Inspiration and Revelation 
Monroe E. Hawley
[NOTE: The article below is taken from the fifth lesson of a Bible Correspondence Course entitled Foundations of Faith, published by Monroe E. Hawley over 35 years ago. I thought he did a particularly fine job of defining the terms “revelation” and “inspiration,” and distinguishing between them. I have edited the segment slightly for the sake of clarity. J.A.S.]
	What is inspiration? The Greek word translated “inspired of God” (2 Timothy 3:16) literally means “breathed into by God.” Inspiration, then, may be defined as a supernatural influence exerted upon certain people by the Holy Spirit, enabling them to teach (by speaking or writing) exactly what God wanted taught. Consequently, the inspired writers of the books of the Bible did not make any mistakes in their writing. Whether they were dealing with historical facts, moral principles, or other matters, what they wrote is completely true. Of course the writers of the Bible are not to be charged with any copyists’ errors. Mistakes made by copyists and translators are relatively few, and no vital Biblical truth is affected. We may be certain that we have the Holy Scriptures substantially as they were originally inspired by the Holy Spirit.
	Inspiration and Revelation. There is a difference between inspiration and revelation. All writings that have been divinely revealed have also been inspired. However, not all inspired writings had to be revealed. Revelation is the process of making known to man the truths and facts not previously known; but inspiration has to do with accurate recording. An inspired writer may record (1) things God has revealed to him, or (2) things he already knows by observation or learning. Thus God revealed the creation account to Moses and inspired him to record it accurately. But God also inspired Moses to record many other things which Moses already knew from personal experience. God did not have to reveal these things to Moses, but by inspiration he guided Moses in his writings so that he truthfully recorded what he knew.
	The Bible includes quotations from evil men and even from the devil himself. Of course God does not endorse these statements, but they have been included for a purpose. The writers of the Bible were guided by divine inspiration to record accurately what those evil individuals said.
	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Trust in the Lord
Trust in yourself,
	and you are doomed to disappointment.
Trust in your friends,
	and they may leave you.
Trust in your money,
	and it may be taken from you.
Trust in reputation,
	and some slanderous tongue may blast it.
Trust in God,
	and you will never be confounded.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5).
	--via House-to-House – Heart to Heart
Nothing New Under the Sun
	Wise Solomon observed, “There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).There are two ways of viewing this fact - that there "is nothing new." First, one might consider it proof that there is a hopeless monotony to life. Life is, basically, boring, unchanging and wearisome. Second, one might find the fact that there is nothing new under the sun as a comforting, stabilizing truth. There are some things we can count on.
	Solomon wanted to demonstrate a very important point: life without God is wearisome, repetitive and hopeless. Yet life with God is comforting, exciting, stable and hope-filled.
	Considering the point that there is "nothing new under the sun," there are several truths related to God that are not new:
	1) The nature of God is not new.  He is still the all-powerful Lord of the universe.  In the NT this idea is comforting because we know that God won't change (cf. with Jesus Christ - Hebrews 13:8).
	2) God's work is not new (Ecclesiastes 3:14). It will (a) remain forever; (b) not be added to; (c) not be taken from. Men may attempt to change the gospel or the plan of salvation - but those are part of the immutable, unchanging will of God.
	3) The plan of God for man is not new. God wants men to (a) fear Him - 3:14; (b) live holy lives; (c) to prepare to face Him in eternity. God "set eternity" in man's heart (3:11).  
	4) The nature of man is not new. It remains true that God made men upright but he has sought out many devises. This teaches us that it is not "natural" for men to sin - in other words God did not create man so that he would sin. This would have been against the basic characteristic of God (cf. James 1:13-14). Rather, man was created good. Nevertheless, all sin (Romans 3:23). This was true in Solomon's day and remains true today.
	Solomon emphasized that all men must seek to do good and live to please God. So also is it today. God wants all men to "conform to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29-30) and to obey His word (John 12:48).
	--Denny Petrillo (Denver, CO)