4. The Value of General Revelation
Reflect on practical ways you can be more attentive to God's presence in both His creation and His Word. How does this awareness enhance your spiritual life?
9. What role does human free will play in the acceptance and understanding of God's revelation?
Explore God's sovereignty in revealing Himself and human responsibility in seeking and responding to His revelation. How does this affect your view of salvation and grace?
10. In what ways can the church today better reflect the order and purpose of God's revelation in its teachings and practices?
Consider the current challenges facing the church and how a return to a biblically grounded understanding of God's revelation can address these issues. What practical steps can be taken to align church practices with divine revelation?
4. The Value of General Revelation In determining the value to be assigned to general revelation, there lies a great danger of either underestimation or overestimation.
When we draw attention to the rich grace that God has bestowed in His special revelation, we can become so absorbed in it that general revelation loses all meaning and value for us. Conversely, when we become acquainted with the true, the good, and the beautiful found
in nature and the world of man through God's general revelation, we might inadvertently diminish the glory of the special grace manifested in the person and work of Christ.
This peril of veering to the right or to the left has always beset the Christian Church. Both in theory and in the practice of life, general revelation has been denied by some, while special revelation has been overlooked by others. Today, the temptation to disregard general revelation is not as prevalent as it once was. However, the temptation to reduce special revelation to merely the person of Christ, or to deny it altogether and equate it with general revelation, is all the more pressing.
We must be vigilant against both of these extreme tendencies. We will be safest when, in the light of Holy Scripture, we examine the history of mankind and allow it to reveal what humanity owes to general revelation. It will then become apparent that, in some respects, people have progressed remarkably far by its light, but in other respects, their knowledge and abilities have been confined by insurmountable boundaries.
When the first humans in paradise violated God's commandment, the punishment they had earned by their sin did not immediately and fully come into effect. They did not die on the same day they sinned but continued to live; they were not sent to hell but were entrusted with a task on earth; they did not perish without hope but received the promise of a woman's seed. They entered into a situation known and determined by God but unforeseen and incalculable by humans—a situation characterized by a peculiar mixture of wrath and mercy, punishment and blessing, judgment
and forbearance. This situation persists in nature and humanity, combining the sharpest contrasts.
We inhabit a world of wonders, a world that presents us with the greatest contrasts. The high and the low, the large and the small, the exalted and the ridiculous, the tragic and the comic, the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, truth and lies are intertwined in an incomprehensible manner. Life's seriousness and vanity alternate in their hold on us. Sometimes we incline towards pessimism, sometimes towards optimism; the man who weeps and the man who laughs exchange places every moment. The whole world is marked by humor, aptly described as a smile in a tear.
The deepest cause of this present state of the world lies in the fact that God continually manifests His wrath on account of man's sin, and yet, according to His own will, continually manifests His grace.
We perish in His wrath, and yet in the morning we are satisfied with His mercy (Psalm 90:7, 14). There is a moment in His wrath, but a lifetime in His mercy; in the evening, weeping may endure, but in the morning, there is rejoicing (Psalm 30:5). Curse and blessing are so wonderfully intertwined that they often seem to merge into one another.
Labor in the sweat of the brow embodies both curse and blessing.
Together, they point to the Cross, which represents the highest law and the richest grace. The Cross is thus the center of history and the reconciliation of all contradictions.
This duality commenced immediately after the Fall, and in the earliest times, until the calling of Abraham, it retained an individual character. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are of utmost
importance; they form the foundation and starting point of the entire history of the world.
From the outset, it is noteworthy that general and special revelation, though distinct, do not occur separately but are continually related and addressed to the same people, that is, to the whole of humanity existing at that time. Special revelation was not yet confined to a few individuals or a single nation but extended to all people living then.
The creation of the world, the formation of mankind, the history of paradise and the Fall, the punishment for sin, and the first promise of God's grace (Genesis 3:15), the public practice of religion (Genesis
4:26), the beginnings of culture (Genesis 4:17ff), the Flood, and the building of the Tower of Babel all belong to the shared heritage of mankind. It is therefore unsurprising that vestiges of these events, though often distorted, appear among all peoples of the earth. The history of mankind has a common origin and beginning, built on a broad, shared foundation.
