Inspiration Versus Revelation

Inspiration Versus Revelation

With the assistance of others and my own personal studies, the following is my conclusion to the question, "What is the difference between Inspiration and Revelation?"

Some feel that people can receive both Inspiration and Revelation. Let's answer this question with scriptural references, examples, and then come to some sort of conclusion.

Let's begin with the definition of 'inspiration.' It is a noun. Although the word inspiration means "the act of drawing in, especially the inhalation of air into the lungs," we will discuss only the Biblical usage of the word inspiration. A biblical definition of inspiration could mean "to draw upon the Spirit of God." We certainly need to draw upon the Spirit of God in that exact same manner as we would with drawing air into our lungs. For God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and it is our responsibility to draw that breath, the Spirit of God, into ourselves in order to be blessed.

Inspiration means to stimulate the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. In Alma 43:45, we have a record of men who felt inspired to protect their families, homes and liberties. We need to remember, however, that the act of inspiration if not accompanied with a pure heart, can come from evil, but positive and righteous inspiration causes us to be a better person. Inspiration is the agency that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention such as a great work of art, music, or act of nature. Inspiration is the act or inspiring or exalting (i.e., a painting full of inspiration). Theologically, inspiration is known as divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind. It causes an enlivening or exalting emotion (i.e., hymns that inspire the congregation, a great written work that sends tingles down your spine). It is the enlightenment of God which can give man understanding. It is the method by which God gives Scripture to man (II Timothy 3:16). Scripture is not only given by inspiration but also for inspiration of others. We are moved upon to write about the things of God, and the reader is prompted by the Spirit to do that which we offer. Inspiration, then, helps to bring out that which lives within a man's heart.

It is important to remember that inspiration produces an action. We are to act upon the inspiration we have received, or we are not truly inspired. If we do not act on inspiration, our works are considered 'dead works,' and they are worthless. Inspiration without action is branded as cold-hearted, stiff-necked, hard-hearted with past feeling and unmoving such as a piece of petrified wood. But we need to remember that although we might be inspired out of righteous desires, the Spirit is not necessarily able to break through the walls of tradition or pride of one's own wisdom. The listener might hear the inspired words or music, but their hearts might be far from the Lord.

The Greek word, Theopneustos means "God breathed." It is the operation of the divine Spirit which renders a speaker or writer infallible in the communication of truth. Inspiration is what makes all Scripture profitable for the benefit of man. 2 Peter 1:16-21 tells us that holy men spoke not of their own will but spoke by the moving of the Holy Ghost. This means that holy men had no ultimate control over what they wrote but were moved, manipulated or inspired by God.

Inspiration from the Holy Ghost is described in I Corinthians 2:7-16 especially verse 13. This scripture tells us that the Holy Ghost can teach us and is the medium for God's message to mankind and that the authority of the words is the Holy Ghost. Other scriptures that tell us that the Holy Ghost is the teacher and testator include Mark 12:36, Acts 1:16, Acts 28:25 and Hebrews 3:7. What Peter is saying is that inspiration does not necessarily come through organized, written-down teaching material, but it is the testimony and the feelings that brings mankind to enter the waters of baptism. In order to receive righteous inspiration, it is necessary for us to leave our pre-conceived ideas at the door in order to promote a Spirit of humbleness and open-mindedness.

There are a number of human theories as to how inspiration is arrived at. The first is the Intuition Theory, which is inspiration that has sprung from a high level of natural insight into truth. The Illumination Theory results from an intensifying of religious perception. The Dynamic Theory tells us that God guided the authors of scripture so that they were inerrant in spiritual matters while using their own style. The Dictation Theory says that God so controlled the writers of the scriptures that they were no more than passive instruments in the hand of God. It is probably this last theory of Dictation that Joseph Smith used when upon receiving the golden plates or Book of Mormon, he was given the Urim and Thummin to interpret exactly word for word the writings from the plates. When we speak of inspiration, we often say that the Holy Ghost had control over the human authors with the mouth (Exodus 4:10-12), who wrote the words (Exodus 34:1, 27-28), the Spirit speaking by man (II Samual 23:2) and the Holy Ghost put words in the mouth (Jeremiah 1:6-9).

