2) The Mystery of The Ages
Hidden Until Now
"Yet to us God has revealed (the mysteries) by His Spirit"
2) The Mystery of The Ages
Hidden Until Now
"Yet to us God has revealed (the mysteries) by His Spirit"
Photo: Patti Graetz
Note: This is Part 2 of the series which deals with the delayed return of Jesus, but it also stands alone.
Part 2 The Mystery of the Ages (below) explains the mystery referred to in Revelation 10 and the delay in Jesus' return described in Revelation 8:1.
For continuity, or to see the big picture read also:
Part 1 The (Delayed) Return of Jesus
Part 3 Ministry Like Jesus
See also:
7 Reasons Why Jesus Has Not Yet Returned
Introduction
At the beginning of 2022, as I was waking up one morning I heard, "We want you to read Revelation." I had read through Revelation a number of times over the years, (and even understood parts of it!), but I knew this would be different.
I have always been fascinated by Revelation 8:1, obviously drawn to it by Holy Spirit, but this time as I noted what was happening I saw the connection with Revelation 12. There was a delay (Revelation 8:1) because God's Mystery, which He had declared soon after the foundation of the world (see Exodus 19:6) and then, soon after Jesus' resurrection, revealing to the church the part mankind was to play, had not been taken up by His people.
It was quite simple, really: it was as if God had provided all of the plans and materials for building a house, then given it to someone who had never put it all together.
Or it was like a crop: God had provided the seed, the ground to plant it in, the wind, sunshine and rain to produce a magnificent harvest, but no one had even bothered to lift up or sift through the seed, leave alone plant it or tend it as it grew.
It's unfortunate that prayer has become the end-game of so many people when, in fact, they/you/us/we have to actually get out and do some work! I hope you see the connection.
The Mystery Of The Ages, Hidden Until Now (that is, until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.)
What is this mystery?
Jesus referred to it in Matthew 13:35c, “I will utter things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world.” He was quoting from Psalm 78:2
Paul starts talking about it, but he doesn’t exactly explain what it is, in 1 Corinthians 2:1 and 5: “And I came declaring to you the testimonies (some manuscripts say mysteries) of God, that your faith may not lie in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
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Then, in verses 7 and 8 he drops another clue about how important this secret or mystery is. “What we are setting forth is a wisdom (or plan) from God once hidden, and now revealed to us by God. None of the rulers of this age recognised this; for if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.”
What a remarkable thought: there is something so powerful in the death and resurrection of Jesus, something in the plan of God that is potentially able to bring so much change to the world, that had "the rulers of this age" realised at the time, "they would have never crucified" Jesus!
Paul explains in Ephesians 4 (see below) who or what "the rulers of this present age" actually are. He is not referring to the Jewish authorities who had Jesus put to death.
Finally, in verse 10: “Yet to us God has revealed them (the mysteries) by His Spirit.”
Then verse 12 amplifies this: “Now we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might realise and appreciate the gifts and blessings so freely bestowed on us by God.”
We often think of a mystery as being something that is too hard to understand, but that is not how scripture uses the word.
The Greek word “musterion” refers to a secret which has been kept hidden only in order that it might be revealed. Although there are several of these mysteries referred to in the New Testament there is one major one explained in Ephesians and Colossians.
Starting in Ephesians 3:
“Assuming that you have heard of God’s grace that was entrusted to me, v2
“And how the mystery was made known to me v3
“When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of the Christ which was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles (special messengers) and prophets:” v4-5
In verse 6 Paul explains the first part of the mystery that we, the Gentiles, are fully included in God’s plan of salvation.
But verses 9 and 10 announce a second purpose in this mystery:
“Also to enlighten all men what is the plan of the mystery kept hidden through the ages, that through the church (the body of believers, also called the body of Christ) the many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm.”
Who are these angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm?
Paul refers to them again in Ephesians 6:12 “For we are not wrestling against flesh and blood (we are not dealing with physical opponents, human beings) but against the despotisms, the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly realm.”
What is this "many sided wisdom of God in all it's infinite variety?"
That's a figure of speech to describe the many aspects of Jesus' ministry as a fellow human on Earth. He showed what any human can do, in the power and presence of God. He trained His disciples to do what He did and sent them out to do what He did, and announce to anyone they met that that was a demonstration of the presence of the kingdom of God. (Matthew 10:5-8.)
