The book of Revelation has long been a source of division among Christians, especially when discussing matters of eschatology—the study of the Second Coming of Christ. Postmillennialists, premillennialists, and a millennialists find themselves in passionate debates over the timing of Christ’s return. However, amidst these differences, there are fundamental teachings within Revelation that unite Christians. One such teaching is the ultimate authority of Scripture, often referred to as Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). In this article, we will explore the foundational principles that support the concept of Sola Scriptura as derived from the book of Revelation.

God Speaks

Throughout the Bible, we encounter a God who communicates with humanity. The divine voice is not silent but actively engages with His creation. In the opening chapters of Genesis, we read the recurring phrase, “And God said,” signifying God’s spoken word in the act of creation (Genesis 1:3). This pattern continues in Revelation, emphasising God’s nature as a speaking God (Genesis 1:6;9;11;14;20;24). Revelation 1:1-2 tells us, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.“

John’s account in Revelation is filled with instances of divine communication. In Revelation 1:10, he describes hearing “a loud voice like a trumpet.” This pattern repeats in verse 11 and continues throughout the book, demonstrating a God who actively speaks. These words are not mere visions; they are accompanied by audible voices. Therefore, it is evident that God is not silent but communicates His divine will.

God Can Be Heard

If God speaks, then He can be heard. The text in Revelation corroborates this notion. In Revelation 1:3, we read, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” This verse explicitly states that those who hear the words of the prophecy are blessed. It affirms that God’s spoken word can indeed be heard and understood by His people.

Revelation further exemplifies this by repeatedly encouraging believers with the phrase, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). This recurring exhortation reinforces the idea that God’s voice is accessible and comprehensible to His followers. The Apostle John, elsewhere gives us the words of Jesus, stating in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.“

How Can We Hear God’s Voice? Through Scripture Alone

To address the essential question of how we can hear God’s voice, we arrive at the concept of Sola Scriptura, which translates from Latin to “Scripture Alone.” While the roots of the doctrine emphasizing the authority of Scripture, as taught by early figures such as Augustine of Hippo (354–430), can be discerned in the Early Church, its formalization and widespread recognition gained prominence during the 16th-century Reformation led by key figures like Martin Luther. Luther’s stand against the Roman Catholic Church’s elevation of tradition and papal authority to be on par with Scripture was pivotal. When charged to withdraw his writings and teachings, he declared, “Unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other.”

The foundational principle of Sola Scriptura asserts that the Bible, as God’s written word, holds ultimate authority over the lives of believers. As Revelation reminds us, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Observe that this hearing of the Spirit occurs through the reading and understanding of what is written. Hence, Revelation 1:3 declares: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the word of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it...” What the Spirit says to the churches is what John was instructed to write (2:7, 8, 12, 18, 3:1 etc.). Consequently, the recipients of John’s letter, and by extension, believers of all time, are not called to hear the Spirit speak to them the same way as he spoke to John; they are to hear the Spirit through what He instructed to be written. Thus, Scripture is the means by which God’s voice is conveyed to His people.

Implications of Sola Scriptura

The Sufficiency of Scripture

The Bible is sufficient for guiding and directing our lives. While many Christians’ desire to hear God speak to them, the sufficiency of Scripture should not be underestimated. All that is necessary for faith, salvation, and living a righteous life can be found in God’s written word. God has spoken definitively through the coming of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament. As Hebrews 1:1-2 reminds us, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The completion of the New Testament, alongside the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, marks the culmination of God’s revelation to humanity. If you desire to hear God speak to you, there is no need to search for additional signs or prophecies. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy” (Rev. 1:3). Your encounter with God’s voice begins by reading and studying His Word, the Bible.

Scripture stands as the conclusive authority governing the lives of believers and shaping the trajectory of the Church. In moments of temptation to stray from this ultimate revelation, it unequivocally surpasses traditions and human authority, reasserting its pre-eminence when deviations from scriptural truth arise. Scripture, and Scripture alone, wields the ultimate influence in determining matters of faith and practice.

The Inerrancy of Scripture

In today’s world, many people raise questions about the reliability of the Bible and, in some cases, claim to have found errors within it. However, dear friends, it is essential to affirm that the Bible is not only reliable but also trustworthy, and it can be fully relied upon to guide your life according to God’s will. The Bible is unequivocally precise in every aspect it proclaims, whether in matters of history, science, psychology, or any other category of information that could be established as a benchmark for truth. Its accuracy consistently aligns with reality, affirming its reliability across diverse realms of knowledge without exception. The Scriptures were not authored by mere human will; instead, they are divinely inspired and can be trusted implicitly. The Bible is unwaveringly truthful in all that it teaches.

