Difference between Revelation & Vision

Submitted by: Arun (Elanthoor, Kerala State, India)

We, who are in the Lord’s recovery, use words meaningfully and precisely. In order to enhance my appreciation of the two words: Revelation and Vision, I need more explanation. Aren’t they related?

I hope you [saints] will lead me to the depths and a fresh appreciation of these two words! Do suggest some ministry excerpts on this if any…

Thanking You!  Hopefully,

Arun

48 thoughts on “Difference between Revelation & Vision

  1. Arun, Praise the Lord, Ephesians 1:17,18 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Wisdom is in our spirit that we may know the mystery of God, and the revelation is of God’s Spirit that He may show us the vision by opening the veil. First, we have wisdom, the ability to understand, which enable us to know spiritual things; then the Spirit of God reveals the spiritual things to our spiritual understanding. I hope this helps you see the difference between revelation and vision. It helped me, pray over these verses the Lord will show you Amen.

    1. That was delicately stupendous that though I knew it was close in fraternity of the same spirit but I haven’t actually married them with Ephesians 1:18 when rhema was gained so thank you so much, knowledge is powerful.
      My quote is that trans is to both vision/revelation, blessed is he that the master reveals it to making it a revelation or otherwise become a vision.
      Wellington Asemota ((WCIB)

  2. There is a book called the Triune God’s Revelation and Move that helped me immensely a while back. In that book Brother Lee shares how we should approach reading the Bible. He shared this late in his ministry so in a way, I guess, it can be considered as his final speaking on how to read the Bible.

    In chapter 4 he shares on three words: facts, revelation, and vision. He says that we must first pick up the facts of the Bible. We read and study the Bible to ascertain the facts, the contents. This kind of exercise, for example, would be our reading of the Bible.

    As we pick up these facts we need to begin to have revelation. Revelation is based on the facts that we have picked up. We need to know the word in basic way first of just ascertaining the facts. We need to read it and study it. But we can’t stop here. We need revelation concerning the things we read in the Bible. This comes through the exercise of our spirit. As we exercise our spirit in handling the word the revelation comes. We often have this experience in conferences and in reading the ministry. When we exercise our spirit over the word through things like pray-reading we receive revelation. But there is something more.

    There is vision. Vision is like spiritual scenery. As we review the divine revelation again and again in our spirit the divine light begins to shine on the revelation and it gradually becomes a vision to us. The vision then becomes the heavenly scenery that controls, governs, and moves us (Acts 26:19.)

    So vision seems like something that is more comprehensive. We have revelation concerning certain items of truth but as we begin to put together these revelations and review them in our spirit they become a governing vision to us. That’s why it’s so important that we read the word and the ministry. We need to know the facts get the revelation and then over time the vision will come to us as we review again and again in our spirit the divine revelation. This vision will then govern and direct all of our service and work. This is what Paul must have meant in Acts 26:19.

    Anyway, this is my poor attempt to answer your question. I would read Chapter 4 of that book.

    1. Not poor at all, David. A great encouragement to digest more fully the Word and the ministry endowed to us! Thank you.

    2. I would response with the same thing as well. I receive great help from book “Triune God’s Revelation and Move”. I recommend Arun and all of us to read this book.

  3. In the first portion, chapter 16:13-19, the Lord used the word “revealed.” “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven” (v. 17). This means that the first step to experience anything of the Lord is revelation. Revelation is more than knowledge, more than understanding; it is the realization of something deeply within. In this first portion of these two chapters Peter and the other disciples obtained a revelation. Then, in the second portion, in chapter 17:1-9, the Lord Jesus mentioned the word “vision.” “Jesus commanded them, saying, tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen from the dead” (v. 9). The second step, therefore, of experiencing something of Christ is further and deeper than revelation—it is vision. What is the difference between revelation and vision? The word “revelation” in the Greek means an unveiling. When a veil is taken away from any object, you can see it—this is revelation. Nevertheless, I may take away the veil, but there may be no light. Furthermore, I may take away the veil, but you may be born blind. So we need the revelation, the unveiling, and we also need the light plus the sight. Then we have the vision. We not only need a revelation, but also a vision.

    (Christ versus Religion, Chapter 4)

    1. this is wonderful, am realy blessed, especially your conclusion….

