Mysteries

A mystery in the biblical sense is not a riddle to be cracked but a thing once hidden in God and now, by his choice, made known. Scripture sets out the contour clearly. Some things belong to Yahweh and are not given to be searched (Deut 29:29); some things are veiled until the time appointed (Dan 12:9); and some things, long kept in silence, are at last spoken — through the prophets, through the Son, through the apostles, and finally through the consummation when the seventh angel sounds (Rev 10:7). Around this center are gathered the secret counsel of God, the visible tokens by which he made himself known to Israel, the explicit Pauline "mystery" of Christ and the church and the gospel for the nations, and a parallel cluster on the secrets that lie between human beings and the discipline of holding them.

The Secret Things Belong to Yahweh

The boundary is fixed at Sinai. "The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut 29:29). What is concealed is not lost — it is kept. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter" (Prov 25:2). To Daniel the same boundary returns at the end of the book: "Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end" (Dan 12:9). And the Son himself, in his earthly speech, holds the line: "But of that day or that hour knows no one, not even the angels in heaven nor even the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). In the Apocalypse the seer is rebuked when he reaches for what is sealed: "And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look on it" (Rev 5:3); "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them" (Rev 10:4).

Job's friends press the same edge: "Have you heard the secret counsel of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?" (Job 15:8). The secret counsel is real, but it is not for human inventory.

God Unsearchable

The reason the boundary holds is in the divine nature itself. "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the Almighty to perfection?" (Job 11:7). "Who does great things and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number" (Job 5:9). "[Concerning] the Almighty, we can't find him out: He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict" (Job 37:23). "Why do you strive against him Because he doesn't give account of any of his matters?" (Job 33:13).

Isaiah and Paul join the same chorus. "Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding" (Isa 40:28). "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!" (Rom 11:33). "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Rom 11:34). The Preacher reaches the same impasse: "He has made everything beautiful in its time: also he has set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end" (Eccl 3:11). "Then I saw all the work of God, that man can't find out the work that is done under the sun" (Eccl 8:17).

The Diognetus epistle puts the matter in the form of a question: "For who among men could at all know what God is, before he came?" (Gr 8:1).

The Hidden God

Beyond unsearchability, scripture also speaks of God as actively hiding himself. "Truly you are a God who hides yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior" (Isa 45:15). The psalmist presses the experience: "Why do you stand far off, O Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (Ps 10:1). "How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Ps 13:1). "How long, O Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? [How long] will your wrath burn like fire?" (Ps 89:46). Job traces the same experience in motion: "On the left hand, when he does work, but I can't behold him; He hides himself on the right hand, that I can't see him" (Job 23:9). "Look, I go forward, but he is not [there]; And backward, but I can't perceive him" (Job 23:8). "Look, he goes by me, and I don't see him: He passes on also, but I don't perceive him" (Job 9:11).

The same hiddenness shades into the formal claim that no one has seen God. "And he said, You can not see my face; for man will not see me and live" (Exod 33:20). "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared [him]" (John 1:18). "And the Father who sent me, he has borne witness of me. You⁺ have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form" (John 5:37). "No man has seen God at any time: if we love one another, God stays in us, and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:12). "Now to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, [be] honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim 1:17). "Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honor and power eternal. Amen" (1 Tim 6:16). The Son is named "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (Col 1:15). The Diognetus letter speaks the same way: "No one among men has seen him, or made him known; but he has showed himself" (Gr 8:5).

What Creation Discloses

There is, however, a level of knowledge that is given. The heavens are not silent. "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows his handiwork" (Ps 19:1). "The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory" (Ps 97:6). Paul makes the same point with judicial force: "For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, [even] his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse" (Rom 1:20).

But creation also keeps its own opacity. "The wind blows where it will, and you hear its voice, but do not know from where it comes, and where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). "And should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how" (Mark 4:27). "My frame was not hidden from you, When I was made in secret, [And] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth" (Ps 139:15). "As you don't know what the way of the wind is, [nor] how the bones [grow] in the womb of her who is pregnant; even so you don't know the work of God who does all" (Eccl 11:5). "Many things, greater than these, are hidden, I have only seen a few of his works" (Sir 43:32).

Ignorance of the Future

A specific concealment runs through Ecclesiastes and Proverbs: man does not know what comes next. "Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who will bring him [back] to see what will be after him?" (Eccl 3:22). "For who knows what is good for man in [his] life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?" (Eccl 6:12). "For he doesn't know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?" (Eccl 8:7). "For man also doesn't know his time: as the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of man snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them" (Eccl 9:12). "A fool also multiplies words: [yet] man doesn't know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?" (Eccl 10:14). "Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don't know what evil will be on the earth" (Eccl 11:2). "Don't boast yourself of tomorrow; For you don't know what a day may bring forth" (Prov 27:1). "Whereas you⁺ don't know what will be on the next day. What is your⁺ life? For you⁺ are a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away" (Jas 4:14).