Nevertheless, despite this unity and communion, separation soon arose among people. This separation was rooted in religion, in the way individuals related themselves to God. The service of the Lord was very simple in those early days; there was no public worship service as we know it today, as humanity consisted of only a few families. Yet, from the beginning, God's service consisted of prayers and sacrifices, of bringing offerings, and dedicating to God the best one had (Genesis 4:3-4). The Scriptures do not detail how man came to offer such sacrifices, and scholars hold varied opinions on the origin of sacrifices. However, it is clear that the first sacrifices arose from a sense of dependence on and gratitude to God and were symbolic in nature. They expressed man's surrender and dedication
to God; what mattered was not the gift itself, but the spirit in which it was given. Abel brought both in disposition and in gift a greater and better offering than Cain (Hebrews 11:4), and was therefore accepted by the Lord in grace. Thus, from the beginning, there was already a separation between the children of Adam—a separation between the righteous and the godless, between martyrs and murderers, between the church and the world. Although God intervened in Cain's life, sought him out, admonished him to repentance, and even tempered justice with mercy (Genesis 4:9-16), the breach was never healed; the separation persisted and continued in the division of the Cainites from the Sethites.
In the circles of the Cainites, unbelief and apostasy increased with alarming rapidity from generation to generation. They did not fall into idolatry and iconoclasm; the Scriptures make no mention of these among mankind before the Flood. These forms of false religion are not original but the product of later development, evidence of a religious sense suppressed in their hearts by the Cainites. They surrendered not to superstition but to unbelief, arriving at a practical, if not theoretical, denial of the existence and revelation of God. They acted as though there were no God; they ate and drank, married and gave in marriage, just as it will be in the days of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-38). They threw themselves with all their might into culture and sought their salvation therein (Genesis 4:1724). Rejoicing in long lives, sometimes spanning hundreds of years
(Genesis 5:3ff), possessing rich gifts and titanic physical strength (Genesis 4:23; 6:4), and boasting of the power of their sword
(Genesis 4:23-24), they imagined that their own arm could secure their salvation.
In the generations of Seth, the knowledge and service of God were preserved pure for a long time. In the days of Enosh, men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26). This does not imply that they first began to honor God with prayers and sacrifices then, for such practices already existed before. Cain and Abel had already offered sacrifices, and although explicit mention of prayers is absent, they were undoubtedly part of God's service from the very beginning, as no religion is conceivable without prayer; the sacrifice itself is a prayer embodied in action, always accompanied by prayer. The expression in Genesis 4:26 does not mean that God was specifically called by the name "Lord" at that time, for apart from the question of whether the name Jehovah was known then, the essence of God expressed in that name was not fully revealed until much later to Moses (Exodus 3:14). It likely means that the Sethites separated themselves from the Cainites, held their own assemblies in the name of the Lord, and thus openly bore witness to their fidelity to God's service. They no longer prayed and offered sacrifices individually but gave a communal testimony. As the Cainites devoted themselves to worldly pursuits, the Sethites dedicated themselves to God and proclaimed His name in prayer, thanksgiving, preaching, and confession amidst an evil generation.
Through this public preaching, a constant call to repentance went out to the descendants of Cain. This call persisted even as religion and morals among the Sethites began to decline and they mingled with the world. Enosh's grandson was named Mahalalel, meaning
"praise of God" (Genesis 5:15); Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22); Lamech, at the birth of his son Noah, expressed hope for comfort from the toil and labor of their hands due to the cursed ground (Genesis 5:29); and Noah himself, a son of the Sethites,
emerged as a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), proclaiming the gospel of salvation through the Spirit of Christ to his contemporaries (1 Peter 3:19-20).