      .”, I may take away the veil, but there may be no light. Furthermore, I may take away the veil, but you may be born blind. So we need the revelation, the unveiling, and we also need the light plus the sight. Then we have the vision. We not only need a revelation, but also a vision. – See more at: https://livingtohim.com/2012/01/difference-between-revelation-vision/?replytocom=5156#respond“.. thanks so much, more understanding in Jesus Name

    2. Yes beloved labourers in His vineyard.
      I agree with Brother John. Vision can’t be understood except there is revelation of it.
      Vision is a supernatural insight into things yet to happen and it is the scene, while revelation is unveiling of hidden things by God. The secret things belongeth unto God, the ones He has revealed are for us and our children to know, or to understand.

      1. Thanks bro Donatus for the explicit explanation of these words. Now I know better – revelation is the unveiling of the hidden things of God’s while vision is supernatural insight of things yet to happen wow. I’m blessed. More Grace

  4. Dear, Arun! I greet you with a holy kiss.

    As the brothers mentioned as the above, we need the spirit of wisdom and revelation, enlightened heart and the light to have the heavenly revelation including Bible. As for me, I’d like to share you with my experiences on Revelation and Vision. When I read the bible by myself in college student, one day the bible was opened to me, and then my previous concepts absolutely changed from history, ethics, moral things, etc… for Bible to Divine things about the Holy Scripture. At the same time, I vividly believed the redemption of Jesus on the Cross! I couldn’t help remembering the verse, “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.(1 PETER 2:24) As soon as I read the verse, I came to believe the death of the righteous Jesus on behalf of me! And I was deeply touched by the love of Jesus, my Savior, and I became to love Him! I confessed, “I love You, Lord Jesus!” Since then, on and on I’ve fallen in love with him with my best love. By nature, The Heaven has been opened to me. As a result I was fascinated with Him, which brought me in the Church life for over 20 years!! Hallelujah
    The Lord Jesus said to the messenger in the Church in Pililadelphia, “And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens: (8)I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.(13)He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.(Rev. 3:7-8, 13) Amen! Hallelujah~ Accoriding to the verses, we can know the conditions to receive Revelation and Vision. Revelation is what the Lord makes our eyes opened. And Vision indicates what we believers see it. Amen! Therefore if we really desire to see the Revelation accoriding to Vision, firstly we should love Jesus Christ, our Lord! Secondly there should be the reality of brotherly love among believers because the word, Philadelphia means the brotherly love! Hence there should be the realtiy of love between Lord and each one of us, and among us,the brothers. Hallelujah~ And then naturally we can see and have revelation and Vision.
    Finally if we’d like to see the heavenly vision that controls, directs and leads, protects, we certainly should be matured in the Life of God. The example is that Prophet Ezekiel saw Heavenly vision. “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, while I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.(EZEKIEL 1:1) Hallelujah!!! The prophet, Ezekiel wrote, “the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God,” And continually he mensioned, (2)”On the fifth of month(it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity)(3)The word of Jehovah came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was upon him there.” (Ezekiel 1:2-3) Amen!!
    Arun, if you read the Life-Study of Ezekiel, you can find out the secret to get the opend Heaven and Vision! How? Br. Witness Lee expounded it very well. If you would be like the prophet, Ezekiel, you should be grown in the Life of God! Since the above related verses, Ezekiel got the Heavenly Vision as he was thirty years old. That means he became the priet to serve the God! The age, thirthy signifies the muturality in Life! When he was captivated to Babylon, at that time he was 25 years old! So five years later of his finishing apprentice period in the land, he became perfet and mutured, qualified to serve the God. At last the Heaven was opened to him for having the vision at the age of thirty, which was the starting time to serve Johovah! Hallelujah~~ In the Lord’s recovery I hope so many Ezekiels would be raized up, prepared, and matured, perfected to Serve our Lord Jesus Christ to build up the Christ with Heavenly vision and Life! Amen ~

  5. Dear Brother Arun! It is good to have such fellowship in love concerning the truth that we hold fast as the Body (Eph. 4:15-16). I fully amen all the sharing shared above. I will just share my subjective understanding and appreciation of these two profound matters through my study and enjoyment of the Word with the ministry: revelation and vision.

