What did Paul mean when he said he went up to Jerusalem by revelation?
Paul meant that his trip to Jerusalem was not merely a human plan; God had revealed to him the necessity to go. He went to meet the Jerusalem church and communicate the gospel he preached among the Gentiles, because the prophetic program had been interrupted.
Les teaches that when Paul uses the word "revelation," he is referring to the fact that God had revealed to him the necessity to go. In Galatians 2, Paul says that after fourteen years he went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, and he went up by revelation. This was about twenty-two years after Pentecost. Paul went up to Jerusalem to meet the "wheels" of Judaism and the believing Jews, the assembly or church at Jerusalem, and he communicated unto them that gospel which he preached among the Gentiles. The prophetic program had been interrupted.
And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
More Questions
Why did Paul go from Antioch to Jerusalem?
Paul went up from Antioch to Jerusalem by revelation because the Lord instructed him to go.