All:

This series of posts are to help illustrate an example of the hidden truths of messages embedded within the larger text of the Bible.  They are subliminal, beneath the surface reading of the text.  Part 1 was to "dip your toes" into the "living waters" of God's Word, which we are introduced to in Proverbs 25:2.  The reason they are referred to as "mysteries" is that God intended it that way as getting our attention and an encouragement to thresh His Word that we might discover His magnificient treasures and draw us into His worship.

Most people confuse the basic message of the Bible, or they major on the minor things of the Bible, when they should be drawn into a deeper appreciation for the efforts God has gone to convince us of His existence.  I realize that this lesson on "Diamonds and Nuggets" may give the reader the "bends", a nautical term for diving too deep and ascending to the surface too quickly.

In these 3 posts my point has been to emphasize something that is lost to the typical church person, and that God uses "Object Lessons" to communicate through His Word.  Typology and symbolism are tools by which God drives home themes and truths for our living by faith.  I carry a box of children's "ABC" blocks when I have done church presentations over the past twenty years, as a matter of attention-getting, but even more as an example of how we learn through "Object Lessons".  I once had a collection of children's object lessons books as a resource in doing a children's message during the Sunday morning worship hour.  They enabled me to sharpen my verbal skills to speak to the children at their level of understanding.  It is a very humbling experience to speak with children in church worship.  I always sat on the platform steps because of my height, and got down to their eye level.  In my attraction to Proverbs 25:2, I discovered hundreds of embedded, sometimes obvious, and at other times not so obvious, hidden "Diamonds and Nuggets". 

So here we are to finish what we know about the 27 occurrences of the word "mystery" and its plural "mysteries". Do not expect pastors to understand this since most will dismiss its very existence.  It just does not fit with the minds trained in "Higher Criticism".  Don't expect theologians, Bible professors or academics to understand either because it borders on the mystical.  A very long time ago I discovered the Bible was like pealing an onion.  The Word has many levels of understanding that defies normal comprehension.  Why are they there?  Proverbs 25:2 answers that question for us, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."

The 16th occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-11; "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."

The 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "ayin", and it is related to "mystery" here specifically in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.  This is the letter for "sight" and "insight".  The letter's root meaning is represented in the theme of the passage, that being, we are eyewitness to the evil in the world.  It reminds us of its origin, sin and the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.  It explains why evil exists in the world around us.

A point to remember as we look at a brief survey of this treasure is that most letters that correspond to the 27 occurrences of the word "mystery" and its plural "mysteries" are clear cut, explicit, and obvious, while in some cases they are not so obvious.  This blurring is often the result of the lack of a suitable English word that is the equivalent of a Hebrew or Greek letter.  We know for certainty that the KJV Bible is 98.2% accurate with its Hebrew/Greek text.

There is an integral "Hebraic" design factor contained within the Old and New Testament based on the numerical pattern of "7".  Don't attempt to fully understand this without the use of computer mathematical analysis.  Allow me to put it this way:  Hundreds of words in the Bible occur in multiples of "sevens", i.e., 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, etc.  You can see some of this by using word searches on such things as the Blue Letter Bible software or Pastor Mike Hoggard's KJV Bible Search, both of which are free for the public to use.  In each of the letters, I have listed the primary or major meanings of the letter, but there are secondary meanings as well, which I have not attempted to cover in depth.

The 17th occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in 1st Timothy 3:8-13, specifically verse 9:  "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."

The 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter "Peh", which means "mouth" and "speech".  The theme or concept of those letter meanings here is not so clear but rather implied in subtle means.

The 18th occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in 1st Timothy 3:14-16, specifically verse 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."

The 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter "Tzaddi", which means "righteousness" and "humility".  In this case the letter meaning is plain and obvious and rendering it as spot on.

The 19th occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in Revelation 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 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "kopf", which stands for "holiness" and "growth cycles".  This is less obvious in the English text because of a nuanced understanding of holiness, something that is an imperative throughout the entire Bible. 

The 20th occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in Revelation 10:5-7, specifically verse 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".  Note here the gender pronoun used here for the angel is "he".  The Bible always refers to angels as "masculine" in gender, never feminine.

The 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "resh" which stands for "wicked".  While the meaning  in the specific passage it is found in the phrase "should be finished" which refers to bringing to an end sin and its reign in the world.

The 21st occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in Revelation 17:5: "And upon her forehead was a name written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." 

The 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "shin" which is the letter for "divine power" and "provision".  The "Beast" is representative of government and the "woman" is representative of religion.  Both of which are opposed to Christ and His Kingdom.

The 22nd and last occurrence of the word "mystery" is found in Revelation 17:7: "And the angel said unto me, wherefore didst thou marvel?  I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast that carries her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."

The 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "tavh" which means or represents "truth" and "perfection".  The theme of the message of Revelation is about the destruction of religious Babylon and Christ Jesus' ultimate victory in the eternal war in the earthly and heavenly realms.

