THE UNBROKEN CHAIN OF REVELATION
There is a kind of holy common sense woven through Scripture—God does not speak in confusion, and He does not scatter His revelation into a thousand disconnected pieces. There is a chain to it, a flow, a divine order that keeps the message pure as it moves from heaven to earth and from Christ to His people. Christianity rests not on guesswork but on revelation, and revelation rests on God choosing how to make Himself known. That chain is not accidental; it is the backbone of our faith.
It begins where it must begin—with Jesus Himself. He is not simply the first link in the chain; He is the source of it. “God…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). Everything God intends us to know finds its center in Christ—His words, His actions, His cross, His resurrection. Jesus is the Word made flesh, the fullness of God in a form we can look at without being destroyed. And because He is the perfect revelation, nothing needs to be added to Him, corrected for Him, or polished after Him. He is the message and the messenger in one.
Then Jesus entrusted that revelation to the apostles and prophets—not as editors or creative writers, but as Spirit-guided witnesses. He told the apostles that the Spirit would “teach you all things” and “bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). Paul said the mystery of Christ “has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5). They did not invent Christianity; they received it. They did not speculate about truth; they transmitted it. Their authority is derivative—real, binding, essential—but always pointing back to Jesus. This is delegated revelation—God’s truth passed through chosen men, safeguarded by the Spirit so that the church would have certainty and not drift into imagination.
And then, after Christ…the apostles…the prophets—comes us. But our place is different. We are not links in the revelatory chain; we are receivers of it. We do not add to the message; we live under it. We do not receive new Scripture; we obey the Scripture already given. Our task is not to revise but to remember, not to innovate but to be faithful. “Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). That “once for all” matters—it means the chain is complete, and we honor Christ not by expanding His revelation but by submitting to it.
In a world that runs on feelings, impressions, and spiritual improvisation, this chain of revelation is a steady anchor. It keeps us from drifting into a private religion of our own preferences. It keeps us grounded in the Christ who actually lived, died, rose, and spoke. It keeps us tied to the apostolic testimony—not as museum pieces, but as the living voice of God for every generation.
So I read Scripture with a humble confidence. I am not waiting for new light from heaven; I am walking in the light already given. The chain is secure: Christ → apostles & prophets → the church. And in that order—in that beautiful, Spirit-guarded sequence—God has told us everything we need to know to walk with Him, trust Him, and be shaped by His truth until the day we see the Source of all revelation face to face.
BDD
