A Comparative Study of Revelation's Significance in Religions

This essay examines the profound significance of revelation in shaping the religious paths of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. It explores how these faiths interpret divine messages through scriptures like the Vedas, Quran, and Bible. The essay highlights the role of revelation in predicting future events and guiding humanity toward moral and just societies. It delves into the origins and characteristics of revelation within each religion, including the processes through which divine knowledge is received and transmitted. The analysis covers key figures, such as the Prophet Muhammad and Jesus, and discusses the similarities and differences in their respective revelations. The essay concludes by emphasizing the shared aim of these revelations: to establish a moral and just society. The work provides a comparative analysis of religious texts and beliefs.

Running head: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REVELATION
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REVELATION
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Introduction
Humanity and faith are two interrelated aspects which have been closely associated with
each other since the beginning days of civilization. The deeply rooted belief in the supreme truth
and the search for that truth has led the human society to follow diverse paths which according to
each belief leads to the ultimate absolute truth. The revelations in the various scriptures has
played a key role in shaping the process of religious path followed by various faiths. Revelations
are the truths revealed by God through various scriptures and empowered messengers to guide
humanity into the path that may lead them to him. Revelation also means the predictions that
have been done in the scriptures and as foretold by several empowered messengers of the
Supreme.
There are many religions followed around the world, the most popular of which are
Christianity, Hinduism or Sanatana Sharma, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and
Zoroastrianism. All of these faiths have their religious holy scriptures which have revelations and
guidance to humanity.
Discussion
The Hindu religion is the oldest religion practiced till date widely and increasing. It
mainly has its roots in India. Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and other Asian countries are home to
large number of Hindus. Hindus have presence all over the world, and after the mid-1960s the
enthusiasm about this religion among westerners have increased, especially after the global
“Hare Krishna” movement known more formally as the “ISKCON” movement. The religion is
also known as Sanatana Dharma or the religion that existed for eternity. This religion is not
based on a singular belief system and within the religion there are a number of sects with varying

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beliefs and scriptures that lead them. The four main sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavas, the
Shaktas, the Shaivaites and the Smartas. The religion is mostly built on the four Vedas known as
Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur veda and Atharva Veda. The faith is also known as the “Vedic
religion”. Further there are 24 primary Upanishads and 18 primary Puranas that act as the
supplement to the Vedas1. The two epics or historical texts of the faith are Ramayana and
Mahabharata, and within Mahabharata lies the essence of all the Vedic scriptures, the Bhagavat
Gita, which is regarded as the holiest scripture of the Hindus.
Among the Puranas there is a Purana known as the Bhavishya Purana which translates
into the narration of the future. This is a part of the 5000-year-old Vedic literature in which
accurate predictions about the rise of Christianity and Islam is made. “A sage who would rise in
the desserts, will be known by the name Mahmada, will have followers who will be calling
themselves as Musalmanas.” There are even predictions about Jesus Christ and Christianity. The
text also refers to Adam and Eve and detail the narration of the serpent luring them to eat the
fruit of satan.
In Srimad Bhagavatam or the Bhagavat Purana, there are predictions about the age of
Kali, or the present age according to Hindu faith. It is said that fraternity, tolerance memory and
life tenure of human beings will be reduced. People will have the average life span of about 50
years. The people who are not well versed in religious knowledge will speak of religion and thus
earn money. Social status and respect will depend on a person’s wealth. All the Vedic texts are
believed to be composed by Sage Vyas Deva 5000 years ago.
In Islam the revealed text is the Quran. It is believed that the Quran was revealed by the
archangel Gabriel in a cave to Muhammad who was later known as the Prophet. The prophet was
1 Dalal, ROShen. "The Vedas, Upanishads, Epics and Puranas." Reading the Sacred Scriptures: From Oral
Tradition to Written Documents and Their Reception (2017): 157

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described as inquisitive from the very beginning about the theistic matters and the source of
creation. In the 40th year of his life, the incident at the cave of Heera happened when the
Archangel Gabrial came and started revealing the “words of God” to him. It is described as, the
angel came and asked Prophet Muhammad to read, however he was not literate enough and he
pleaded to the angel that he cannot do so2. The angel is said to have embraced him very tightly
after this. This whole cycle of events repeated for three times and the angel embraced him for
three times.
The people who were close to the Prophet, his relatives and his wife had stated, after
hearing about the incident, that the Prophet must not be fearful, because Allah or the Almighty
has kindly enough chosen him for revealing religious truths.
The Islamic faith has mainly two divisions, the Shia and the Sunni, there are some sub
divisions and some further divisions of subsects like Ahamadiya, Wahabi, and Sufi Muslims.
The Quran is regarded as the holy revealed text of the religion and the Hadith’s are the
instruction of the prophet on the subject matter. The revelations of Islam have many similarities
with the revelations of other Abrahamic faith, like the Christianity and Judaism, with many
Prophets featuring in all the scriptures of these faiths.
In Christianity the Bible, which is not a single book but a set of books is widely respected
as the revealed words of the God. The Old Testaments were revealed even before the advent of
Christianity and is regarded by Jesus as something which cannot be denied or ignored in any
2 Al-Hilali, Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. Translation of the Meanings of the Noble
Quran in the English Language. Jannah Promedia, 2018.

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circumstances. The new testaments are the activities and words of Lord Jesus. The two
testaments combine to form the final Bible.
The revelation in Bible did not happen as in the case of Islam, where angel from the God
came and transferred the knowledge to Muhammad. Bible was composed over time by various
means, and the revelations ranged from personal revelations or revelations that happened in
public. Christians largely perceive Bible as the infallible text, which has no inaccuracies3.
“Timothy” 3:16 says: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". “The Second Epistle of Peter” claims
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" (2 Peter 1:20–21).
Conclusion
There are striking similarities between the revelations of the above faiths. All the
revelations tend to declare the message of God to the humanity. The revelations have in
themselves certain essence of prediction of the future. The level of accuracy varies. There are
certain holy personalities those who have spoken or written the message of the Supreme Lord.
However ultimately if the scriptures and revelations are studied, they all aim in establishing a
moral and just society.
3 Crossan, John Dominic. How to read the Bible and still be a Christian: Struggling with divine violence from
genesis through revelation. Harper Collins, 2015.

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Reference and Bibliography:
Al-Hilali, Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. Translation of the Meanings
of the Noble Quran in the English Language. Jannah Promedia, 2018.
Crossan, John Dominic. How to read the Bible and still be a Christian: Struggling with divine
violence from genesis through revelation. Harper Collins, 2015.
Dalal, ROShen. "The Vedas, Upanishads, Epics and Puranas." Reading the Sacred Scriptures:
From Oral Tradition to Written Documents and Their Reception (2017): 157.
Knitter, Paul F. Introducing theologies of religion. Orbis Books, 2014.
Whitehouse, Harvey. "Cognitive evolution and religion: Cognition and religious
evolution." Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 3.3 (2016): 35-47.