Relationships change over time. People we were close to at one point in our lives don’t remain close. It’s not that all relationships end badly and there is a definite break, sometimes we just drift apart due to any number of reasons. The ultimate goal of Special Revelation was relational. That is to say that God gave us Scripture as a tool to help our relationship with him. And this is what makes Revelation so Necessary, particularly special revelation (i.e. Scripture). Without Scripture we could not really know God.
I like the way Millard Erickson talks about this reality. Erickson writes:
Why was special revelation necessary? The answer lies in the fact that the humans had lost the relationship of favor which they had with God prior to the fall. It was necessary for them to come to know God in a fuller way if the conditions of fellowship were once again to be met. This knowledge had to go beyond the initial or general revelation that was still available, for now in addition to the natural limitations of human finiteness, there was also the moral limitation of human sinfulness. It was now insufficient simply to know of God’s existence and something of what he is like. In the original state of innocence Adam and Eve had been positively inclined (or, at the very least, neutral) toward God., and could respond in a direct fashion. But after the fall they were turned away from God and in rebellion against him; their understanding of spiritual matters was obscured. Their relationship with God was not merely inactive; it was lost and in need of rebuilding. So the human situation was more complicated than originally, and more complete instruction was consequently needed. (Christian Theology, 201-202)
So you see without God’s personal special revelation in the form of Scripture, and ultimately in the form of Jesus, our relationship with Him would be forever impaired.
There is no amount of gleaning from nature that will restore this relationship. No amount of imaginative thought and creative speculation that will restore this. If we are to truly know God we must hear from Him directly through His objective Word. Otherwise our rebellious nature will win out and drive us away from God. The Word of God rescues us from our rebellious subjectivity and points us to the one true living God of the universe! The Word is NECESSARY if we are to know God!
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 