"It is given unto you to know the MYSTERIES"

Prov 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Just start to search out a matter — to prove it — and the unveiling of these mysteries will be GIVEN to us . . . we don’t have to do anything to earn the insights! It is not in God’s plans for all to have understanding automatically as soon as they are ‘born again’. It is one thing to have electric power joined to your home, but another thing to have your appliances plugged in! The latter will see the effect of the power channelled through the chosen vessel for a timely purpose.

A few thoughts on this subject . . . starting with what the original words actually mean. So many words in the Greek and Hebrew need more than one word in English to convey their full meaning.

Greek musterion,3466. moos-tay'-ree-on; from a der. of muo (to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites):-mystery.

= a deliberation of a small ‘inner circle’ . . . not shared with the whole assembly.

Lexicon: Mystery = 1. a hidden or secret thing. . . a mystery to the natural understanding.

A MYSTERY = A SACRED SECRET through INITIATION. . . with implies SILENCE imposed upon the recipient.

Known only by those initiated and shared with wisdom as instructed by the Lord. The revealing understanding is available to all — only those who genuinely hunger and thirst after Righteousness (Jesus Christ) will be enlightened.

Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;

The unveiling of these mysteries is a Sovereign work of grace. The Lord opening our eyes to see: it is then that we are in His secret. . . initiated = the opening of the eyes of our understanding. One minute you don’t know and then the next you do!

Initiation into the sacred secret is by personal revelation.

Mysteries cannot be SOLVED by ‘perspiration of education!’ . . . because it is a MYSTERY that is hidden from the NATURAL MIND and revealed from the SPIRITUAL mind, which is the MIND of CHRIST. Initiated into the understanding of the LIVING WORD from the realm of the natural understanding of the LETTER WORD by revelation from the HOLY SPIRIT. This equates with HIS teaching of ALL things (John 14:26).

Mark 4:11 And He said unto them, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables’

A parable is a ‘natural’ account without any interpretation. Without any revelation as to God’s purpose with a parable, it remains a ‘mystery’.

Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them (i.e. the disciples . . . those willing to be discipled! . . . to those who are genuinely teachable), Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mark tells us that there is one mystery of the Kingdom as it relates to God; on the other hand, Matthew reveals that there are mysteries as they relate to heaven. There is only ONE Kingdom . . . it is fully ruled over by God and is entirely in the realm of the Spirit (heaven), where He is Lord, the KING of His DOMain.

Whatever mysteries there are, Jesus declared that His disciples would understand them. This entails being ‘let in on’ the sacred secrets that not all receive at this time.

Can you keep a secret? You are required to keep a new revelation until you are specifically released by the Holy Spirit to share it. This sharing is being ‘led of the Spirit’. When there is evidence that either the listener knows a little of the revelation that you now have, or a genuine hunger for more from the Lord, you will then be free to share . . . with wisdom! So much friction in the Body of Christ has been created by many secrets being shared too soon.

This appears, at first glance, to be a ‘snooty’ or ‘cliquey’ . . . however it is alright provided that one’s attitude and desire is to see the Kingdom of God extended. You will then see the fruit of correct sharing and can be labelled as enjoying ‘the fellowship of the mystery’ (Ephesians 3:9).

Greek602 - APOKALUPSIS which means to take off the cover; to unveil by taking away what is hiding something.

Equivalent in Hebrew = reveal; open the ear. (Psalm 40:6 - God did it).

A MYSTERY is not something that one can solve . . . if that was so, many studious people would have unfathomed the mysteries a long while ago — but that is not how the understanding is obtained. It is revelation by the Holy Spirit, the Teacher, and not by the education and abilities that man in general can get his hands on! As we have seen, it is simply to allow the Holy Spirit to point out things beyond the ‘letter word’.

Before looking briefly at some of God’s secrets, let us observe the current situation in the Church by looking at Moses’ Tabernacle pattern in the spirit.

Evangelical Christians who parallel the Outer Court of Moses’ Tabernacle, are ‘in the dark’ concerning the things of the Spirit, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Gifts etc. — to them, such things are unknown, they are a mystery to them. That is UNTIL they receive a revelation of them personally.

Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians have some revelation as pertaining to the Spirit operating realm but they do not have understanding of the things of the fullness of God in the Feast of Tabernacles which relates to the Holiest of All. These revelations are a mystery to them until they too receive a revelation of them.

Our initial look at this shows us that the mysteries are hidden from any who move in and operate according to the letter-word of scripture. To move away from that limiting realm, one needs to become so hungry for God and His purposes, that you become ‘open’ to whatever He says to you. Remember the Holy Spirit is the Teacher.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

There is a difference between a ‘believer’ and a ‘saint’. All saints are believers but not all believers are saints!

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The Holy Spirit (God) gives revelation whenever He teaches (John 14:26) — but first the ear is opened as soon as we become really teachable. It is a really big test to be put ‘on the spot’ of having to let go teaching that you may have held to for many years. Meekness includes being teachable. I once heard a saint say that meekness was a 24-hour feeling that I just might be wrong!

Not only does this understanding reveal the glory of this mystery . . . but adds that this glory contains riches — priceless possessions of knowing what God has planned for the Gentiles (those still seeing ‘mysteries’!). This glory will be brought forth by the revealed fact that Christ being in you is the hope of this rich glory coming forth in them!

Remember, there is no hope without a promise. The glory then, is the fulfilment of the hope (promise) which is the fullness of Christ being all in all — which is Christ-in-you = His resurrected life fully released in place of the old Adam-life). No-one can beat that glory! Their part in this rich glory comes via you who have received the revelation (i.e. being initiated into this secret) that has released His life from within you.

It is obvious that before one is initiated into a sacred secret by receiving revelation from the Lord, that these things are not readily seen in the surface of the scriptures. As the subject of the Kingdom of Heaven/God was uppermost in Jesus’ mind, so it ought to be uppermost in our walk & talk.

It is very interesting to observe that 17 references to ‘mysteries’ out of the total of 23 in the New Testament come through Paul . . . with 4 through John with those being in the Book of the Revelation.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

‘Every man in his own order’ . . . and ‘natural Israel’ will come along later. As it is entirely by grace, we have no reason to be proud or puffed up in what we have been shown.

YOU CAN BE ESTABLISHED . . .BY THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY from Paul’s Gospel which has been held back until now. The ‘now’ is presently 2000 years old! Being thus established, you do not have to defend your previous ‘stands’!

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel (Paul’s revelation that unveiled "the good news"), and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

WE CAN SPEAK GOD’S HIDDEN WISDOM hidden since the beginning . . . but now revealed to the saints.

1 Cor 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

The glory of God (which is His FULL possession of us) becomes evident and is seen by the uninitiated as "OUR" glory. God said that ‘He would not share His glory with another’ Right? Well, we are not ‘another’ we are HIS BODY.

ANOTHER MYSTERY UNVEILED. Some will ‘sleep’ compared to ‘all’ getting changed.

1 Cor 15:51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Some will sleep (die) — maybe even a huge majority — but this implies that some will put on resurrection-life while still here on ‘terra firma’.

THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL which is coming to the place of the Adoption which always gives Him great pleasure.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

The certainty of success is because it worked out FOR HIMSELF. Firstly seen in Christ-Jesus, the Head and now in His Body, which when fully released, is Himself in the form of flesh.

The mysteries actually overlap with each other and they total up to being one mystery of the Kingdom of God. Let us keep in mind that God purposes that we hear His secrets but He will wait until our ear is towards Him because of sa deep desire to know what He has said we can know. Without revelations from God . . . or being initiated into His sacred secrets, denominations and sects can arise even without their actually knowing what is happening.

Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

(4) Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

(9) And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Colossians 3:1-3 shows that we are hid in Him also. This puts us together with the revealed mystery. Needful therefore for us (the me, myself and ‘I’), to be 100% out of sight!

Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Christ WAS (2000 years ago) the Seed, Jesus, anointed by Father (Acts 2:38): Christ IS (now) the corporate Harvest (of the Seed - John 12:24) . . . the people of God of the Body of Christ with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head.

A prayer: " O Lord, please bring the truly hungry (and teachable) ones across my path, that I might share these revealed mysteries with them". Paul, in the natural realm, was a prisoner of Caesar’s . . . but in the reality realm of spirit, he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ. A prisoner has no free-will of his own: he can only do what he is told to do.