To Whom God Reveals His Secret

What is hidden is hidden by intention, and what is revealed is revealed by the same intention. "Surely the Sovereign Yahweh will do nothing, except he reveals his secret to his slaves the prophets" (Amos 3:7). "He reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him" (Dan 2:22). The recipients of this disclosure are characterized by their fear of him and uprightness before him. "The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him; And he will show them his covenant" (Ps 25:14). "For the perverse is disgusting to Yahweh; But his friendship is with the upright" (Prov 3:32). "For many are the mercies of God, And to the meek he reveals his secret" (Sir 3:20). "Then at the time his heart is filled with me, I will lead him again, and reveal to him my secrets" (Sir 4:18).

The Visible Tokens — Cloud, Glory, Lot

Within Israel's history God's hidden presence took visible signs. The pillar of cloud and fire led the wilderness journey: "And [the Speech of] Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night" (Exod 13:21). It stood at the door of the Tent (Exod 33:9; Deut 31:15), settled over the tabernacle (Num 9:15-17), and went on before them (Deut 1:33; Neh 9:12). It hovered when the people were rebellious: "And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and saw that the cloud covered it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared" (Num 16:42; cf. Exod 16:10). Isaiah projects the same sign forward over restored Zion: "And Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory [will be spread] a covering" (Isa 4:5; cf. Ps 78:14; Ps 105:39).

The same cloud filled the tabernacle and the temple — what later tradition calls the Shekinah. "And Moses wasn't able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle" (Exod 40:35). "And it came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Yahweh" (1 Kgs 8:10; cf. 2 Chr 5:13). The mercy-seat between the cherubim was its localized point: "For [my Speech] will appear in the cloud on the mercy-seat" (Lev 16:2; cf. 2 Sam 6:2; Isa 37:16; Ps 80:1; Ezek 9:3).

A second visible means was the Urim and Thummim, fixed in the priest's breastplate. "And you will put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they will be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Yahweh" (Exod 28:30; cf. Lev 8:8; Deut 33:8; Num 27:21). David inquired by the ephod (1 Sam 23:9; 1 Sam 30:7); when Saul inquired and was refused, the silence itself was an answer: "And when Saul inquired of [the Speech of] Yahweh, Yahweh did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam 28:6). After the exile a priest with Urim and Thummim was needed before judgment could resume on the most holy things (Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65).

Visions, and Signs that Confirm Faith

A third channel is vision. The prophets are introduced by what they saw: "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem" (Isa 1:1); "The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel" (Amos 1:1); "The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite" (Nah 1:1); "The vision of Obadiah" (Obad 1); "In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel" (Dan 8:1). Isaiah sees the betrayer betray (Isa 21:2). Ezekiel is transported in vision by the Spirit (Ezek 11:24; Ezek 47:1) and brought to the dry valley: "The hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Yahweh, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones" (Ezek 37:1; cf. Ezek 37:2). The reality outruns the audience: "Son of Man, look, those of the house of Israel say, The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off" (Ezek 12:27). Visions come to patriarchs as well — to Abram, "the Speech of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, Don't be afraid, Abram" (Gen 15:1) — and to Israel at Beersheba (Gen 46:2). Paul "must surely glory" in "visions and revelations of the Lord" (2 Cor 12:1), and the Apocalypse opens with one (Rev 1:12).

Alongside vision, scripture records signs that confirm prophetic word. The unnamed man of God names Josiah three centuries early (1 Kgs 13:2). Hezekiah is given the receding shadow (2 Kgs 20:9; 2 Chr 32:24). The young woman bearing Immanuel is itself the sign (Isa 7:14). The fir-tree replacing the thorn is "an everlasting sign that will not be cut off" (Isa 55:13). Gideon presses for the wet fleece and the dry (Judg 6:38). At the Jordan the visible token is the Spirit: "And John bore witness, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it stayed on him" (John 1:32).

Withholding and Disclosure in Stages

Even what is given is given in stages. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die" (Gen 2:17). "Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you don't know now; but you will understand hereafter" (John 13:7). "I have yet many things to say to you⁺, but you⁺ can't bear them now" (John 16:12). "Nevertheless when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you⁺ into all the truth: for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he will hear, he will speak: and he will declare to you⁺ the things that are to come" (John 16:13). "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I will know fully even as also I was fully known" (1 Cor 13:12). "Beloved, we are now children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we will be. We know that, if he will be manifested, we will be like him; for we will see him even as he is" (1 John 3:2). "Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing you⁺ have become dull of hearing" (Heb 5:11).