But these pious individuals became increasingly exceptional. The Sethites and Cainites intermarried, producing offspring who surpassed previous generations in violence (Genesis 6:4). Human wickedness multiplied, every thought of their hearts was only evil continually, and the earth was filled with corruption and violence
(Genesis 6:5, 12-13; 8:21). Although God, in His forbearance, granted a respite of one hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3; 1 Peter 3:20) and through Noah's preaching indicated a way of escape, mankind continued towards its doom, ultimately perishing in the waters of the Flood.
After this dreadful judgment, in which only Noah and his family— eight souls in total—were spared, a new dispensation began, differing in many respects from that which preceded the Flood. The Flood, according to Scripture, is a singular event in human history, comparable only to the fire of the last days (Genesis 8:21ff). It is likened to a baptism, condemning the world and preserving those who believe (1 Peter 3:19-20).
The new dispensation was inaugurated with a covenant. When Noah built an altar after the flood and offered sacrifices to God upon it, expressing the gratitude and supplication of his heart, the Lord resolved within Himself that He would no longer bring such a judgment upon the earth. Instead, He established a fixed order in nature. It is noteworthy that this resolution considers the evil inclination of man's heart from his youth (Genesis 8:21). These
words bear similarity to, yet differ significantly from, those in Genesis 6:5, where it is stated that every intention of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. In Genesis 6:5, the words justify the destruction; in Genesis 8:21, they justify the preservation of the earth. The former emphasizes the wicked deeds through which the corrupt heart of mankind was manifested; the latter highlights the sinful nature that persists in man even after the flood.
It is as if the Lord declares through these words that He understands what would become of His creation if left to its own devices. Man's heart, remaining unchanged, would again erupt in all manner of grievous sins, provoking God's wrath repeatedly, leading to another catastrophic judgment. But God resolves not to let this happen.
Therefore, He establishes mankind and nature in an immutable order, prescribing the paths they are to walk, thereby limiting and containing both. This is accomplished in the covenant that God establishes with creation after the flood, known as the covenant of nature.
Although this covenant arises from God's grace in a broader sense, it is fundamentally distinct from the covenant of grace established with the church in Christ. The natural covenant rests on the acknowledgment that man's heart is evil from his youth and will remain so (Genesis 8:21). Its content is the restoration of the creation blessing of fruitfulness and dominion over animals (Genesis
9:1-3, 7), and to this end, it includes the provision of capital punishment (Genesis 9:5-6). It is established with Noah, the progenitor of the post-diluvian human race, and through him, with all mankind and even all living creatures (Genesis 9:9ff). It is sealed with a natural phenomenon—the rainbow (Genesis 9:12ff)—and its
purpose is to prevent another flood and ensure the continued existence of mankind and the world (Genesis 8:21-22, 9:14-16).
Thus, the existence and life of mankind and the world rest on a new, more solid foundation. It is no longer based solely on the act of creation and God's creation ordinances, which man violated, but now receives its foundation in a special act of God's mercy and longsuffering. God is not obligated by virtue of His creation ordinances to grant man life and existence; rather, through this covenant, He binds
Himself to preserve creation despite its fall and rebellion.
Henceforth, the maintenance and governance of the world rest not merely on a divine will but on a covenantal obligation. Through this covenant, God obliges Himself to sustain the world in its existence.
He has pledged His name, His honor, His truth, His faithfulness, His word, and His promise to the creature for its continued existence.
Thus, the ordinances of mankind and the world are unshakably fixed within a covenant of grace with all of nature (Genesis 8:21-22; Job
14:5-6; 26:10; Psalm 119:90-91; 148:6; Isaiah 28:24ff; Jeremiah 5:24; 31:35-36; 33:20, 25).
This covenant introduces an entirely different order from that which existed before the flood. The mighty forces of nature that once wrought destruction have been subdued. The terrible monsters of the past have perished. The tremendous catastrophes that once affected the entire world have given way to a more regular progression of phenomena and events. Human lifespan has been shortened, their strength diminished, their nature softened. They have been organized into societies and placed under the control of governments. Nature and the world of mankind have been constrained by the covenant. Everywhere there are laws and orders.