When God moved the men, He certainly used their special circumstances, knowledge and even style of writing although He did not need to. He certainly could have had the human author use a word which he did not understand, but the evidence is that He did not significantly alter the individual author's writing style or experience. This is because God uses human authors as tools for His own purpose. For example, one could dig a hole in the ground with a mattock, pick or shovel. Although the one digging the hole does the work and he chooses which tool he will use, the hole will bear some of the marks of that tool. The same goes for the game of chess. The player chooses what piece he will move and where he will move it, yet he moves it according to the rules of the game for that piece. Of course, God can change the rules if He wishes, yet His normal practice seems to be to move the pieces according to the given characteristics and limitations of that piece. We understand this principle when we see that a Prophet named Mormon prayed that those that received his record would not condemn it because of personal imperfections or his ability to write (Mormon 9:31).

On closer look, we notice that part of the word 'inspiration' is 'spiration.' Spiration sounds a bit like spirit. In ancient languages, air, breath and spirit were usually related words. Using Greek roots, we can see that a pneumatic drill (run by air), pneumonia (a disease that affects the breath) and pneumatology (a technical word for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit) all come from the same Greek word. Inspiration has Latin roots but follows the same pattern.

The doctrine of inspiration teaches us that all scripture is a result of the breath of God. This is represented in the movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when Indiana had to spell the word of God. As such, it is absolutely pure and holy without error or falsehood or Indiana would have fallen to his death. It was given by the breath or Spirit of God. It is only when translators or other un-inspired men put their hand to scripture that it becomes error or untruth and because of the agency of man, this is sometimes the case.

One sometimes tends to say of a particular painter, author, musical composer, or performing artist, "he was inspired!" Indeed, he may have been. But it was a different kind of inspiration from that which was possessed by the Prophets of God. When Paul wrote to the young ministerial intern Timothy, "all scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16)," he chose to employ the Greek term 'theopneustos,' which is a contraction of two other Greek words 'Theos' (God) and 'pneuma' (breath). What he was saying, literally, was "all scripture is God-breathed."

The apostle Peter adds to our limited biblical store of information on inspiration by stating that the prophets, these "holy men of God," spoke as they were "moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21)." The Greek term Peter employs is 'pheromenoi,' from 'phero,' meaning "to carry a load, to move." Luke employed the expression twice in describing the action of a tempestuous wind in "driving" a sailing vessel upon which he and Paul were traveling. The implication is clear: the prophets were moved by the Divine initiative and borne by the irresistible power of the Spirit of God along ways of His choosing to ends of His appointment.

Let's now define Revelation. The word revelation is a noun meaning "the act of revealing or disclosing; something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not previously known or realized." It is a manifestation of divine will or truth. It is also described as an enlightening or astonishing disclosure to man by a divine agency or the act of making something evident. It is the act of revealing something. To reveal means to remove the veil ('veal' in the word reveal comes from veil). In Ephesians 3:3, Paul describes it by stating, "by revelation he (God) made known unto me the mystery as I wrote afore in few words."

Revelation is an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. Certainly the Book of Mormon title page tells us that the book was hidden (or sealed) and was a record of a people that we were previously totally unaware of. It says it was "written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed-To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof-Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile-The interpretation thereof by the gift of God (revelation)." So we understand, then, that the Book of Mormon was a revelation of God, because the book was a history of people that we were previously unaware of. The scriptures are not merely the record of revelation, they are the revelation itself in a written form in order to accurately preserve the truth.

Man prides himself on his knowledge, yet there are many things that he does not or cannot know. In fact, much of the knowledge man thinks he has is made up of shaky assumptions. Consider man's limitation of knowledge in these five directions:
1. Past - man is limited in his knowledge of the past. His beliefs concerning origins are just that-beliefs. He cannot know of a certainty how things began or were.
2. Future - All knowledge about the future is made up of guesses.
3. Up - We are limited in our knowledge of outer space. But we are totally ignorant as to what exists outside our universe. Man cannot discover heaven.
4. Down - Some may disagree with this, but man is even limited as to his knowledge of what lies in the heart of the earth. This is especially humbling because it is so close.
5. Inside - This refers to the inner man. Man can never really understand himself. We spend much effort and time in self-discovery only to find that we are much more complex than can be imagined. Understanding yourself is much like trying to pick yourself up. The harder you try, the more frustrated you become.

These, and other things, are impossible to know apart from the revelation of God. They are the "secret things" referred to in Deuteronomy 29:29. They belong to God. Yet this verse also teaches that there are some things that God chooses to reveal to man. These truths are the object of biblical revelation. Truly, one of the purposes of the Scriptures is to receive revelation. When studying the Scriptures, we have the opportunity to go into that secret place, shut out the world and allow the Spirit of God into ourselves in full strength in order to receive that from the Lord which He wishes to bless us with. Oftentimes, we receive revelation about a question we had while studying the Scriptures that was totally unrelated in nature to what we were reading. A single word might jump off the page and enlighten our minds. We might have previously interpreted the Scripture and while reading it again, receive a totally different perspective on the subject.