Of Israel's prior generations Paul says: "Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit" (Eph 3:5). And earlier: "The prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that [should come] to you⁺: searching what [time] or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point to, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you⁺, they were providing these things, which now have been announced to you⁺ through those who preached the good news to you⁺ by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into" (1 Pet 1:10-12).

The Mystery of the Kingdom

A specific use of the word "mystery" comes from Jesus himself. "And he said to them, To you⁺ is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables" (Mark 4:11). "And he said, To you⁺ it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand" (Luke 8:10). The criterion for hearing is not intellectual penetration but standing within the circle of disciples. To Nicodemus, who is "the teacher of Israel," Jesus presses earthly and heavenly things: "If I told you⁺ earthly things and you⁺ do not believe, how will you⁺ believe if I tell you⁺ heavenly things?" (John 3:9-12).

Christ's Own Speech

The mystery of the kingdom is bound to the Speaker. "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I will command him" (Deut 18:18). The Son speaks nothing of himself: "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you⁺: nevertheless he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I speak to the world" (John 8:26). "For I did not speak from myself; but the Father who sent me, he has given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49). "The words that I say to you⁺ I don't speak from myself: but the Father staying in me does his works" (John 14:10). "And the speech which you⁺ hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me" (John 14:24). To his own he calls them friends rather than slaves precisely because the secret is shared: "No longer do I call you⁺ slaves; for the slave doesn't know what his lord does: but I have called you⁺ friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you⁺" (John 15:15). "For the words which you gave me I have given to them; and they received [them], and knew of a truth that I came forth from you, and they believed that you sent me" (John 17:8).

The Mystery of Christ

In the Pauline letters "the mystery" sharpens to the person and work of Christ. "But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, [even] the [wisdom] that has been hidden, which God predetermined before the ages to our glory: which none of the rulers of this age has known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor 2:7-8). What the Spirit then opens to those who love God is "the deep things of God" (1 Cor 2:9-10). "Now to him who is able to establish you⁺ according to my good news and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept in silence through eternal times, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known to all the nations to obedience of faith" (Rom 16:25-26). "Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth" (Eph 1:9-10). "How that by revelation was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, by which, when you⁺ read, you⁺ can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ" (Eph 3:3-4). "And to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which since the [past] ages has been hid in God who created all things" (Eph 3:9). "May be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you⁺ may be filled to all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:18-19).

The same mystery becomes Paul's commission. "And on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the good news" (Eph 6:19). "Of which I was made a servant, according to the dispensation of God which was given me toward you⁺, to fulfill the word of God, [even] the mystery which has been hid since the ages and since the generations: but now it has been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you⁺, the hope of glory" (Col 1:25-27). "That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, [even] Christ" (Col 2:2). "As well praying for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds; that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak" (Col 4:3-4).

Christ in You — and Christ and the Church

Two further specifications belong to the Pauline mystery. The first is the indwelling: "the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you⁺, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). The second is the union of Christ and the church: "This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church" (Eph 5:32). And one further enclosed mystery — the resurrection of the saints: "Look, I tell you⁺ a mystery: We all will not sleep, but we will all be changed" (1 Cor 15:51).

The Mystery of Godliness — and of Lawlessness

Paired terms run through the Pastoral and Thessalonian letters. On one side: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory" (1 Tim 3:16). The same letter prescribes that deacons hold "the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience" (1 Tim 3:9). On the other side stands its counterpart: "For the mystery of lawlessness does already work: only [there is] one who restrains now, until he is removed" (2 Thess 2:7).

The Diognetus letter speaks the same vocabulary in its own register: "It is not an earthly discovery that was delivered to them, nor a mortal speculation that they count worthy to keep so diligently, nor are they entrusted with a dispensation of human mysteries" (Gr 7:1); "But do not expect to be able to learn the mystery of their own godliness from man" (Gr 4:6). Of God's long silence and its breaking: "For so long a time, therefore, as he retained in mystery and reserved his wise counsel, he seemed to us to neglect us, and to be indifferent; but after he revealed by his beloved Child, and manifested the things prepared from the beginning, he at one and the same time bestowed on us all things, both to take part in his benefits, and to see and understand. Who of us could ever have expected these things?" (Gr 8:10-11; cf. Gr 8:9). And of the future life of the believer: "Then you will begin to speak the mysteries of God" (Gr 10:7).

The Finishing of the Mystery

The arc closes with the seventh trumpet. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good news which he declared to his slaves the prophets" (Rev 10:7). What was kept, what was given to the prophets, what was preached among the nations, and what is held now in pure conscience — all of it is brought to its end at one moment.

