word of God: Revelation

God, in his desire to enter into a loving relationship with humanity, took the initiative of introducing himself to us, and of communicating with us both through natural and supernatural means.

GOD’S DISCLOSURE OF HIMSELF IS CALLED:

“Revelation is God’s personal loving communication to us of who He is and His plan to save us all in His love. It is God’s reaching out to us in friendship, so we get to know and love Him.”

CFC no.101

Page 4: The Word of God: Revelation

THE LIMITATION OF HUMAN REASON:The fact that natural reason can prove God’s existence is in itself revelation.

But while human reason can tell us that God exists, it cannot tell us WHO GOD IS.

In order for us to know who God is, we have to pay attention to the different avenues by which God communicates with us.

Page 5: The Word of God: Revelation

Rev. Fr. Ian Knox, C.S.Sp.

PERSONS

EVENTS CREATION

HISTORY

PROPHETS

JESUS CHRIST

CHURCH

Page 6: The Word of God: Revelation

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork” Psalm 19:1

The beauty of nature awakens our religious sense. Realizing that we cannot be responsible for the grandeur of creation, we end up concluding: there must be a God who is the cause of everything.

CREATION IS THE FIRST ACT OF GOD’S REVELATION.“Ever since the creation of the world, his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.”

Romans 1:19-20

Page 7: The Word of God: Revelation

For history to be revelatory, we have to learn looking at history with the eyes of faith.

We have to realize that God is not merely watching us from a distance. Rather, he is actively involved in the story of our lives, both as individuals and as a people.

Even the most secular historical events, when seen with faith, become evidences of God’s divine plan gradually unfolding through time.

Page 8: The Word of God: Revelation

Historians enable us to remember significant events. The PROPHETS of God, both ancient and modern, help us to see historical events with God’s own eyes.

While prophets may tell future events, prediction of the future is just incidental to prophecy. The main task of a prophet is to convey the message of God by interpreting the SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

The meaning of historical events as revealed by God through the prophets are at times unpalatable. Often, prophets speak the uncomfortable truth, hence they are often persecuted.

Page 9: The Word of God: Revelation

“No one has ever seen God, but the only Son, who is the same as God, made Him known…” John 1: 18

“In times past God spoke in varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, He has spoken to us through His Son” Hebrews 1:1-2

JESUS CHRIST IS THE FULLNESS OF GOD’S REVELATION

By becoming man like us, he revealed to us everything we need to know about God, using a language that we can understand and relate to.

Page 10: The Word of God: Revelation

“As goal, Jesus is ‘the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of man’s history’ (GS 10), in whose image we all are to be conformed (cf. Rom 8:29).”

“But Christ is not only the goal of God’s revelation, He is also its content, the Revealed One. In himself, Jesus reveals both God and ourselves. ‘Christ, the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of His love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling’ (GS 22).”

“Christ is revealer through his part in creation, through his becoming man, through his hidden and public life, and especially through his passion, death and resurrection. After his resurrection, the Risen Christ continues his revelation by sending us his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (cf. DV 4).”

CFC nos. 77-79

Page 11: The Word of God: Revelation

“God speaks to us in and through the life of the church. God speaks to us through the lives of holy people who have evidently taken Jesus’ message to heart and serve as an example to all. As we participate in the life of the church, we participate in revelation. We believe that Jesus is still speaking and acting through the church, that is through us and our participation in the life of the community. We believe that we as a church, continue Jesus’ preaching and mission to the world.”

Fr. Ian KnoxTHEOLOGY FOR TEACHERS,p.88

Page 12: The Word of God: Revelation

GOD’S REVELATION IS CONTAINED IN:

God, the one and only source of revelation, so willed that his revelation be transmitted to us through two modes: Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition, two phases of the same revelation forming one sacred deposit

of the word of God entrusted to the Church

Page 13: The Word of God: Revelation

OUR RESPONSE TO REVELATION IS

Many of the truths revealed by God to us are beyond the power of our human comprehension. Yet because we believe that God, who is all good "cannot deceive nor be deceived” we say “AMEN” even to things we do not fully understand.

ACT OF FAITHO MY GOD, I FIRMLY BELIEVE

ALL THE TRUTHS WHICHTHE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHESBECAUSE YOU HAVE REVEALED THEM

WHO NEVER DECEIVE, NOR CAN BE DECEIVED.

AMEN.

Page 14: The Word of God: Revelation

Fr. Ian Knox, C.S. Sp.

THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERSOttawa: Novalis Press, 1994

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines ECCCE

CATECHISM FOR FILIPINO CATHOLICSMakati: Word and Life Publications, 1997

Erlinda Bragado and Arnold Monera

KALOOB: Interweavings on the Christian StoryManila: De La Salle University Press, 1998

Page 15: The Word of God: Revelation

Seatwork: ½ crosswise

1.What are the reasons for studying the Bible?2.Write your chosen bible verse. -passage -pericope