Is public revealtion ending w/ Jesus in Bible?

[Randy2]

I have a Protestant friend who has come to the conclusion that the doctrine that public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle is not in the Bible. Mormon missionaries have convinced her of this and, this thrird generation Baptist friend, is converting to Mormonisn because of this.

So where does the doctirne that public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle come from? Is it Biblical?

 

[vern_humphrey]

I don’t mean to be uncharitable, but if she believes in the Book of Mormon, she’s not likely to be susceptible to logic.

Public revelation ended with Christ because He was Christ. What could mere men add to His message?

 

[catholicdude942]

Public revelation stopped with the death of the last apostle this comes from the Vatican II council and more specifically the document Dei Verbum or the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.

Dei Verbum, 4

Then, after speaking in many and varied ways through the prophets, “now at last in these days God has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). For He sent His Son, the eternal Word, who enlightens all men, so that He might dwell among men and tell them of the innermost being of God (see John 1:1-18). Jesus Christ, therefore, the Word made flesh, was sent as “a man to men.” (3) He “speaks the words of God” (John 3;34), and completes the work of salvation which His Father gave Him to do (see John 5:36; Divine Revelation 17:4). To see Jesus is to see His Father (John 14:9). For this reason Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover He confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal.

The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away and we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim. 6:14 and Tit. 2:13).

To quote the Catechism:

“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the [collective sense of the faithful] knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. Christian faith cannot accept ‘revelations’ that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such ‘revelations’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 67).

 

[puzzleannie]

she won’t find it in the bible because it is not there. It is part of Divine Revelation preserved through Sacred Tradition in the Catholic church , which handed on, preserved and ultimately wrote down and canonized the bible.

 

[TheOpenTheist]

catholicdude942 said

Public revelation stopped with the death of the last apostle

Thats almost right. It has more to do with the content of the revelation then it does the timing of any Apostle’s death.

For example, if Paul died before John did, then that does not mean that God revealed new stuff to John after Paul died. Get it?

The last public revelation from God was given to Paul. It is referred to as “the revelation of the mystery” in his epistles and differs from what Christ revealed to Peter and the rest of The Twelve up to the time of His ascension.

you said further

The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away and we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim. 6:14 and Tit. 2:13).

Its important to be precise and refer to this time as “the dispensation of grace” as Paul calls it in Eph 3. This dispensation started in Acts 9 with the casting away of faithless Israel and the beginning of the Body of Christ that started with the raising up of Paul with this new revelation and gospel. For a helpful chart explaining the beginning and ending of the most notable dispensations click **HERE **

 

[The_Augustinian]

St. Paul:

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

 

[The_Augustinian]

That’s one good thing to confront any sola scripturist with. How would the canon be closed? Why isn’t there any further revelation? Could it be that God left things to an actual Church, with an actual leader?

 

[TheOpenTheist]

]That’s one good thing to confront any sola scripturist with. How would the canon be closed? Why isn’t there any further revelation? Could it be that God left things to an actual Church, with an actual leader?

Well, we have Paul telling Timothy to commit what Paul taught him to faithful men.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

That seems to indicate that what was revealed to Paul had a pretty good lifespan, so to speak, whether a Bible was written or not. Of course, the copying ot the Bible and its being passed on to future members of the Body is a method of promoting that doctrine. Paul said that the Body would go on until “the fullness of the Gentiles comes in” (Rom 11:25).

 

[TheOpenTheist]

What I have been wondering lately is how would God let us know that He is cutting off the Body if we became like Israel

Romans 11:19-22 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well [said.] Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in [His] goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.