Revelation, Visions and Miracles
Revelation: How God Makes Himself Known
Revelation is the means by which God communicates himself and his purposes to human beings. Christians believe that God has revealed himself progressively throughout history. A key framework for understanding this is the idea of covenants — formal agreements God established with key figures that progressively disclosed his character and plan. The covenant with Noah (Genesis 6–9) promised that God would never again destroy all life by flood, revealing his faithfulness and mercy. The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15, 17) promised him descendants as numerous as the stars and a land for his people, revealing God as a personal God who initiates relationships.
The New Testament presents Jesus as the culmination of all revelation. Hebrews 1:1–4 states: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” For Christians across denominations, Jesus is not just a messenger but the living Word of God — the fullest possible expression of who God is and what he is like.
The covenant with Noah reveals God’s faithfulness and care for all creation. The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15) reveals God as a personal God who initiates a relationship with a chosen people. Both are examples of God’s gradual self-disclosure that culminates in Jesus (Hebrews 1:1–4).
Visions as Evidence for God
Throughout the Bible, God communicates through visions. Genesis 15 records God appearing to Abraham in a vision, showing him the stars and promising him descendants — this covenant vision is foundational to the entire biblical story. Matthew 17:1–13 records the Transfiguration: Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain where his appearance is transformed — his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as light. Moses and Elijah appear with him, and God’s voice declares from a cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Christians understand the Transfiguration as a vision that revealed Jesus’s divine nature to his disciples. It confirmed their belief that he was not merely a prophet (like Moses or Elijah) but the Son of God himself. Christians today may have their own experiences of visions — reported encounters with God, angels or deceased saints — though different denominations respond to these with varying degrees of openness: Catholics have a formal process of approval for reported visions; many Protestants emphasise that scripture is the primary source of revelation.
Catholic Christianity has a tradition of formally recognised visions — Lourdes, Fatima, and the visions of Joan of Arc are evaluated by Church authority and may be approved. Catholics believe the Church’s Magisterium can discern genuine visions from false ones. Most Protestant and evangelical Christians emphasise that the Bible alone (sola scriptura) contains the authoritative revelation, and personal visions should always be tested against scripture. Some Pentecostal and charismatic Christians actively expect ongoing prophetic visions and experiences, believing the Spirit continues to reveal God directly to believers today. What unites all these views is agreement that God is capable of communicating with human beings — the debate is about the channels and the authority they carry.
Miracles as Evidence for God
A miracle is an event that goes beyond what science can explain, which believers attribute to God. Christians point to the miracles of Jesus as evidence both that God exists and that Jesus is who he claimed to be. John 4:43–54 records one such sign: a royal official whose son was near death asked Jesus for help. Jesus told him to go home, that his son would live. The official trusted Jesus’s word, and when he returned home, his servants told him his son had recovered at the exact moment Jesus had spoken. This sign strengthened the faith of the official’s whole household.
Atheists and Humanists challenge the evidential value of both visions and miracles. Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711–1776) argued that the uniform experience of natural law makes it always more rational to doubt a miracle report than to accept it — it is always more likely that the witnesses were mistaken, deceived or self-deceived than that an actual law of nature was suspended. Modern atheists such as Richard Dawkins argue that religious visions are hallucinations produced by brain chemistry, not genuine encounters with God. Humanists add that belief in miracles encourages people to reject medicine and science in favour of prayer and superstition. Christians respond that these objections assume the answer before looking at the evidence, and that the documented cases of miraculous healing and the transformed lives of vision-recipients cannot simply be dismissed.
David Hume argued in the eighteenth century that natural law is so reliable that it is always more rational to doubt a miracle report than to accept it. Christians respond that this assumes the conclusion before examining evidence, and that Hume’s argument would equally dismiss well-attested historical events that are surprising but real.