Everywhere barriers have been established to stem the tide of iniquity. Order, measure, and number have become the hallmarks of creation. God restrains the wild animal within mankind, enabling him to develop his gifts and strengths in art and science, in society and state, in profession and business, thus fulfilling the conditions necessary for the unfolding of history.
But this history is interrupted once more by the profound act of the confusion of tongues. After the Flood, the people initially dwelt in the land of Ararat, in the Armenian highlands, where Noah became a farmer (Genesis 9:20). As they multiplied, they spread eastward along the rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates and came to the plain of Shinar, or Mesopotamia (Genesis 11:2). Here they settled, and as they increased in wealth and power, they hastened to make a name for themselves by building a tall tower to keep mankind from being scattered. Against God's command to fill and subdue the whole earth, they set forth the ideal of maintaining unity through an external center, binding all mankind together in an empire that finds its strength in power and the glorification of man as the goal of its efforts. For the first time in history, the idea of concentrating and organizing mankind with all its power and wisdom, with all its art and science, with all its culture, in defiance of God and His kingdom arises—an idea that has resurfaced time and again, to which many so-called great men have aspired through the centuries.
Thus, it becomes necessary for God to intervene and render this attempt to build an empire impossible. He does so by confusing their language, which until then had been one. How and when this confusion occurred is not specified. But in any case, it resulted in people becoming physiologically and psychologically distinct from
one another, beginning to see and name things differently, leading to their division into nations and peoples and their scattering to the ends of the earth. It should also be noted that this confusion of language was already foreshadowed by the descent of different sons of Noah (Genesis 10:1ff) and by the departure of Noah's descendants from Armenia to Shinar (Genesis 11:2). The idea of building Babel's tower would not have arisen if the very danger and fear of dispersion had not already been present and pressing.
In this way, Scripture explains the emergence of nations and peoples, of tongues and languages. Indeed, the immense diversity of mankind is a wondrous and inexplicable fact. People, who all descend from the same parents, share the same spirit and soul, the same flesh and blood, yet stand as strangers face to face. They do not understand each other. Moreover, they are divided into races that dispute each other's existence, bent on each other's destruction, living century after century in secret and open warfare with one another. Racial instincts, feelings of nationality, enmity, and hatred separate the peoples. All this is a dreadful punishment, a terrible judgment, which cannot be undone by cosmopolitanism and peace treaties, by universal languages or international organizations, by no empire or world culture.
If ever there shall be unity again among mankind, it cannot be achieved by an outward, mechanical connection around some tower of Babel. It can only be accomplished from within, by assembly under one and the same Head (Ephesians 1:10), by the peace-making creation of all nations into one new man (Ephesians 2:15), by the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:6), by the walking of all nations in one light (Revelation 21:24).
The unity in mankind, which can only be restored from within, was therefore once disturbed centrally through the confusion of tongues.
The false unity was violently broken, making room for true unity; the kingdom of the world was shattered, so that the Kingdom of God could be established on earth. Henceforth, the peoples were dispersed and scattered over the earth. Israel was chosen from among these peoples to be the bearer of God's revelation. General and special revelation, hitherto united, separated and remained apart for a time, only to converge again at the foot of the Cross. Israel was set apart to walk in the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, while the Lord allowed the other nations to walk in their own ways.
However, this should not be taken to mean that God had no involvement with these peoples and left them to their own devices.
This notion is preposterous in itself, for God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, and nothing originates, occurs, or exists without His omnipotent and omnipresent power.
Scripture decisively pronounces the opposite. When the Most High distributed the inheritance to the nations, when He separated the children of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8). When the earth was divided, God reckoned with Israel and appointed a land for His people according to their number. However, He also distributed to all peoples their inheritance and determined their borders. He made the whole human race from one blood, that they should dwell not in one place but across the entire earth; for He did not create the earth to be empty but formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). He established the times ordained for the nations' existence and the boundaries of their dwellings; the age and dwelling place of all
nations were determined by His counsel and appointed by His providence (Acts 17:26).