As 2 Peter 1:19-21 reminds us, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The Word is to be Obeyed

When we read God’s Word or hear it being preached, we are here to receive instruction that leads to obedience: “who keeps what is written” (Rev. 1:3). God’s word is given to us with the explicit purpose that we may obey it (Deuteronomy 29:29). It is through God’s word that we come to faith in Jesus Christ as sinners. When God has spoken and revealed Himself in Scripture, our response should be one of obedience. The word of God has the power to sanctify us, as Jesus prayed for His disciples and all Christians, saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Amen

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Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”(Acts 11:1-3)

The background of this text is Acts 10, where the apostle Peter had a vision in which he was instructed to rise and kill to eat from a sheet with different animals –reptiles and birds of the air. The narrative further tells us Peter, upon further instructions from the Holy Spirit met eventually with Cornelius—a Gentile—and preached salvation to him and his household. It was upon returning to Jerusalem that some of the brethren took issues with his having fellowshipped with Gentiles. Peter’s response in the vision and the subsequent criticism of him by the brethren points us to the error of legalism in full force.

I believe you may have encountered or are presently encountering people who are bogged down in “do’s and don’ts”. Their idea of Christianity is built on legalism. One may ask, what is legalism? Legalism in Christian terms is making rules or works the basis of salvation. When we propose rules; do’s and don’ts for the justification of a sinner, we have signed up to legalism.

Legalism is the excessive and improper use of the law (10 commandments, holiness laws, etc.). This can take different forms. The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation. The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain their salvation. The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct that he thinks should be observed.¹

Simply, legalism makes works or self-righteousness the basis for Christian living. To better appreciate the subject of Legalism, we will examine the response of some Jewish brethren when they heard Peter had been with Gentiles. And also examine Peter’s own response in the vision

Legalism Denies The Work Of Grace

Throughout Scripture, Salvation is only by grace through faith (Rom. 3:28; Eph.2:8-9; James 2:10). When Peter was instructed in the vision to kill and eat, he answered that “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” (Acts 10:12-14). Peter was rebuked for calling unclean what God has sanctified. Further in the narrative, we understand how through that vision God was bringing salvation to the Gentile world through faith. Again, in the narrative, we come face to face with the fact that “it is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33). When Peter protested he had not eaten any unclean thing, he was rebuked: “What God has made clean, do not call common.” (Acts 10:15).

Now pause on the words “what God has made clean“. This is a work of grace. If God doesn’t clean a sinner, no one can be saved. But out of his mercies, he saves and cleanses us.

Paul, in Galatians—a letter that opposes the error of Legalism—notes that “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). Legalism enslaves and Paul is here dealing with people who are making circumcision a matter for salvation. He didn’t take that lightly. Indeed when it comes to the issue of grace, any aberration must be dealt with with all seriousness.

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are a severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law” (Gal. 5:2-4).

You see, if we are to make any part of the law the basis for salvation, then we would have to keep the whole law because as James said, breaking one of the laws is breaking the whole law (James 2:10). What a burden to make laws, regulations and rules the basis of our salvation! No one can be saved who makes the law their focus. Legalism therefore denies the work of grace that God has wrought on behalf of sinners. The brethren criticised Peter for having eaten with Gentiles and in the process denied God’s work of grace.

Legalism Opposes Freedom In Christ

There is a freedom in Christ legalism opposes and we see the brethren in the narrative bogged down in legalism. They saw nothing good out of the encounter between Peter and the Gentiles but their religious prejudice. Instead of rejoicing that salvation had come to the Gentile world, they were concerned with their religious rites. The description of them, “the circumcision party” tells a lot. This points us to brethren who are still bound to keeping the law to be right before God. These “circumcision party” are mentioned at different places in the New Testament and whenever they are mentioned, grace is under attack.

In Philippians 3, after Paul opens the chapter with a charge to “rejoice in the Lord”. He next warned the Philippians to “look out for those who mutilate the flesh” (Phil.3:2). That expression “mutilate the flesh” is reference to circumcision and making it a requirement for salvation. One can argue that these circumcision party are “joy stealers.” Their insistence on circumcision robs people of their joy in the Lord. Instead of looking to the grace of God, they place their confidence in their works. Paul again says “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3). You see, rather than glorying in Jesus Christ our Saviour, legalism glories in the flesh and makes self-righteousness rather than faith in Jesus the basis of Salvation.

Charles R. Swindoll in “The Grace Awakening” notes that “God has given His children a wonderful freedom in Christ, which means not only freedom from sin and shame but also a freedom in lifestyle, so that we can become models of His grace.” Here is a beautiful description of grace: “freedom from sin and shame.” Let no one dear friend hold you in the shackles of Legalism.

What Can We Do About Legalism?

Receive God’s Word By Faith

What made the difference in the life of the Gentiles is that they “had received the word of God.” It is even the Jews who testified to this. The phrase “received the word” of God means they believed it. They accepted it as the truth of God’s word and did indeed act on the word by faith. The best opposition to legalism is therefore faith. The believer must accept there is nothing more they can do to be accepted by God apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Paul in Galatians draws an analogy with Abraham’s faith and tells us that “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:6-7).

