We live in a culture that rejects absolute truth and simultaneously uses the word “absolutely” when referring to endless minutia. The “absolute” resides in the revelation of God’s person and His Word. “Apokalupsis” is the Greek word which describes this revealing, appearing, and unveiling. As we read and study God’s Word, four mammoth concepts of this revelation begin to emerge.
Sovereign superintendence: There is an authority that must be recognized and respected. The God who speaks is the God who is in charge of the entire process of revealing Himself to us. This includes the origin, transmission, preservation, canonization, translation, and propagation of the message.
Overarching narrative: This broad metanarrative contains many narratives of significant characters and a community of faith that participates in this grand plot. The Bible is not a series of disconnected quotes, maxims, episodes, formulas, and anecdotes that tend to shrink the text as well as us.
Inherent Interpretation: The Bible contains within itself the principles that tell us how it is to be read. Our intelligence and our imagination are enhanced in the process of illumination. These are the tools, the keys, and the clues to enable us to unlock and discover the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and the treasures in the person of Jesus Christ.
Sound doctrine: The dimensions of creation and redemption are crafted upon the foundation of several basic truths in the Scriptures. These truths include how the Bible speaks to its own origin and also how it speaks of the Triune God, man, the fall into sin, and deliverance from sin. It also has much to say about an entity called the “church,” the angels, and the end times.
Absolutes? Absolutely!