Hidden Things in Proverbs and Sirach

A wisdom tradition reflects on this from below. The wise man "seeks out the hidden things of proverbs, And is conversant with the obscure things of parables" (Sir 39:3); the Lord himself is "declaring the things that are past and the things that will be, And revealing the traces of hidden things" (Sir 42:19); and yet "no man can take [from them] nor add [to them], Nor can any trace out the marvellous acts of the Lord" (Sir 18:6). Sirach also marks the boundary at which curiosity becomes presumption: "Do not seek out things which are too wonderful for you, And do not search for that which is hidden from you" (Sir 3:21); "And do not get into what is beyond you, For more than you can handle has already been shown to you" (Sir 3:23).

The Discipline of Human Secrets

A distinct strand of the topic concerns secrets between persons. Proverbs is direct: "He who goes about as double-tongued reveals secrets; But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter" (Prov 11:13); "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore don't company with him who opens his lips wide" (Prov 20:19); "Debate your cause with your fellow man [himself], And don't disclose the secret of another" (Prov 25:9).

Sirach develops the discipline at length. The friend who keeps faith is rare: "Let the men who greet you [saying], Peace, be many; But the owner of your secret, one among a thousand" (Sir 6:6). One holds back what is given in counsel: "Do not reveal a secret in the congregation of princes; And do not repeat what you heard from interceding in a dispute" (Sir 7:14). One does not unveil in the wrong company: "Do not reveal yourself with one who is silly; For he will not be able to hide your secret" (Sir 8:17); "Do no secret thing before a stranger; For you do not know to what end he will bring it" (Sir 8:18); "Do not reveal your heart to all flesh; And you will not drive away the good from you" (Sir 8:19); "Do not take counsel with one who dislikes you, And hide your secret from one who is jealous of you" (Sir 37:10). One's first response to overheard things is silence: "Never repeat a word, Then no one will reproach you" (Sir 19:7); "Do not speak of it to friend or foe; And, unless it be a sin to you, do not reveal it, Lest he who hear it hate you, And regard you as an evildoer" (Sir 19:8-9); "Have you heard anything? Let it die with you; Be of good courage it will not burst you" (Sir 19:10). The eavesdropper and whisperer are condemned: "It is unseemly for one to listen at the door, And the wise man is grieved at the disgrace [of it]" (Sir 21:24); "The whisperer defiles his own soul, And is hated wherever he sojourns" (Sir 21:28).

The breach of a confided secret is grouped with the gravest betrayals: "If you open your mouth against a friend, Do not fear, for there is a [way of] reconciliation; But reproach, arrogance, betrayal of a secret, and a deceitful blow, In these every friend will depart" (Sir 22:22); "He who reveals secrets destroys trust, And will find no friend to his soul" (Sir 27:16); "Love a friend and keep faith with him, But if you reveal his secrets do not follow after him" (Sir 27:17); "For a wound may be bound up, and for slander there is reconciliation, But he who reveals secrets has no hope" (Sir 27:21). And the catalogue of shameful and unshameful speech opens with this: "Of repeating a thing which you have heard, And of laying bare any secret counsel: So you will show proper shame, And find favor in the sight of all living. But of these things do not be ashamed, And do not let persons lead you to sin" (Sir 42:1).

A final note belongs here. The man who tells himself his secrets are unseen is wrong: "[There is] a man who goes astray from his own bed, And says in his soul: 'Who sees me? Darkness is around me, and the walls hide me, And no man sees me, of what shall I be afraid? The Most High does not remember my sins'" (Sir 23:18). What is hidden from human eyes is not hidden from him to whom belong the secret things.

The Veil and the Unveiled Face

Paul gathers much of the umbrella's movement into a single image. "And [we are] not as Moses, [who] put a veil on his face, that the sons of Israel should not look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away: but their minds were hardened. For until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil stays, not being unveiled, because it is in Christ that it is removed. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But upon turning to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty. But all of us, with unveiled face looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:13-18). The veil and its removal name the topic in one figure: God hides, God reveals, and the revealing is itself the change.

A Note on Wrestling with What Is Hidden

The umbrella does not present revelation as exhausting the difficulty. Jeremiah still asks: "You are righteous, O Yahweh, when I contend with you; yet I would reason the cause with you: why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are total betrayers at ease?" (Jer 12:1). Hebrews still says of discipline: "And all chastening seems for the present not to be joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields peaceful fruit to those who have been exercised by it, [even the fruit] of righteousness" (Heb 12:11). The "now" of the believer remains a "now I know in part" — until the seventh trumpet, when the mystery of God is finished.