The word of God was given by progressive revelation over a period of about 1,500 years. God did not reveal and dispense everything at once. New revelation that brought about changes in God’s dealings with man is dispensational truth.
Moses, who wrote the five books of the Law, knew that God had secret things that He had yet to reveal (Deut. 29:29). God knows how to keep a secret! Nobody, not even the devil himself (Ezek. 28:3), can know the secrets of the Lord until He reveals them (Prov. 25:2-3; Rom. 11:33).
Proverbs 25:
2 It is the glory of God to CONCEAL a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
3 The HEAVEN for height, and the EARTH for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Those who think they can find out God’s secrets before He reveals them rob Him of glory. The secrets of the Lord concern both His purpose for heaven and earth.
One of the main reasons God has kept secrets is because of the adversary (1 Cor. 2:6-10). God’s mysteries are revealed after apparent failure. God never fails, but man always does.
The words “mystery” and “mysteries” are found 27 times in the Bible (3 in the Gospels, 20 Paul's epistles, and 4 in Revelation). A mystery is not something we can never know, but a secret we cannot know until God reveals it in His word, and then to us personally by His Spirit. God reveals mysteries because He wants us to know them.
I. There are mysteries that concern the prophetic kingdom program of Israel that Christ revealed to His disciples ON EARTH (Matt. 13:10-11, 34-35; Rev. 10:7).
II. Satan has a mystery that works in opposition to what God is doing (2 Thess. 2:7; Rev. 2:18-29; 17:1-7).
III. There are mysteries concerning this present age that were revealed through the apostle Paul FROM HEAVEN (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
1) Body of Christ (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:1-12) – What this age is about
2) Israel’s blindness (Rom. 11:25) – How this age began
3) Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-52) – How this age will end
4) God’s will (Eph. 1:8-12) – Our role in the eternal state
5) Gospel (Eph. 6:19-20) – How to get in the Body of Christ
6) Godliness (1 Tim. 3:16) – How to live as a member of Body of Christ
7) Iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7) – How Satan opposes the mystery of godliness
The words “mystery” and “mysteries” are found 27 times in the Bible (3 in the Gospels, 20 Paul's epistles, and 4 in Revelation). A mystery is not something we can never know, but a secret we cannot know until God reveals it in His word, and then to us personally by His Spirit. God reveals mysteries because He wants us to know them.
I. There are mysteries that concern the prophetic kingdom program of Israel that Christ revealed to His disciples ON EARTH (Matt. 13:10-11, 34-35; Rev. 10:7).
II. Satan has a mystery that works in opposition to what God is doing (2 Thess. 2:7; Rev. 2:18-29; 17:1-7).
III. There are mysteries concerning this present age that were revealed through the apostle Paul FROM HEAVEN (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
1) Body of Christ (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:1-12) – What this age is about
2) Israel’s blindness (Rom. 11:25) – How this age began
3) Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-52) – How this age will end
4) God’s will (Eph. 1:8-12) – Our role in the eternal state
5) Gospel (Eph. 6:19-20) – How to get in the Body of Christ
6) Godliness (1 Tim. 3:16) – How to live as a member of Body of Christ
7) Iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7) – How Satan opposes the mystery of godliness
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