=1. What is Revelation?=--In a theological sense, the term _revelation_ signifies the making known of Divine truth by communication from the heavens. The Greek--_apocalypsis_, which in meaning closely corresponds with our word _revelation_, expresses an uncovering, or a disclosure of that which had been wholly or in part hidden,--the drawing aside of a veil. An Anglicized form of the Greek term--_Apocalypse_--is sometimes used to designate the particular Revelation given to John upon the Isle of Patmos, the record of which forms the last book of the New Testament as at present compiled. Divine revelation, as illustrated by numerous examples in scripture, may consist of disclosures or declarations concerning the attributes of Deity, or of an expression of the Divine will regarding the affairs of men. =2.= The word _inspiration_ is sometimes invested with a signification almost identical with that of _revelation_, though by its origin and early usage it possessed a distinctive meaning. To inspire is literally to animate with the spirit; a man is inspired when under the influence of a power other than his own. Divine inspiration may be regarded as a lower or less comprehensive manifestation of the heavenly influence upon man than is shown in revelation. The difference therefore is rather one of degree than of kind. By neither of these directing processes does the Lord deprive the human subject of agency or individuality;[857] as is proved by the marked peculiarities of style and method characterizing the several books of holy writ. Yet, in the giving of revelation, a more direct influence is exercised upon the human recipient of the God-given message than is the case under the lesser, though no less truly Divine, effect of inspiration. [857] See Notes 1 and 3. =3.= The directness and plainness with which God may communicate with man is dependent upon the purity and general fitness of the person. One may be susceptible to inspiration in its lower and simpler phases only; another may be so thoroughly responsive to this power as to be capable of receiving direct revelation; and this higher influence again may manifest itself in varying degrees, and with a greater or lesser shrouding of the Divine personality. Consider the Lord's words to Aaron and Miriam, who had been guilty of disrespect toward Moses the chosen revelator:--"And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And He said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold."[858] [858] Numb. xii, 5-8.