Moreover, although in times past He allowed all nations to walk in their own ways, He did not leave them indifferent, but did them good from heaven, giving them rain and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:16-17). By His revelation in nature and history, He sent His call to all hearts and consciences
(Psalm 19:1). From the creation of the world, God made His unseen attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, known through His works (Romans 1:19-20). Although the Gentiles received no law as the people of Israel did, and thus have no law in that sense, by doing what the law commands in specific instances, they show that they are a law to themselves, with the actions commanded by that law written in their hearts. This is further confirmed by the judgment of their conscience and the thoughts that either accuse or excuse them
(Romans 2:14-15).
The religious and moral consciousness of the heathen thus proves that God engaged with them. Through the Word, who in the beginning was with God and was God Himself, all things were made, and in that Word was the life and light of men. Their being and consciousness, their existence and reason, are due to that Word. Not only in principle and origin but also in that it is sustained from moment to moment by the Word of God. For that Word is not only the author of all things but remains in the world as the sustainer and ruler of all things. As such, it gave life to all men and enlightened with consciousness, reason, and intelligence every man born into the world (John 1:3-10).
History imprints its seal upon this testimony of Scripture. For not only did various inventions and enterprises spring up soon after the fall among the descendants of Cain (Genesis 4:17ff), but also, when after the flood the people settled on the plain of Shinar, they rapidly achieved a high degree of culture. According to Genesis 10:8-12,
Nimrod, a descendant of Cush, a son of Ham, was the founder of the kingdom of Babel. The Scriptures describe him as a mighty hunter before the Lord, for he drove away wild beasts by his extraordinary strength, made the plain of Shinar safe, and attracted and influenced people to settle there. Thus he founded several cities, including
Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the plain of Shinar; and from there he ventured further into the land of Assyria, establishing the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen.
According to Scripture, the earliest inhabitants of Shinar were not Semites, but Hamites. This account is corroborated by the burgeoning field of Assyriology, which, through the translation and interpretation of cuneiform inscriptions unearthed in Assyria, reveals that Shinar was originally inhabited by a people known as the Sumerians, who cannot be classified as Semites. However, this ancient population of Shinar was later overrun by migrating Semites.
These newcomers retained their own language but adopted the culture of the Sumerians, merging to form the later Chaldean people.
The Semitic element gained prominence when Hammurabi, possibly the same as Amraphel in Genesis 14:1, made Babel his capital and subdued all of Shinar. Genesis 10 itself hints at this progression, for verse 11 states that Nimrod the Hamite went to the land of Assyria and founded cities there, while verse 22 identifies Asshur, the population of Assyria, as related to Elam, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram, and therefore as descendants of Shem.
The civilization that flourished in Shinar in terms of science and art, morals and law, trade and industry, reached such heights that, as we uncover more from the excavations, we are increasingly astonished.
We do not know precisely how and when it came into being, but it utterly contradicts the common notion that the further back we go, the more primitive and uncivilized peoples become. As long as we do not indulge in fanciful notions about the primitive state of so-called natural peoples but endeavor to understand the past based on historical evidence, we are reinforced in the Scriptural view that the earliest period of post-Flood humanity, led by men like Nimrod, attained a high level of culture.
This civilization was not confined to the land of Shinar. As humanity expanded, it spread over the earth following the confusion of tongues. Naturally, it happened that tribes moved further and further from the center of civilization, seeking refuge in the wild and inhospitable regions of Asia, Europe, and Africa. It is not surprising that these tribes and peoples, in their isolated lives, cut off from all contact with others, struggling against the harshness of nature, remained at the level of civilization they had originally adopted or, in many cases, even declined below it. These peoples are nowadays often referred to as "natural peoples." But this designation is vague and misleading. For in all these peoples, we find all the traits and elements that are foundational to civilization. They are all human beings, not mere creatures of nature; they all possess consciousness and will, reason and intelligence, heart and conscience; they have language and religion, law and order, family and society, tools and adornments.