What did they have to do to demonstrate that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand?
"Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons." Matthew 10:8
Who were they attacking as they did that? The "spirit forces of wickedness," and ",the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm," as Paul later described them.
Who will be doing this and how will it happen?
Colossians 1:25-27. “I became a minister to make the Word of God fully known, the mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations, but is now revealed to His holy people to whom God was pleased to make known how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is, Christ in you.”
If Jesus is for us, who can be against us. If Christ is within us, who can stop us?
Compare this with what Jesus said in John 14:23: “If a person loves Me he will keep My word, and My Father will love Him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
Is it real, is this true, or is it just a spiritual truth? How does it work out for us in the real, physical world?
Verse 28: "Him we preach, instructing everyone in all wisdom, that we may present every person mature (grown up) in Christ Jesus."
How are we supposed to go about “presenting everyone mature in Christ Jesus”? There are some things that have been arranged for us, but which are not well known.
Ephesians 4:7,8 “Yet grace (a free gift from God, that which He has already given) was given to each of us individually...Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high (at His ascension) He led captivity captive and He gave gifts to mankind.”
Note the two things: Captivity, the work of the enemy to take captives, was overcome, although we still see people going into captivity. However, any captive can be set free. How?
Through the second part of this exciting verse, and the verses following we see that gifts of ministry have been given to mankind, all of us in fact, so that we can do it. All of us. Not just to pastors or leaders, but to all of us.
“He ascended...that He might fill all things.” Verse 10
“And His gifts were some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.” Verse 11
That's interesting - those five, important ministry gifts are not just for pastors and leaders, but distributed among all believers. One of the reasons for the fall-away from the church is that believers are not satisfied with what they get in a 'normal' church - they know there's more, but they don't know how to get it, and they are not being taught how to get it! Many are not satisfied at just being spectators, they want to be trained to be participants in ministry as Jesus intended.
“His intention was the full equipping of the saints (the believers, the followers, the disciples of Jesus) that THEY should do the work of the ministry, to build up the body of Christ (the church).” Verse 12
Has this ever been done, anywhere in the world, that ordinary people have been taught to do the work of the ministry? Not really, not in the way Jesus intended, not in the way Jesus demonstrated when He sent out the seventy in pairs to do ministry like He did. That happened after He first sent out the twelve to show that mostly ordinary people could do extraordinary things in God, and they did!
"So the went out and preached that men should repent.
"And they drove out many unclean spirits, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and cured them." Mark 6:12-13 (AMP)
Was this idea something new, that ordinary men (and women, since they also receive these giftings) should go out and do ministry?
Fifteen hundred years before Jesus, God gave a similar commission to the Israelites, but they wanted nothing to do with it. In the preamble to their New Covenant, what we now know as the Old Covenant, God had this to say, in Exodus 19:
"...the Lord called to him out of the mountain and said, Say this to the house of Judah, and tell the Israelites: v3
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. v4
Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. v5
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites." v6
That was a pretty heady deal: They had already seen what God could do and all they had to do was follow God's instructions to be above all the nations around them.
But there's more in there. Look at verse 6: "a kingdom of priests," not a kingdom with priests, but a kingdom of priests.
What does a priest do? Introduce people to God, and introduce God to people. And worship. God doesn't need our worship, but we need God to worship, and to worship God. God even had a plan to set this "kingdom of priests" in place.
But first, let's look at how they responded to what God had told Moses to tell them.
"So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him. v7
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord." v8
So far, so good.
God's plan was that the people should purify themselves and on the third day He would descend upon the mountain in the sight of the people. Exodus 19 continues:
"The third morning there were thunders and lightnings, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. v16
Then Moses brought the people from the camp to meet God; and they stood at the foot of the mountain. v17
Mt Sinai was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like that of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. v18
As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice." v19
Pretty spectacular stuff! What is more, God was, in this, offering a close, personal relationship with the people who were going to be priests to and for Him. But things did not quite turn out like that.
In the first 17 verses of Exodus chapter 20 God gives Moses the basic structure of the Law that would set Israel apart, what we now call the Ten Commandments. Then, something very unfortunate happens.
"Now all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the smoking mountain, and as [they] looked they trembled with fear, and stood afar off. v18
And they said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen, but let not God speak to us lest we die." v19
Fear took over, even though there was no personal threat to any of them. Moses actually tried to turn them around, to change their minds about it.
