Wikipedia defines Epiphany as: An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphanea, “manifestation, striking appearance”) is an experience of a sudden and striking realization. Generally the term is used to describe scientific breakthrough, religious or philosophical discoveries, but it can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective. Epiphanies are studied by psychologists[1][2] and other scholars, particularly those attempting to study the process of innovation.[3][4][5].
The Epiphany of Jesus Christ is the Manifestation of God as Man in the World. Emmanuel, God with us. It is most often associated with the coming of the Wise Men to the child Jesus. However there were many epiphanies before the Wise Men and God used different methods to enlighten those whom he was revealed.
He was revealed through prophesy:
(Here are a few)
Isaiah 7:14 (virgin birth) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin
will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Micah 5:2 (Born in Bethlehem) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are
small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler
over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Genesis 49:10 (From the Tribe of Judah) “The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and
the obedience of the nations shall be his.”
Jeremiah 23:5 (Descendant of David) “’The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and
do what is just and right in the land.’”
He was revealed to Mary by an Angel
He was revealed to Joseph by an Angel in a dream
He was revealed to the Shepards by 1st 1 then a host of angels
He was revealed to the Wise Men by a star
He was revealed to Herod by the wise men and the prophets
He was revealed to Simeon by his faith
He was revealed to the on lookers of Jesus’s Baptism, by the Holy Spirit in the shape of a Dove and by God’s voice from the heavens.
There are many, many more examples in the Bible, where an Epiphany of understanding of who Jesus is happens.
Epiphanies happen even today, as the Holy Spirit moves in our hearts, bringing us to faith, as the Word of God opens our hearts and eyes. I pray if you have not already had an Epiphany as to who Jesus is, that you do in God’s timing.