    The word “revelation” indicates the lifting up of the veil, to reveal the glorious scene of God’s eternal economy – the “scene” is the vision. As the brothers have shared that vision is also based on the subjective reviewing of revelation with God’s light. Paul took the lead to use the term “revelation” in a stronger way, beginning from the book of Galatians, which as we know from the Life-Studies is the first book that comprises the heart of the divine revelation. Paul specifically says that the revelation that he received was not from men (Gal. 1:12).

    This unveils to us the first subjective fact concerning revelation and vision. It has nothing to do with the old creation, the old man, even as it is the Father who reveals (Matt. 16:17). This means that revelation and vision has nothing to do with ourselves as participants in the old man (Eph. 4:22), with its vain manner of life (1 Pet. 1:18), to whom such revelation and vision is but foolishness (1 Cor 1:23-24), but rather our participation in the divine life and nature (John 3:3). For example, with respect to the reality of the ingdom of the heavens in Matthew 5:3, the Lord most comprehensively said, that to those who are poor in spirit (cf. Eph. 1:17) theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (inclusive of the vision, the revelation, the practice and reality of the kingdom of the heavens)- this is related to the sonship (Matt. 5:48).

    Furthermore, as the saints have shared, in Acts 26:18, Paul was governed by the heavenly vision – i.e the revelation and vision governed Paul’s living and ministry. It follows that as revelation and vision issues from such participation in the all-inclusive Christ, revelation and vision (received according to the exercise of our mingled spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-15; Eph. 1:17-18) is normal, habitual (cf. Gal. 1:16; 2 Cor. 3:16-18), yet real and most wonderful in our Christian life. We see that man from his creation by God in Genesis 2 was placed in the garden of Eden with the tree of life, with the four rivers, which Bro. Lee pointed out in the Life-study of Genesis (Messages 10-12) is allegorically the revelation and vision of God’s building by transformation. God placed, “situated” man in the revelation of Himself as life for transformation unto building. Today for us to receive revelation and vision, we must remain in our spirit habitually, daily living in the Body life, to behold the all-inclusive Christ in all His riches and the church, His Body, His fullness (as presented by Paul in Ephesians and Colossians), where we have the reality of the picture in Genesis 2. We must daily be unveiled (i.e. revelation) to behold this scene (i.e. the vision).

    My point is that today, as believers and lovers of Christ, revelation and vision must not be an exceptional, “supernatural experience”. In the book, “The Vision of the Age”, Brother Lee pointed out the all-inheriting vision of God’s economy from Adam to John the apostle. In every case, the vision imparted to these ministers of the age, the revelation they enjoyed, became their very living, consciousness and ministry. Paul also says, in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we also have “the mind of Christ”. Consider the footnote in the Recovery Version for that verse:

    “Because we are organically one with Christ, we have all the faculties that He has. The mind is the faculty of intelligence, the understanding organ. We have such an organ, the mind of Christ; hence, we can know what He knows. We have not only the life of Christ but also the mind of Christ. Christ must saturate our mind from our spirit, making our mind one with His.”

    It is in this organic oneness, that we receive and enjoy the vision and revelation, “the mind of Christ”. This however brings in to mind the hindrances posed by our natural life. However, as long as we remain in spirit in this organic oneness with Christ, gradually as our outer man is being dealt with, our inner man is renewed day by day, as we receive further revelation and vision, concerning Christ and the church. To receive vision and revelation of His economy, requires us to practise to continually live in our spirit, i.e. in Christ and the church daily!

  6. Great work done! I pray that the Father of our Lord Jesus christ should give you more knowledge,wisdom and understanding and also strengthen you to continue imparting your world. Infact i learnt a lot from your comments and you are blessed for it. Amen!

  7. this is a wonderful spiritual resource needed to enhance our spiritual growth. May the good Lord Straightened you to do more for him and his kingdom. Remain blessed

  8. Vision is a spiritual clip that God send to his servants.

    Revelation is the spiritual awareness of a person. Spiritual opening of ones mind concerning something.

  9. Deeply appreciated as I have been generously inspired. May the almighty God, who know not how to owe no man, reward your labour of love according to His riches in Christ Jeaus.

  10. I m really blessed. what a revelation! thank you all for impacting this knowledge. may the body of Christ continue to grow in wisdom and revelation of Him. Amen.

