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Actually ahayes, it is possible for one to distinguish the difference at the very same time it is happening to one.

This means, I presume, that you've had hallucinations that were not divine revelations. Perhaps you could write a book about how to distinguish them. You could also explain how people who have not shared your "qualia," how to distinguish between others who've had divine revelations from those who have had hallucinations.

This means, I presume, that you've had hallucinations that were not divine revelations. Perhaps you could write a book about how to distinguish them.

Actually I don't recall ever having had a hallucination. I did work a couple of summers as a nursing attendent at a state psychiatric hospital during my college years, and witnessed quite a few hallucinatory experiences by others. Though this hardly makes me an expert of hallucinatory experiences, it was clear how dark, and troubling, and frightening these experiences were for the patients who had them. No God there! No light, no love, no light -- just darkness, horror, and total isolation of the self....

The problem with your post (which is quite good although you might be surprised to know you are neither the first person to raise it, nor have skeptics been the only ones to wrestle with it), is that it puts the onus of distinguishing on the human mind and reason. This simply will not work for two reasons: 1) We are sinful and fallen and do not wish to believe face the implications of biblical truth. Our emotions trump our intellect every time. It is far better to believe lies than to stand morally naked and filthy before a holy God. Men will do ANYTHING mentally possible (and impossible) to escape those implications.

2) Revelation of the infinite to the finite by definition has to run one way. God is "responsible" not only for the revelation itself, but for the "certificate of authenticity" if you will. Reception of these are by definition subjectively received, and not available for public display or scrutiny.

If you read that and don't have REAL problems with it, you either didn't pay attention, or you have biblical faith. The biblical message is simply that God's revelation is self authenticating, AND that the authentication is predicated (in some measure) on a receptive heart. That is not to say that there is not tons of really good supporting evidence from history, logic, observation of men, and other things. It is just saying that when all the clutter is out of the room, those willing to know the truth will "get it."