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For this extensive collection, author Graham has gathered and carefully arrayed materials treating with the ways that God has conveyed messages to humanity since the creation of the world and his walks with Adam and Eve through the Garden of Eden. The Old Testament of the Holy Bible is redolent with God’s word as revealed by prophets, such methods as the burning bush seen by Moses, and the visions of Amos, Ezekiel, and others. The advent of Jesus brought more means of sharing God’s presence, such as the appearance on the body of a saintly person of the stigmata—marks of the wounds of Christ on the cross. Graham also offers material examining the means of authenticating such occurrences, and notes that revelation may be either a public or a private matter. With more than five hundred examples given regarding specific individuals, Graham’s ponderous reference work explores such mystical portents as ecstasy, the speaking of tongues, the incorruptibility of corpses, levitation, invisibility, and the gift of prophecy.
Graham’s career experience in the U.S. Navy and in the Library of Congress, combined with his service as an ordained deacon and minister, have all doubtless contributed to the motivation and notable organization of this large, valuable, major reference. Source materials include such little known but relevant topics as visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, whether approved or unapproved by ecclesiastical authorities or simple tradition. He probes issues and identification methods surrounding the phenomena he vividly describes, and lists those who have received these indicators of God’s communication with selections given in historical order and enhanced with classic paintings throughout. Graham expresses his hope to evoke deeper faith in God among readers, offering here a powerful medium for individual and group education and inspiration.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review