PROGRESSIVE REVELATION

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One of the most important things every reader and student of the Bible needs to understand is the concept of progressive revelation. A lot of confusion about certain passages and subjects comes from ignorance of this principle. The Bible we have today did not just suddenly appear as if it erupted from a volcano all at once—it took a very long period of time before it was completed. And because of this long span of time, there are biblical principles that progressed along with history. In other words, truths became clearer as they were revealed gradually. Also, there are instructions that changed, were replaced, or were removed completely. These are what we call progressive revelation.

Progressive Revelation and Salvation

One example of this is the doctrine of salvation. It was not explained in Scripture all at once but was revealed gradually over time. It began with the “Promised Seed” that God declared in Eden (Gen. 3:15), followed by God’s choice of Abraham, through whose offspring all nations would be blessed (22:18). Then came Israel, Abraham’s descendants, who were given the Law of Moses because they were under covenant with God. That covenant included sacrifices offered for the forgiveness of sins—sacrifices that were required because they served a greater purpose to come. Fast forward to the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels, where our Lord Jesus came as the Final Sacrifice through His death on the cross. Later on, the Epistles explained how what Jesus did brought salvation and how He was the fulfillment of God’s promise in Eden, to Abraham, and even in the Law of Moses.

These phases or stages show that the doctrine of salvation through Jesus was not revealed all at once but was progressively unfolded through time. This means that the most complete explanation is found in the Epistles, because they interpreted what came before. Since there is progression, the latest revelation supersedes the earlier ones. The most recent is the most complete, therefore it carries greater weight.

Progressive Revelation and Application

Through progressive revelation we also know what is still applicable and what is not. Just because you read something in your Bible does not mean you should immediately apply it, especially if it comes from the Old Testament (OT). You must first consider what the New Testament (NT) says about it. Obviously, the NT is “updated” (that’s why it is called New), and we are under the New Covenant, not the Old. Sometimes instructions in the OT (especially the moral laws) are updated or reinterpreted in the NT (for example, see Matt. 5:21–30). But some instructions are entirely abolished.

A change of revelation is never a contradiction. Certain commands or statements were only applicable within a specific stage or phase. For example, originally God commanded people to eat only fruits and vegetables (Gen. 1:29). During Noah’s time, God allowed all animals to be eaten (9:3). During Moses’ time, God prohibited certain kinds of animals (Lev. 11; Deut. 14). Finally, in the NT, those prohibitions were lifted (Matt. 15:11, 17–20; Mk. 7:19; Acts 10:15; 11:9; Rom. 14:20).

If you don’t know how to handle these changes, you might think that God keeps changing His mind, or that He can’t decide whether to forbid certain foods or not. You might also get confused, like many others, about which passages to follow since they are all in the Bible. Or you might assume that they contradict each other. But these changes in instructions do not mean that God changes over time or that the Bible contradicts itself. They are all part of God’s progressive revelation, where the new replaces the old. The latest supersedes the previous. That is why we give special emphasis to the Epistles—because they are God’s final written revelation. The whole OT points to Christ, the Gospels present His life, and the Epistles interpret His life for us.

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Even though we believe that the whole Bible is authoritative, it does not mean that everything written in it is equal in significance. Both the death of Christ and the death of Herod are recorded in Scripture, but it would be unreasonable to think that Herod’s death is as important as Christ’s. Through progressive revelation, we can see what carries more weight and what does not. We can also determine what is still applicable, and how to properly understand passages that might appear to contradict one another. Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

McCain D. and, Keener, C. (2012). “The Rule of Progressive Revelation” . 𝘜𝘯π˜₯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘡𝘒𝘯π˜₯π˜ͺ𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘯π˜₯ 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺π˜ͺ𝘯𝘨 𝘡𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘀𝘳π˜ͺ𝘱𝘡𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴. African Christian Books
Stewart, D. “𝘞𝘩𝘒𝘡 π˜ͺ𝘴 π˜—π˜³π˜°π˜¨π˜³π˜¦π˜΄π˜΄π˜ͺ𝘷𝘦 π˜™π˜¦π˜·π˜¦π˜­π˜’π˜΅π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯?” Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/.../don_stewart_1203.cfm

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