Among all peoples, there exists such a vast difference that the boundary between those deemed "natural" and those considered
"cultured" cannot be clearly defined. There is a significant difference in civilization between the Bushmen of South Africa, the inhabitants of Polynesia, and the various Negro races. However distinct they may be, they share common ideas, traditions, and memories, such as those concerning the Flood, pointing to a common origin.
Even more so among the so-called cultured peoples, such as the Indians and Chinese, the Phoenicians and Egyptians. The foundational worldview, which we discover among all these peoples, aligns with what excavations in the land of Shinar have revealed.
Here lies the origin of all culture, the cradle of humanity. From Central Asia, mankind spread over the entire earth, carrying with it elements of culture common to all civilized peoples, which each has further developed according to its own nature. The ancient culture of Babylonia, with its writing, astronomy, mathematics, and timekeeping, remains the foundation upon which our own is built.
Yet, when we view this entire history of civilization from a religious and moral perspective, it leaves us with a deep sense of dissatisfaction and disappointment. The Apostle Paul declared that the Gentiles, knowing God from His general revelation in nature, did not glorify or give thanks to Him as God. Instead, they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and creeping things (Romans 1:21-23). Impartial historical research into the religions of the peoples leads to the same conclusion. One can attempt to obscure this result with a false philosophy that traces
different forms of religion back to an intangible essence within the human mind. Yet, the fact remains: mankind has not glorified God nor given thanks to Him throughout the long road of its civilization.
Even among the earliest inhabitants of Shinar, we find the worship of the creature rather than the Creator. Some argue that the religion of the Babylonians, like that of other peoples, began with the idea of the unity of God. Without a doubt, this idea of Godhead must have existed before it could be applied to creatures. However, the religion of the Babylonians from ancient times consisted of the worship of various creatures considered to be gods. How this transition occurred—from the worship of the one true God to the worship of creatures—is impossible to determine due to a lack of historical data.
It is an unproven and arbitrary assumption that religion evolved from polydaemonism (the worship of various souls and spirits, such as fetishism, animism, and totemism) through polytheism (the worship of various gods) to monotheism (the worship of one God).
Nowhere do we see such a development, except in the history of Israel. But history repeatedly teaches that people can lapse from the confession of one God into the worship of many gods. This is evident in the history of Israel, in the history of many Christian churches, and even in our own time. When belief in the one true God is abandoned, various polytheistic ideas and superstitious practices inevitably arise.
Moreover, there is not such a stark difference between lower and higher religions, between the religions of so-called natural peoples and those of cultured peoples, as is often assumed. The same thoughts and practices recur, albeit in modified forms, among all
pagan peoples. These elements persist in various forms of superstition among Christian nations and are once again revered in modern circles as the Christian religion declines.
Firstly, idolatry and statuary are found among all peoples. Idolatry involves inventing something in place of the one true God or substituting Him with something upon which man places his trust.
The creatures that are often substituted include the sky with its sun, moon, and stars, as seen in the Babylonian religion, aptly called an astral or star religion. Additionally, heroes, geniuses, and great men, regarded as intermediaries between gods and men, are worshiped in places like Greece. Ancestors, who after death are believed to enter a different and higher state, are the primary objects of worship in Chinese religion. Various animal figures, such as bulls and crocodiles, or saints and spirits believed to inhabit living and inanimate beings, temporarily or permanently, are also worshiped in the religions of both civilized and uncivilized peoples.
Regardless of its form, idolatry always constitutes the worship of the creature rather than the Creator. The distinction between God and the world is obliterated; the holiness, that is, the distinctness of God and His absolute elevation above all creatures, is completely lost in heathendom.
Secondly, alongside this idolatry come myriad false ideas about mankind and the world. Religion is never isolated but is closely interwoven with all aspects of life, including the state and society, art, and science. A religion that exists solely in emotions and moods is nowhere to be found. Religion, as man's relationship to God, also regulates all other relationships and therefore inherently includes a
particular view of mankind and the world, encompassing the origin, essence, and destiny of all things. Specifically, the religious ideas that accompany belief in the gods relate to both the past and the future.