In scripture, God revealed His truth to man in many ways. He used dreams and visions. He spoke directly to man personally. In Joel we read, "…and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28)." So many others besides the Prophet will prophesy in the last days. This will be direct revelation from God, via various forms. The prophecies will contain God's will, His intent, and other information important to the survival of His children. In lesser ways, He (God) still uses nature and history to reveal limited truth about Himself. Any time God reveals something to man, God is practicing revelation.

But we must remember that all scripture came as a result of God's revelation but all revelation does not become scripture. Many prophecies were spoken or unspoken by the scriptures that are not contained in the books we call the Bible, Book of Mormon or other authorized canon. Technically, revelation is God revealing to man what he would otherwise never know. Without revelation, there would be no scripture. In it, God opens up the doors of a world that man could not know in any other way. Through scripture, we know eternal and heavenly truths from God's own mouth (not through the Holy Ghost, as He only testifies of the truthfulness of God and His words).

In order to understand the difference between man's thoughts and God's revelation we need to understand that man is unable, through his own resources or by his own observation, to perceive certain kinds of information that God is pleased to speak. As God speaks and revelation comes forth, a history of man's dealing with God is unfolded within human history.

God has revealed Himself, in a limited way, in nature. This type of limited revelation gives us glimpses of His power, His wisdom, and His glory. But nature is unable to reveal clearly God's own person, His holiness, or His everlasting purposes and plan for mankind. Revelation through God directly through his appointed Servants and Prophets transcends the "natural" revelation of God in nature. Even Ammon tells us that "a seer is a Revelator and a Prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God (Mosiah 8:16)."

In the New Testament, Paul assures us that the Holy Spirit "speaketh expressly" (1 Timothy 4:1). Paul also assures us that God reveals His mysteries to the Prophets by revelation. We understand, then, that revelation is knowledge that is attained in no other way and from no other source than God.

It is an accepted fact that all major religions of the world are at least partially based on a divine revelation, conveyed to them by a manifestation of God and that the revelations brought by the manifestations are not contradictory, but constitute a single, ongoing divine educational process for humanity. But when these revelations are given, we are told to not despise the revelations of God (Jacob 4:8).

When receiving revelation, Joseph Smith has said, "it is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or anyone, to receive instruction for those in authority, higher than themselves (TPJS, page 21)." Joseph meant that a person holding the calling of a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood does not have the capability to receive revelation for say a High Priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Joseph went on to say that "this is the order of heaven and the power and privilege of this Priesthood (TPJS, page 111)." The privilege of receiving revelation comes in gradual steps as we move forward in the Estates of Progression in the plan of salvation.

Revelation is given to those who have faith in God and have the ability to commune with the Holy Spirit. They are not given to the unbelievers or stiffnecked men (Jarom 1:4). A person receiving revelation from God should be worthy to receive the same. That is, he must be living a life that is in keeping with the teachings of Jesus Christ and principles of the kingdom.

So to summarize, inspiration secures to the teacher or writer infallibility in communicating truth to others. Inspiration is the phenomenon of revelation. It renders its subject (the spokesman or Prophet of God) in such a sense that everything he asserts to be true, whether fact or doctrine or moral principle is true, infallibly true. On the other hand, revelation is vouchsafed by God to only a very small group of humans. It is a supernatural communication of truth to the mind or personally received by the Prophets through dreams, visions, visitations, and other gifts of the spirit. True revelation is received directly from God without an intermediary (The Holy Ghost). Revelation brings eternal and unchanging teachings. It would seem that each revelation builds on the previous revelation known in that part of the world, and in turn becomes the foundation for a subsequent revelation. In the book of Revelations it states, "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour (Rev 8:1). Revelation will be halted for the space of a "half an hour" according to God's own time. This revelation, which comes directly from God's mouth, will cease for the space of an appointed time in the last days. Thus we, as a people, will not be lead by revelation.

Thus, it is my opinion that man erroneously interchanges the words inspiration and revelation. As defined above, we now know that these two words do not mean the same thing and should be used separately and NOT interchangeably. For example, most people receive personal inspiration, not revelation. Unless information is obtained directly from God's mouth, the information is inspiration and not revelation.