Dear believer, be on the alert not to fall prey to any system of belief which prescribes rules for salvation. It is faith alone in Christ that saves. Amen

Notes:

1. Matt Slick, “What Is Legalism”, https://carm.org/what-is-legalism, accessed 7th April, 2019.
2. Charles R. Swindoll, “The Grace Awakening: Believing In Grace Is One Thing, Living It Is Another (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1990), 122-123

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The Bible asserts and claims to be the very word of God. In 2Tim. 3:16 the Bible testifies of itself to be inspired by God. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” In other words, every word of what we call Scripture is a word from God Himself. The phrase “breathed out by God” is translated from the root word, “theopneustos”. Its use in the above text is the first in Greek literature. Led by the Holy Spirit, Paul aptly chose a word that describes the real source of Scripture: God Himself.

“But”, you may be asking, “how can we know that the Bible is indeed the Word of God?” This article discusses four reasons why you can trust the Bible.

Prophecy 

I believe the Bible is what it claims to be because when it predicts something, it happens. For example, Joshua, after the battle of Jericho, made these pronouncements regarding the city walls and its gates: Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
(Joshua 6:26)

This curse was fulfilled verbatim during the days of King Ahab, in Hiel the Bethelite some five or six hundred years later: In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
(1Kings 16:34). In 1Sam. 8 the people of Israel requested Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, as Samuel’s days as a prophet and judge were coming to an end (v4-5). In response, the LORD told Samuel to warn them of the implication of their request (vv. 10-18). Samuel’s words of prophecy of what their kings will exact of them and the kind of lifestyles they would lead read like a script of a play that each of the kings of Isreal would later act out, as clearly and precisely as was prophesied by Samuel.

The rest of the Old Testament is dotted with several of such fulfilled prophecies, few of which are presented below.

Concerning Jeroboam’s idolatrous dynasty
And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite (1 Kings 15:29).

He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole. And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things (2 Kings 23:15-16; cf 2Chron. 34:3, 5).

Concerning King Basha of Israel
When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet (1 Kings 16:11-12).

Concerning Jezebel, the wife of Ahab
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’” (2 Kings 9:30-37).

Concerning Jesus and New Testament prophecies
The grand statement to the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies is manifested in the life of Jesus. In the Old Testament, there are altogether more than 300 prophecies written about Him, of which He fulfilled all. Mathematicians have worked out the chance that just eight of those prophecies will be fulfilled in any one individual; a probability of 10 to the power 17—quite plainly, a humanly impossible feat. However, Jesus did accomplish all that was prophesied about Him.

The words and works of Jesus

The New Testament records some predictions of Jesus Himself, notable among them the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem (Mark 13:1-2) and Jerusalem itself (Luke 19:40-44). This specific prophecy was precisely fulfilled in AD70 when emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Caeser Augustus) besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. By AD135, every stone of the Temple Mount had been thrown down—precisely as Jesus said it would. There are many other recorded prophecies of Jesus, and of His apostles who through the Holy Spirit foretold of events to come, which have happened just as predicted. These lend proof to the fact that everything else the Bible predicts to happen in the future to come will likewise come to pass.

Jesus’ life is in and of itself is the most compelling evidence to the supernaturality of the Bible. He believed the Old Testament writings were true, as can we. His birth, life, death and resurrection stand as the ultimate testament to the veracity of the Bible.

Miracles

The Bible also attests to its supernaturality with the recording of several miracles—which can only be as a result of the involvement of a supernatural being—God! And we know that the Bible is true because the miracles it records were witnessed by real people—they did not happen in a closet. For example, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, we are told that more than 500 people saw him (1Cor. 15:6). When He ascended to heaven, His disciples saw him. People living at the time saw him die and rise again—as some historians have in their writings corroborated the Biblical records of these events.

The frankness with which the details of miraculous events are recorded in the Bible is further proof to its authenticity. For example, the gospels record that Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection. If the reports of His resurrection were made up, we have reason to believe the disciples would have hidden the fact that it was Mary who first saw the resurrected Christ; because the testimony of women was not highly regarded in the cultural setting at the time.

The experience of a changed life

The Bible promises a transformed life to those who believe in the Gospel—its central message. It promises forgiveness of sins and freedom from the power of sin, and peace through the grace of Jesus Christ. This is something I have personally experienced in my life.

I have a hope and firm security in God’s promises in the Bible concerning the future. Meditating on God’s promises fills me with a joy that only God can provide. Thinking of the truths taught in the Bible keeps my thoughts pure. The Bible keeps me at peace because in it I encounter the Prince of peace. David attests to this in Psalms 119:165 when he wrote, “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.”

The word of God is my anchor in whatever situation I find myself in: in trouble and in joy; through trials and temptations; in times of sickness or sorrow. The Bible claims to be alive and active. It produces life in those who read and believe it. Jesus said it is in them that we find eternal life (John 5:39-40). In Psalm 19:7-9 the Bible testifies of itself as making simple people wise, of being pure, of being perfect, of enduring forever—all of which claims it produces in those who submit themselves to its truth.

I accept that personal experiences are subjective. Nonetheless, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Would you like to verify the claims of the Bible for yourself? If you give it a chance, it can transform you completely. It can give you the confidence to face life here and in the afterlife, give you hope for now and the afterlife.

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