In all religions, there are memories of paradise and expectations for the future, thoughts about the origin and future of mankind and the world; about a golden age that existed at the beginning, followed by ages of silver, iron, and clay, and about man's survival after this life, a judgment that will be held at the end, and a different state that will then arise between the righteous and the wicked. In various religions, these ideas often occupy entirely different places. The Chinese religion looks back to the past and is absorbed in ancestor worship; the Egyptian religion extends into the future, is concerned with the dead, and is the religion of the kingdom of the dead.
Nevertheless, all these elements are present in all religions to varying degrees.
In all these representations, truth is mixed with all kinds of error and foolishness. The boundary between Creator and creature is blurred, and thus the boundary between world and man, soul and body, life here on earth and life after death, heaven and hell, is nowhere clearly drawn. Everywhere, the physical and the ethical, the material and the spiritual, the earthly and the heavenly are confused and intermingled. The lack of awareness of the holiness of God corresponds to a lack of awareness of sin. The pagan world does not know God; it does not know the world and man; it does not know sin and misery.
Thirdly, the religions of the nations are all characterized by the attempt to attain salvation through their own exertions and human effort. Idolatry inevitably leads to self-willed religion. When the
service of the true God is abandoned, and thus there is no longer any objective, true-historical revelation, man endeavors to compel the gods or spirits he has imagined into revelation. Idolatry is always accompanied by superstition, divination, and magic. Divination is the attempt to discover the will of the gods, either by oneself or with the assistance of soothsayers, priests, oracles, and through methods such as astrology, dream interpretation, and augury. Magic, on the other hand, is the attempt to make the will of the gods subservient to oneself, to one's own happiness, through formalistic prayers, voluntary sacrifices, self-inflicted pain, and the like.
Here, too, there are various differences in forms. Divination and magic assume different characters and meanings across the different religions. Yet, they are ubiquitous and constitute an essential part of pagan religion.
Everywhere, it is man who takes the initiative and seeks his own salvation.
Nowhere is the true meaning of redemption (reconciliation) and grace understood.
Nevertheless, although these characteristics have defined the general nature of pagan religions, some have undergone reforms worthy of our careful attention and a separate, albeit brief, discussion. When on the one hand religion degenerates into coarse and crude forms of superstition and magic, and on the other hand civilization advances, a conflict inevitably arises. Out of this conflict, undoubtedly under the guidance of God, emerge those men who strive for reconciliation and endeavor to elevate religion from its deep decay. Such reformers include Zarathustra, who probably lived in Persia before the seventh century B.C., Confucius in China in the sixth century B.C., Buddha in
India in the fifth century B.C., Muhammad in Arabia in the sixth century A.D., and many other known and unknown figures.
There can be no disagreement that the religions founded by these men are, in many respects, significantly elevated above the popular religions amidst which they lived. The hypotheses of development and dilution are both, in religion as in every other area of culture, highly one-sided and inadequate to encompass the wealth of phenomena occurring here in a single formula. Periods of prosperity and decline, of revival and depression, alternate in the history of all peoples and in every field.
These men were not deliberate impostors, instruments, or accomplices of Satan, but serious individuals who themselves wrestled with the conflict that arose between popular belief and their enlightened consciousness. They sought, by the light they were given, a better way of attaining true happiness.
