Revelation of the Divine

The WORD, whether written or spoken, holds enormous, world-altering power in Judeo-Christian history. God created the cosmos by “speaking it forth.” The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” referring to Jesus’ eternal existence with God. Jesus healed the sick and even raised Lazarus from the dead by speaking verbal commands. One comes to faith in Christ by responding to the words of the Gospel.

Around the top perimeter of this painting, one can see Proverbs 18:10, which says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Indeed, the name of the Lord JEHOVAH was considered so sacred by the scribes who copied the words of the Old Testament that they wrote only the letters YHWH—and only after completing a ceremony of self-purification each time they wrote it.

Recognizing that we now live in a dispensation of grace, I took the liberty of building that proverbial “strong tower” using the many names of God found in the Bible. Hopefully, one can see around the periphery that this is chalk-talk, a modern art form developed within the Church community as a teaching method. Those are trompe l’oeil chalk pieces and an eraser at the bottom of the painting. The orange banner reveals the Divine Name as the TRINITY—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—which, in the Old Testament, remained incognito until the Gospel of Christ was revealed to mankind.