Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MYSTERY

Something revealed by God, at least to a few. The meaning is different from the usual English sense of an unsolved problem. An exact equivalent for Gk. mystḗrion does not occur in the OT, though the idea of secret knowledge revealed by God is found in Isa. 48:3, 6; Amos 3:7. In Daniel this knowledge is the coming of a new age in which God will reign.

The Greek term occurs only once in the Gospels (Mark 4:11 = Matt. 13:11 = Luke 8:10), where Jesus relates it to the kingdom of God. Its principal occurrences are in Pauline literature, where it is found 21 times.

In the Hellenistic world, mystery religions flourished in which participants were taught secrets they were obliged to conceal. An important issue is the relationship between these mystery religions and the Pauline use of the term “mystery.” Although the NT writers may have used the term in part as an evangelistic strategy to gain gentile converts, the background for their understanding of it was probably more Semitic than Hellenistic.

Paul’s use of the term contrasts with that of the mystery religions, connecting it with Jesus’ crucifixion rather than with esoteric forms of knowledge (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:1-7). For Paul the mystery that has been revealed is God’s plan of salvation. In Eph. 6:19 he speaks of the mystery of the gospel. Similarly, in Col. 2:2 he calls God’s mystery Christ himself. The mystery is ancient. According to Rom. 16:25 it was kept secret for long ages, but in the following verse and in Eph. 3:9-10 Paul indicates that it was revealed in the fullness of time. The mystery relates to the inclusion of the Gentiles as well as the Jews in God’s plan of salvation (Rom. 16:25-26; Col. 1:26-27; Eph. 3:3-6).

The term is used elsewhere in Paul and the NT in secondary meanings. In 1 Cor. 13:2 understanding of mysteries is attributed to prophets. In 1 Cor. 14:2 the content of tongues speaking is said to be mysteries in the Spirit. The word “mystery” is also used in a derivative sense in several passages where the terms to which it applies are significant in the divine plan of salvation which has been revealed. Israel’s destiny is called a mystery (Rom. 11:25). In 1 Cor. 15:51 the resurrection of the dead at the end of time is called a mystery. In Eph. 5:31-32 the application of Gen. 2:24 (marriage) to the relationship between Christ and the Church is described as a mystery. In 1 Tim. 3:9, 16 mystery refers to faith and religion respectively, meaning the good news about Jesus. In 2 Thess. 2:7 it applies to the man of lawlessness; in Rev. 17:5-7 to the scarlet woman Babylon. In Rev. 1:20 the seven stars seen in Christ’s right hand and the seven lampstands are called a mystery and then explained as the angels of the seven churches and the churches themselves.

Alice Ogden Bellis

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MYSTERY

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)