However, despite this recognition, all these reforming deities differ not in essence but in degree from the idolatries of the people. They have pruned the wild branches of false religion, but they have not eradicated its root. Zarathustra preached the contradiction between good and evil but conceived this contradiction not only ethically but also and primarily physically. Thus, he was compelled to distinguish between a good and an evil God, creating a dualism that permeated the whole world, nature, mankind, and animals, and in practice led to the mutilation of life. Confucianism became a state religion formed from other religious components, linking the worship of natural gods and ancestors. Buddhism, at its inception, was not truly a religion but a philosophy that placed evil in suffering, identified
suffering with existence, and therefore recommended abstinence, the numbing of consciousness, and the destruction of being as the path to salvation. Muhammad, who was familiar with Judaism and Christianity and who, out of his fervent belief in the impending judgment, came to the confession of a single God, certainly initiated a divine and moral reform. But in his personal life, the religious preacher increasingly took a backseat to the statesman and legislator, and the religion he founded enthroned in God the unlimited omnipotence, the absolute arbitrariness, and in man the slavish submission. There was no communion between God and man in this religion, because neither the cause of separation nor the way to reunification was understood. The happiness of heaven consists in the full satisfaction of sensual desires.
If, therefore, we survey the entire scope of general revelation, we find on the one hand that it has been of significant value and has yielded rich fruit, but on the other hand that mankind has not found God through its light. It is through general revelation that all people still possess a religious and moral awareness, that they maintain some consciousness of truth and falsehood, good and evil, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness. They live within the contexts of marriage and family, society and the state, restrained by these external and internal bonds and protected from descending into bestiality. Within these limits, they dedicate themselves to the acquisition, distribution, and enjoyment of various spiritual and material goods.
In this way, humanity is preserved in its existence, maintained in its unity, continued, and developed throughout history.
However, despite all this, it remains true to the word of the Apostle Paul that the world, with all its wisdom, has not known God through
His wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21). When Paul attributes wisdom to the world, he means it in all seriousness. By the light of general revelation, the world has amassed a treasure of wisdom, wisdom concerning the matters of this earthly life. But this wisdom of the world makes mankind all the more blameworthy, for it demonstrates that man has not lacked God's gifts of reason and intelligence, the power of thought and will. Yet it also reveals that man, due to the darkening of his mind and the hardness of his heart, did not use the gifts given to him in the right way.
Thus, the light has shone in the darkness, but the darkness has not comprehended it (John 1:5). The Word was in the world, and the world did not know Him (the Logos) (John 1:10). With all its wisdom, the world has not known God (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Study Questions for Relection 1. What is general revelation, and how does it differ from special revelation?
Reflect on the definitions and examples of general and special revelation. How do they each contribute to our understanding of God?
2. How can we avoid the extremes of underestimating or overestimating the value of general revelation?
Consider the balance between appreciating the natural world and recognizing the unique role of Christ and Scripture in revealing God's grace.
3. In what ways does general revelation manifest God's wrath and mercy simultaneously?
Reflect on examples from nature and human history that illustrate the dual aspects of God's character as revealed through general revelation.
4. How does the narrative of the Fall in Genesis 3 shape our understanding of the human condition and general revelation?
Analyze the implications of the Fall on human nature and the continued presence of God's grace in the world.
5. What role does the Cross play in reconciling the contradictions observed in general revelation?
Discuss how the Cross serves as the center of history and the ultimate resolution of the tensions between wrath and mercy, curse and blessing.
6. How did the early history of humanity (pre-Abraham) demonstrate the relationship between general and special revelation?
Reflect on the events from Genesis 1-11 and how they show the interplay between God's general revelation to all humanity and His special revelation to particular individuals.
7. What is the significance of the confusion of languages at Babel in the context of general revelation?
Consider how the dispersion of peoples and languages affected human culture and the spread of God's general revelation.
8. How does the existence of various religions and moral systems among different cultures reflect the influence of general revelation?
Examine the ways in which general revelation has led to diverse yet often distorted understandings of God and morality among different peoples.
9. In what ways has humanity misused the wisdom gained from general revelation, according to the Apostle Paul?
Reflect on Paul's critique in Romans 1:21-23 and 1 Corinthians 1:21. How has the wisdom of the world fallen short in leading people to a true knowledge of God?
10. How can the study of general revelation enhance our appreciation for God's special revelation in Scripture and Christ?
Discuss how observing God's handiwork in creation and history can deepen our understanding and gratitude for the specific truths revealed in the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ.