Public Revelation Stopped?

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How do we know public revelation stopped with the death of the last apostle? This is a pretty important question. Why can’t we add to the Bible? Who’s got the answer?
 
Yes, it is true that the Church in Council determined that Public revelation ceased with the death of the last Apostle.

I will try to find an online reference that gives the whole story, unless someone else beats me to the correct information.

The decision, when it was made was brought about to put an end to the heresy of Montanus. This man, Montanus claimed that he was a prophet and that he had been given a new revelation regarding the End Times. Yes, that is correct - the new revelation was based upon a misinterpretation of the Book of Revelation (nothing new under the sun eh?) - and Montanus claimed that he was a prophet and that the New Jerusalem would come down in North Africa. Montanus was joined by two women “prophetesses” or priestesses and during their ceremonies they gyrated and … (have you been to a Pentecostal gathering lately? If so you know the deal of the frenzy that is whipped up).

The Bishops met therefore, to determine what should be included in the Scripture and to settle the heresy of Montanus. At the same time as the alleged prophecies of Montanus there were writings that were purportedly written by the Apostles, but were fake, that were accepted by various church congregations. These writings were also scrutinized. It was during these discussions that the controversy over the Book of Revelation was settled and accepted as Scripture, belonging to the canon, and at the same time the Gnostic gospels and other writings were rejected. These books included:
  • the Gospel of Thomas;
  • the infancy narrative of Mary (also known as the Psuedo Gospel of Matthew)
  • the Protoevangelium of James;
  • the Gospel of Nicodemus;
  • the Acts of Peter and Paul;
  • the Acts of Mary
  • the infancy Gospel of Jesus (might have the name wrong) in Egypt
    as well as the others that I have not mentioned…
The declaration that public revelation has ceased is tied up to the fact that everything that we need to be known about Christ has been fully revealed.

However, we continue to have evidence of private revelation, and the Church continues to recognize the place of private revelation. Whilst we are expected to believe public revelation we are not expected to believe or accept private revelation.

Maggie
 
According to Pope St. Pius X, from the decree of the Holy Office, *Lamentabili, *July 3, 1907, the following modernist proposition was condemned: “Revelation, constituting the object of Catholic faith, was not completed with the apostles.” (D 2021)
 
From the introduction of Fundamentals fo Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott:
2. Development of Dogmas in the Catholic Sense

a) From the material side of dogma, that is, in the communication of the Truths of Revelation to humanity, a substantial growth took place in human history until Revelation reached its apogee and conclusion in Christ (cf. Hebr. I, I).

St. Gregory the Great says: “With the progress of the times the knowledge of the spiritual Fathers increased; for, in the Science of God, Moses was more instructed than Abraham, the Prophets more than Moses, the Apostles more than the Prophets” (in Ezechielem lib. 2, horn. 4, 12).

With Christ and the Apostles General Revelation concluded. (sent. certa.)

Pope Pius X rejected the liberal Protestant and Modernistic doctrine of the evolution of religion through “New Revelations.” Thus he condemned the proposition that: “The Revelation, which is the object of Catholic Faith, was not terminated with the Apostles.” D 2021.

The clear teaching of Holy Writ and Tradition is that after Christ, and the Apostles who proclaimed the message of Christ, no further Revelation will be made. Christ was the fulfilment of the Law of the Old Testament (Mt. 5, 17 ; 5, 21 et seq), and the absolute teacher of humanity (Mt. 23, 10: “One is your master, Christ” ; cf. Mt. 28, 20). The Apostles saw in Christ: “the coming of the fullness of time” (Gal. 4, 4) and regarded as their task the preservation, integral and unfalsified, of the heritage of Faith entrusted to them by Christ (1 Tim. 6, 14; 6,20; 2 Tim.1, 14; 2,2; 3,14). The Fathers indignantly repudiated the claim of the heretics to possess secret doctrines or new Revelations of the Holy Ghost. St. Irenaeus (Adv. haer III 1 ; IV 35, 8), and Tertullian (De praesc. 21) stress, against the Gnostics, that the full truth of Revelation is contained in the doctrine of the Apostles which is preserved unfalsified through the uninterrupted succession of the bishops.

b) As to the Formal side of dogma, that is, in the knowledge and in the ecclesiastical proposal of Revealed Truth, and consequently also in the public faith of the Church, there is a progress (accidental development of dogmas) which occurs in the following fashion:
  1. Truths which formerly were only implicitly believed are expressly proposed for belief. (Cf. S. th. I; II, 1, 7 : quantum ad explicationem crevt numerus articulorum (fidei), quia quaedam explicite cognita sunt a posterioribus, quae a prioribus non cognoscebantur explicite. There was an increase in the number of articles believed explicitly since to those who lived in later times some were known explicitly, which were not known explicitly by those who lived before them.)
  2. Material Dogmas are raised to the status of Formal Dogmas.
  3. To facilitate general understanding, and to avoid misunderstandings and distortions, the ancient truths which were always believed, e.g., the Hypostatic Union (unio hypostatica), Transubstantiation, etc., are formulated in new, sharply defined concepts.
  4. Questions formerly disputed are explained and decided, and heretical propositions are condemned. Cf. St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 2, 1 ; ab adversario mota quaestio discendi existit occasio (a question moved by an adversary gives an occasion for learning).
    The exposition of the dogmas in the given sense is prepared by theological science and promulgated by the Teaching Authority of the Church under the direction of the Holy Ghost (John 14, 26). These new expositions of dogmatic truth are motivated, on the one hand, by the natural striving of man for deeper understanding of Revealed Truth, and on the other hand by external influences, such as the attacks arising from heresy and unbelief, theological controversies, advances in philosophical knowledge and historical research, development of the liturgy, and the general assertion of Faith expressed therein.
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to be continued …
 
continued…
Even the Fathers stress the necessity of deeper research into the truths of Revelation, of clearing up obscurities, and of developing the teachings of Revelation. Cf. the classical testimony of St. Vincent Lerin († before 450). “But perhaps someone says: Will there then be no progress in the religion of Christ? Certainly there should be, even a great and rich progress . . . only, it must in truth be a progress in Faith and not an alteration of Faith. For progress it is necessary that something should increase of itself, for alteration, however, that something should change from one thing to the other.” (Commonitorium 23.) Cf. D 1800.
5) There may be also a progress in the confession of faith of the individual believer through the extension and deepening of his theological knowledge. The basis for the possibility of this progress lies in the depth of the truths of Faith on the one hand, and on the other in the varying capacity for perfection of the human reason.
Conditions making for a true progress in the knowledge of Faith by individual persons are, according to the declaration of the Vatican Council, zeal, reverence and moderation: cum sedule, pie et sobrie quaerit. 1) 1796. (ibid)
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JLove:
Do you know what council that was?
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Perhaps the question is, what Church document was that stated?

The quote concerning public revelation having ceased with the death of the last apostle can be found in the CDF document Dominus Iesus, paragraph 5.

Gerry 🙂
 
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