Revelation

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

Revelation is one reason God reveals His wrath against men. Men have been given the truth of God regardless of who they are or where they live. If man is “without God” Eph. 2:12, it is not because God has not revealed Himself to man, but because man will not receive God and therefore God forsakes him.

When Paul is referring to God’s revelations, he is not referring to God’s spiritual revelation of His word - but of a general revelation through nature.

Look at Rom. 1:18 - "suppress the truth." The truth is not the gospel, for all men do not possess a knowledge of it. The truth is found in the context, the face of a supreme Being, with divine attributes, to Whom worship and obedience are due, this truth being seen by all men through their observation of the created universe, the latter demanding a Creator to answer for its existence. The human race, possessing this truth, yet holds it down, in the sense of refusing to acknowledge its moral implications, and goes on in its sin.

Paul is saying that all men can know there is a God, not because they have read the Bible, or heard the gospel - but because God has revealed Himself to their conscience through His creation.

Tertullian, the great early church Father, said, “It was not the pen of Moses that initiated the knowledge of the Creator. The vast majority of mankind, though they had never heard the name of Moses - to say nothing of his new book - know the God of Moses nonetheless. Nature is the teacher, the soul is the pupil.”

The great story of Helen Keller illustrates the truth that, even without the ability to perceive creation, God can be known by man, “because that which is known about God is evident within them” Rom. 1:19a.

As a deaf, mute, and blind girl, Helen Keller had absolutely no capacity to communicate until Anne Sullivan spent endless hours, days, and months with her to unlock communication. When Anne attempted to tell Helen about God, Helen’s response was, “I already know about Him - I just didn’t know His name.