[syn: Revelation, Revelation of Saint John the Divine, Apocalypse, Book of Revelation]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Revelation \Rev`e*la"tion\, n. [F. r['e]v['e]lation, L.
revelatio. See Reveal.]
1. The act of revealing, disclosing, or discovering to others
what was before unknown to them.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which is revealed.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Theol.)
(a) The act of revealing divine truth.
(b) That which is revealed by God to man; esp., the Bible.
[1913 Webster]
By revelation he made known unto me the mystery,
as I wrote afore in few words. --Eph. iii. 3.
[1913 Webster]
4. Specifically, the last book of the sacred canon,
containing the prophecies of St. John; the Apocalypse or
Book of Revelation or The Revelation of Saint John.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
revelation
n 1: the speech act of making something evident [syn:
disclosure, revelation, revealing]
2: an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
3: communication of knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural
agency [syn: revelation, divine revelation]
4: the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary
descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil
and of the end of the world; attributed to Saint John the
Apostle [syn: Revelation, Revelation of Saint John the
Divine, Apocalypse, Book of Revelation]
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed
all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know
nothing.