What Is Revelation?

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Greek#602), the word “revelation” comes from apŏkalupsis, meaning “disclosure.” apŏkalupsis has been translated variously in the King James Version of the Bible as “appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed,” as well as “revelation.” (ibid.)

From this, we can see that the Greek word apŏkalupsis has been transliterated rather than translated into the word “apocalypse,” which is one of the names the Book of Revelation commonly goes by: The Apocalypse. But it could also be known as The Disclosure, The Appearing, The Coming, The Enlightening, The Manifestation or The Revealing.

In any event, the apŏkalupsis is a revealing of some pretty nasty events that are to occur during the last days, which are now upon us. It also reveals some other important items and events as well.

Whence Cometh Satan? (Part 1 of 3)

A lot of sermons have been preached about Satan. However, I wonder how many people, preachers included, actually know who Satan is and where he came from. Do we know why he is so determined to fight against God and all those who seek to do good in Christ’s name? Do we know why he is so hateful and downright evil?

To answer these questions, we have to go back before the physical creation of the earth, for that is where we first meet the one we call Satan, otherwise known as Lucifer, or the Devil.

There’s a curious verse in the epistle of Jude (KJV) that refers to the “first estate.” Nothing further is mentioned, nor is there any other reference to it in the entire Bible. Even so, I think we can make some assumptions regarding this verse.

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 6).

Is There One Creation Story or Two? (Part 2 of 3)

Day 2 begins:

“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” (Genesis 1:6-8).

At this point I’m assuming the earth had coalesced into a globe of its present size and shape. As Day 2 begins, the earth was surrounded by a cocoon of water of some sort. This is not unlike a babe being surrounded by a placenta of waters. Of course, the waters surrounding the earth may have been far more extensive than a cocoon. We have no way of knowing, but I like the symbology of the earth being wrapped in a womb of water. As to there being water in outer space, you might want to check out the article,
“Water in Space More Abundant than Expected”.

But what is a firmament? The Hebrew word suggests “an expanse” or “visible arch of the sky.” The Hebrew word for heaven suggests “the sky,” “perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move.” It also refers to “the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve”—basically, the sun and everything you can see in the night sky. Based on the Hebrew, it would appear the firmament is none other than the earth’s atmosphere. (See the NASA photo below.)


Earth’s atomosphere (a NASA photo)

Is There One Creation Story or Two? (Part 1 of 3)

It has long been an established “fact” that Genesis 1 is the chronology of the physical creation of the earth. But is it really?

At first glance, it would certainly seem so. Everything appears to follow a certain logical order leading up to the creation of the male and female in verses 26-28. Yet, there are other indications that there may be more than meets the casual eye on this subject.

Whatever the case may be, there is so little information in the creation story as to leave one with many more questions than answers. And perhaps it was intended to be so. Either that, or we have lost a great deal of information over the ages through multitudes of translations and apparent omissions.

Remember also: This was Moses’ version of what he saw. I’m sure he was quite speechless after seeing all this. Think of the time Moses lived in. I would have to wonder if he even had the vocabulary to verbalize what he saw. Hence, we have this really short version in our Bibles.

Personally, I don’t believe God ever intended Genesis 1 to be a full account of the creation of heaven and earth. If he did, then why don’t we have it?