Third-Hand Revelation

If you think about it for a moment, most Christian’s appreciation of scripture is what could be called Third-Hand Revelation. By this I mean that, to begin with, we read in the Bible about the thoughts and experiences of someone from ancient times in the Middle East, especially that of the Judaic tradition – this is the first-hand revelation.

Then, a charismatic preacher comes along; his entire focus is on running a religious institution, much like a business. This preacher will present the Bible in a way that stirs-up the crowd emotionally; making all sorts of unrealistic promises; presenting God and the Bible as a spiritual vending-machine. The preacher will tell you some over-the-top story of some sort of victory and achievement (typically oriented towards the institutional church). Then, he will tell you how that experience somehow ties-in with one or more scriptural texts. He will then present that text to the congregation as a one-size-fits-all principle or formula that will yield similar results. This is second-hand revelation.

The third-hand revelation is when a believer takes that testimony or sermon of the preacher, the second-hand revelation, and uses it as the basis for his or her own expectations, beliefs and fantasies – this is third-hand revelation. In this way, scripture becomes loaded with all sorts of meaning, implicit and explicit, which often seems to have very little basis. In this way, the thoughts and experiences of someone in an ancient, middle eastern context, becomes the basis for tying God down to a set way of doing things; trying to manipulate God into getting what you want in your life now. This leads to insecure, desperate Christians trying to believe God for things, such as miracles and wealth – citing verses of scripture as the basis on which God is meant to perform and deliver in a certain way.

I remember when I first got into the charismatic movement – I found this third-hand revelation rather strange at first. I remember a well-known evangelist during the late nineties who visited my church in London. He related some story of a financial need that he had, a new building or airplane or something. He was asked, “Do you have a letter from the bank?” To which he replied, “No, but I have a letter to the Philippians.” By this he was referring to Philippians 4:19.

¹⁹ And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

This verse was a message of the apostle Paul written to the Philippian church, at a certain time, for their own particular situation. What makes us think we can take that verse and “use” it as a formula to get our own perceived “needs” met? I thought this approach was rather strange at first. However, I got enticed into adopting this approach, because I thought that it gave me a formula for getting what I wanted – when I wanted it.

It’s for these reasons that I tend not to read the Bible as much as I once did. I believe that the Bible has served its purpose in my life: it helped reveal Christ to me, the Gospel and how it affects me personally. With this foundation, I would rather experience God in a way that is specific to my own life plan.