"And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin." v20
There was to be a great advantage for the people in staying close to God, but they would have none of it. They drew back and stood afar off. And that was the end of that. As Israelites they were never offered the same close relationship again, not until the New Covenant when it was offered to everyone.
Who is meant to be doing the work of the ministry? (See Ephesians 4:12)
Who says that these people should be doing the work of the ministry? (Ephesians 4:7,8)
Did Jesus want to keep all the ministry work for Himself? (Luke 9:1-6)
What examples did Jesus show? Did anyone else minister for Him? (Luke 10:1-24)
“Until we all attain oneness in the faith and accurate knowledge of the Son of God; that we become really mature in all the fullness of Christ. Verse 13
Why is this important?
“So that we might be children no longer, tossed to and fro by every changing wind of doctrine…” Verse 14 We could also add the word “circumstances” after the word “doctrine”.
“Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth in all things. Enfolded in love let us grow up in every way into Him, the Head, who is Christ, the Messiah.” Verse 15
“For because of Him the whole body, joined together by the joints with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, grows to full maturity.” Verse 16
Paul teaches more about the ministry system in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. He describes a number of ministry “workings” that anyone, in fact, everyone, is capable of doing and being involved in.
In Romans 12:4ff (ff means “following verses”) we read: “For as in one physical body we have many parts and all of these parts do not have the same function
“So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (not His name, it is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another - mutually dependent on one another. Verse 5
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them (note that “grace” always refers to “that which God has freely given us”): Verse 6
“Prophecy (God’s message for now), practical service, teaching, encouraging, giving, superintending (overseeing), acts of mercy, love sincerely, love one another, showing honour to one another, always be enthusiastic, be aglow with the (Holy) Spirit, serving the Lord, rejoice, Verses 6-12
“Be steadfast and patient when going through hard times (see the section on Job),
“be constant in prayer (see the section on prayer),
“contribute to the needs of God’s people and practice hospitality,
“bless those who persecute you, do not curse them,
“rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,
“live in harmony with one another,
“do not be high minded or snobbish, never overestimate yourself but readily adjust to humble tasks, Verses 13-16
“Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest, aiming to be above reproach in the sight of everyone. Verse 17
“If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (But see Proverbs 16:7) Verse 18
“Never avenge yourselves. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him drink. Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Verses 19-21
Much, perhaps all of what is written here does not come naturally to us, but is a part of what God has given us to supernaturally deal with life’s issues, for ourselves and others.
Paul talks more about this supernatural ministry in 1 Corinthians 12. He says that supernatural ministry can take place either because God has given us something special (tongues, evangelism, teaching) or prophetic to say (“charisma”), because there is a special job that needs to be done, healing, deliverance, provision (“diakonia”), or overseeing or organising (”energeia”). Verses 4-6:
“But to each one (not just pastors and leaders or people with special ministries - everyone gets in on this!) is being given the manifestation (or demonstration of power) of (Holy) Spirit, to get the job done.” Verse 7
Then he lists some of the different, amazing things that one and the same Holy Spirit is doing in people who are willing:
A message of wisdom, a word of knowledge, wonder-working faith, extraordinary powers of healing, prophetic insight, discerning of spirits, unknown tongues, interpreting tongues, Verses 8-10
Paul then points out that, just like a human body which has many parts all joined together and working as one, so the body of Christ, the church, is meant to have all of these parts functioning together. On the human body the head does not do all the work; in the church body the pastor or leader should not be trying to do all the supernatural ministry by himself. Verses 12-18
Because ministry uses the presence and power and will of God to reach others at their point of need, it is supernatural and effective. It gets the job done on the spot, then and there!
Some people have a natural talent for leadership or caring for others, or they give generously by nature. A spiritual manifestation as spoken about in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 is not a natural talent but is given to us by God so that we can work in an area where we are not naturally gifted or talented.
Those who minister in this way (and it is meant to be everyone who names the name of Jesus) find it so exciting (after getting over their fears of “I’ve never done it like this before,” or “What if nothing happens?”) that they cannot wait for the next opportunity for something to happen - they go out and look for opportunities!
This is how the church grows… Note that if a church grows because of your preaching or miracles, when you die the church will probably die also. Churches grow and survive in each generation because the whole body is at work in the supernatural, for the Head who is Jesus.
But what sort of ministry things did Jesus have in mind for us to be doing?
The story continues with Ministry Like Jesus