What is really still ‘mysterious’ about Christ? Firstly, He does not have two bodies (one in ‘heaven’ and one on ‘earth’.) If you still see Christ with two bodies, then you are possibly still seeing Him as a mystery. Christ is Spirit — God in the unseen unlimited realm. Christ is also seen in His Body, the SAME SPIRIT, the SAME God but in a limited FORM, us! ‘He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit’.

Our natural understanding can be enlightened by revelation to remove the cloud of mystery concerning different things.

This all leads into the epitome of the mysteries and it is called, ‘The Great Mystery’ of how Christ, the Head, is really joined (fully) to His Body, us!

Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

(33) Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known

To share the mystery of the gospel of the kingdom, one needs to first have on the whole armour of God (preceding verses).

Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

Without the revelation that God is Father and that Christ is God revealed, one will retain the ‘three Gods in one’ idea which produces confusion and as such, will remain a ‘mystery’.

Father-God = Spirit . . . the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God . . . UNLIMITED. God-Spirit in us = Christ . . . the same God now in a FORM called flesh.

Jesus said, ‘I and my Father are ONE’. The mystery was how could the same God be in heaven and also in us. It is like the ocean being a picture of God and Christ being seen as an iceberg. The same water, but the iceberg puts that water into a form. God purposes to be ‘all in all’. Mankind is but the form that God shows Himself through.

Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

1 Tim 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

‘The faith’ . . . there is only one faith mentioned here! It is any aspect of seeing the evidence with our renewed minds (faith comes by hearing etc.) before the natural realm comprehends it and tries to ‘reason’ it away. This mystery includes hearing from the Lord. My sheep hear my Voice’ for only in this way can faith be seen. To walk by faith might look to some as walking ‘blind’. The Faith does not allow reason to interfere with the reality of walking from the Life within.

‘Pure conscience’. . . pure untarnished, unaffected KNOWING. It is because one knows that the Lord has spoken, that one walks with that knowledge (con=with: SCIENCE = knowledge. . . conscience works because of the knowledge received). It is a mystery to any who do not or have not heard the Lord speak to them . . . but for those that have, it is no mystery!

1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Godliness has a set course for us to follow, in that it will bring us to become a spiritual being here on earth. He that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit. Only that which is pure, holy and perfect, can be received up into the ‘Shekinah’ glory presence of God in the Holiest of All. Grace has provided all that we need to come into His Image and His Likeness . . . God’s original unchanged plan.

Godliness = God-likeness in character (nature), ability (power) and resources. This is none other than the effect of being adopted (Biblical sense not Babylonish).

Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The ‘stars’ are the messengers (angels) with a word from God. Note that these messengers were in God’s RIGHT hand. . . the hand of authority.

The mystery unfolded is to see sevenfold steps to overcoming so that we might receive the promises given to such. Included is the understanding that some are overcomers and some are not. The overcomers come into their inheritance ahead of those who overcome later.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.

The outward expression of ‘Babylonish thinking’ (her mind was written upon) which is the natural evidence of unrenewed thinking. You either have the mark of the beast or the seal of God. . . which is it? The mark of the beast will coincide with the name ‘Babylon the Great’ using the same space . . . mind.

Context: Religious systems of men . . . ‘Babylon-the-Great’ known by her having produced harlots (reproducing herself). A ‘harlot’ = a paid replacement to a true love; one who caters to the ‘flesh’.

A harlot = a prostitute = one who sells her services for the purposes of (sexual) intercourse (being joined in spirit with).

1 Cor 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

(16) What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

He that is joined to the Lord = one spirit. . . and by contrast, he that is joined to an harlot =one flesh.

Notice here the context: It is SPIRITUAL for so are the members of Christ. Therefore staying in context, the harlot to which His members can be joined is also spiritual. Thus we can conclude that there is a joining of being given to a harlot-like system that looks just like ‘Christ’. In another place, the Word speaks of the ‘daughters of the harlot’ . . . the female/fleshly offshoots of this system. Could it be The Roman Catholic Church and all the denominations that have, over the years, sprung from her? §

Kingdom Nugget No. 32