“What is an epiphany?”……There are three different definitions for the word “epiphany.” Capitalized, the word Epiphany refers to:

Firstlya Christian feast day, observed primarily in the Eastern churches (the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa). It occurs on January 6 and commemorates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. ……A second definition of epiphany is an appearance or manifestation, especially of a divine being. Theophanies and Christophanies are types of epiphanies. A theophany is a manifestation of God in the Bible that is tangible to the human senses. In its most restrictive sense, it is a visible appearance of God in the Old Testament period, often, but not always, in human form. Some Bible commentators believe that whenever someone received a visit from “the angel of the Lord,” this was in fact the pre-incarnate Christ. These appearances can be seen in Genesis 16:7-14Genesis 22:11-18Judges 5:232 Kings 19:35; and other passages. While there are no indisputable Christophanies in the Old Testament, every theophany wherein God takes on human form foreshadows the incarnation, where God took the form of a man to live among us as Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).……A third definition of epiphany is a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, or an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking. It is also defined as an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure or a revealing scene or moment. For the Christian, the ultimate epiphany is the realization of our need for Christ as Savior and Lord. Many people come to Christ as a result of a traumatic event such as an accident of serious illness. They have an epiphany about the tenuousness of life and the reality of eternity. Others have a quiet epiphany in which the Spirit speaks in a small, still voice wooing them to the Savior. However it happens, all Christians have some sort of epiphany about the reality of God, sin, heaven, hell, eternity and the work of Christ on the cross on our behalf. We respond to the epiphany by repenting of sin and accepting Christ as Savior.

Or An epiphany (from the ancient Greekἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”) is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something. The term is used in either a philosophical or literal sense to signify that the claimant has “found the last piece of the puzzle and now sees the whole picture,” or has new information or experience, often insignificant by itself, that illuminates a deeper or numinous foundational frame of reference.