At this point we will look at the five "final" forms and the five "plural" occurrences of the word "mysteries".  These occur five times in the Bible.  They correspond to the five "final" form letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  The appearance of these five letters is an indicator to the translator that one has reached the end of a sentence.  You may have noticed that our word "mystery" and its plural "mysteries" all appear in the New Testament, which was in the Greek language.  This is not an error, but rather another reflection upon the fact that the New Testament had to have been written originally, first in Hebrew.  The early church was predominantly Jewish converts at the beginning, for at least the first century.  Subsequently, the percentage of Gentiles in the church grew steadily, and ultimately the New Testament was copied into the Koine Greek or common day speech Greek.  About twenty years ago, a complete first century copy of the Gospel of Matthew was discovered written in Hebrew. 

The 1st occurrence of the plural "mysteries" is found in Matthew 13:11:  "He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given". 

The 1st plural letter or "final" form is the letter "kaf" which is the letter for "crowning accomplishments", namely the coming kingdom of heaven.  This mystery was revealed only to the disciples, but kept secret from the Jews, and Jesus began speaking truth in parabolic form in Matthew 13.  Prior to Matthew 13, He spoke clearly and plainly. The Jews' resistance led to a transitioning of Jesus Christ' public communication to open discourse to the disciples and parables to the rest of the society. 

There are five "final" form occurrences of specific letters which indicate to the Hebrew reader has come to the end of a sentence.  Because Hebrew appears in its basic form, as a long line of characters minus spacing, or punctuation, a reader is unable to discern the over all meaning without the use of these five "final" form letters that serve as markers that the reader knows the end of a sentence has taken place.  Learning Hebrew is difficult in many ways and aspects while simple in others.  Biblical Hebrew was for all intent and purpose, a lost language from the time of the Jews' dispersal at the later part of the first century AD until the end of the 19th century AD.  It was revived by Eliezer Ben Yehuda, born in Lithuania in 1858.  He was obsessed with the revival of the Hebrew language.  There are two prophetic texts that actually speak to God bringing back the Biblical language of His people:  Zephaniah 3:9 and Jeremiah 31:23.  Before Eliezer Ben Yehuda died in 1922, he lived to see the language of the Bible restored and adopted as one of the three official languages of Israel, along with Arabic and English.  He was resisted and opposed by the Orthodox Jewish community along with the secular Jews as to bringing back the Biblical language of Hebrew.  Most Jews in Europe spoke Yiddish, a blend or mixture of German and Hebrew.

The virtual disappearance of Biblical Hebrew for nineteen hundred years is a major reason for the obscurity of real language scholarship in translation during the period from the 15th century until the 20th century AD.  This was no minor issue by those attempting to produce English translations during the period from 1450 AD to the time in which we live.  Few people realize how bad the 1599 Geneva Bible is and its study notes are until you begin to dissect the notes.  John Calvin, a Roman Catholic, was fluent in Latin but virtually ignorant when it came to Greek and Hebrew.  Those that bought into the lie of the people promoting the 2006 edition of the Geneva Bible have simply perpetuated the fraud on an unsuspecting English speaking audience, believing that no one would ever scrutinize the greatly flawed Calvin notes, and translation of the Geneva Bible.

As I began a few paragraphs before the first occurrence of the plural form "mysteries" is Matthew 13:11:  "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."

The first Hebrew plural letter in its "final" form is " final kaf", which is the letter of "crowning accomplishment" and it is rendered precisely in the text of Jesus' own words about the kingdom of heaven.

The second occurrence of "mysteries" is found in Luke 8:10:  "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables: that seeing they might not see, and the hearing they might not understand."

The second Hebrew plural letter in its "final" form is "final mem", which means "revealed" and "concealed".  If you read he passage again you see it is clearly present in the passage.

The third occurrence of "mysteries" is found in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2:  "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."

The third Hebrew plural letter in its "final" form is "final nun", which is the letter for "faithfulness", "soul", and "emergence".  The theme is appropriate for this passage.  We are called to be faithful stewards of His Word.

The fourth occurrence of "mysteries" is found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2:  "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

The fourth Hebrew plural letter in its "final" form is "final peh", which means "mouth" and "speech".  Again, the English rendering fits appropriately to the message of the passage.  The "gift of prophecy" is simply the ability of "preaching" the Word.  There is nothing super-spiritual about this gift as some might have thought.

The fifth occurrence and final occurrence of "mysteries" is found in 1 Corinthians 13:11-14:2, specifically in 1 Corinthians 14:2: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; how beit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."

The fifth and final plural letter in its "final" form is "final tzaddi", which means righteousness" and "humility".  The meaning in the text is implied rather than explicit.  The term "unknown tongue" is grossly abused, it simply means human or ethnic languages.  We are to speak with humility and righteousness when delivering the Word of God.

This brings to a close my post on an embedded "hidden" truth within the Biblical text that is representative of the passage in Proverbs 25:2.  God teaches His word in a variety of ways.  There are some 200 grammatical devices and linguistic tools by which God has utilized to gain our attention, devotion, and worship.  We lack not for examples of God's authentication of His Word.  I'm always conscious of the fact that we are to as 2 Timothy 2:15 states, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."   I hope that this "Object Lesson" will bless your socks off!

God bless,


Pastor Bob