  11. Vision and revelation are not the same. I’ll use only Peter as a case study here to make it clearer but before then, let me also clear some misconception about the book of Revelation.

    The book of Revelation is called revelation but it is not really a revelation but a vision
    Read Rev. 9:17

    Vision
    (with saints)
    Is a sudden event empowered by God to make things known to man, in vision, you are overtaken, cut up or overshadowed by God, it sometimes look like a dream.
    What happened to Peter, James and John on the Mount of transfiguration was a vision cos all of a sudden they were overshadowed by Gods power, and they saw things, and Jesus himself confirmed to Peter and co that that was a vision.
    Matt 17:1-9.

    Revelation
    (with saints)
    Can come from man(flesh and blood), book, God etc, in revelation, its not sudden like vision, it is born of hunger to have a deeper understand of something, revelation is superior to understand cos understanding is just a head knowledge mostly dealing with physical, but revelation has more to do with spiritual knowledge.
    Revelation can come as we read the scripture in deeper quest to know the truth but as the revelation comes it doesn’t come as a trance unlike visions, you know yourself when revelation comes, it is an ability to go beyond understanding in knowledge, it is a real event, some times revelation can come after a vision, that is to say; an ability to interpret a vision properly.

    Peter like every other Israelites from the prophet knew that the Messiah is coming but God the father gave Peter revelation of the Messiah via his sincere quest to understand the things of God, it didn’t come to Peter as a vision or in the likenesses of dream when Jesus asked them “who do men say that I am?”.
    Jesus himself was also the person that confirmed to Peter that that was a revelation.
    Matt 16:13-17

  12. It all well and good ! By the help of GOD; simply Revelation is the substance, what God wants us to know and it can come through Dreams, Trance or Vision.

  13. Revelation is to reveal unveil the hidden things of God. Mostly it comes through deep meditation on the things of God. Vision is a supernatural Insite of things to come . You can have a vision yet if you donth understand it you need revelation time understand It thank s Giddy bless you.

  14. I’m really blessed with the differentiation made by all who have given explanation. God give u all more understanding. Ameh

  15. I am blessed with the unveiling of this truth.
    The two that is VISION and REVELATION work together because without one, the other can’t be fulfilled. Deut.29:29″The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law”
    Therefore we conclude that REVELATION is seeing the word of God made manifest through the spirit while vision is seeing a thing in the spirit eye before it is eventual becomes real . Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah 2:1. It take a revelation for one to see a word becomes a scene. Please ponder on this scripture.
    Remain blessed.

  16. I thank God for given u the grace to show more light on this question been asked by me.God bless u aboundanly in Jesus name.

  17. wow… just wow.. Spiritually Supernatural answers has been provided.. God bless you guys.. In Jesus’ name..Amen

  18. Am blessed.all your posts are great, it fuels an hunger in me.i decree more grace, oil and fire in Jesus name. Love it when I see brethren fellowship with one another in sharing of lights. God bless you all.

  19. It’s a blessed moment for me to discovered that the clear & experiential knowledge on revelation & vision as i have read in this post had been made available online. Both the creator of this platform, the inventors of the tools, google, internet & contributors to this deeper but real question had done a great job by making our world a better place to live in!

    My take home from all the beautiful contributors & inspiration i got from Holy Spirit-the authimate Teacher is that, having revelations without vision or being clear about vision is dangerous on the path of purpose accomplishment & destiny encounter. Thanks all

  20. December 21, 2018 at 1:05 pm
    thank you all for the contributions and God bless
    you all,instead of climbing a ladder with ten steps,
    I am at the top with a single step.

    1. Thanks bro Donatus for the explicit explanation of these words. Now I know better – revelation is the unveiling of the hidden things of God while vision is supernatural insight of things yet to happen wow. I’m blessed. More Grace

  21. I am really blessed with the unveiling of the meaning of these Words. May God give us us Grace for more understanding in Jesus Name, Amen. Dennis Green

  22. Thanks for the enlightenment ideas Abt the the revelation and vision I pray God will strengthen us more in Jesus name amen

  23. The difference between Revelation and vision

    Revelation comes from God alone to lead us into vision, while vision sometimes comes from a man’s heart’s desire alone, even without God’s revelation.

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