I'd say "to reveal" is when you are revealing something you're showing/telling it for the first time and it is either an object or a solution. In this sense, you can say the revelation of this will happen tonight, but it's a bit forced - better to say I will reveal this tonight. As a noun, I've only really heard it in the context of "the big reveal" - which is a bit of a set expression in itself but means the same as the verb. To have a revelation most commonly means to find an unexpected solution to a difficult problem.