In honor of Father’s Day, the below is a copy of an email I received from Daddy dated January 30, 2002, just four months before he entered the Gates of Heaven.
On March 24 of this year I posted a blog titled Found Treasure about memories and treasured things from the past.
This post is one of my favorite treasures. In my dad’s words.
- Each time I pick up one of my Bibles, the section I need opens up an additional concept that had not occurred to me previously. That’s an amazing experience!
- My Bibles are the best reference library, dictionary, glossary, encyclopedia and concordance–to support what might have escaped from memory.
- The Bible is the record of who God is, what God has done and to whom, and what God is doing now and will be doing soon.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery…”
MYSTERY!
What is the meaning of this word…in the Bible?
“I have always been interested in this word and what it means as used in the Bible. My brother, John, a retired missionary, sent me this biblical definition:
It denotes, not the mysterious (as with the English word), but that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by Divine revelation, and is known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those who are illumined by His Spirit. In the ordinary sense, a mystery implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is–truth revealed. [by E.W. Vine]
So, my own interest in this word sent me to the Internet and a site called The Bible Gateway, which is the Internet Bible used in the Verse of Today, which comes to me each day via Email. My search for the word mystery, using the New American Standard Version [NASB] found 28 references where it is used.
The first is found in the Book of Daniel and the disturbing dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had one night. It was troubling to him because he couldn’t remember it to tell his officials. That was indeed a mystery, but he didn’t use that word.
Even the Chaldean wise men knew that only gods knew the answers to man’s dreams. They answered the king and said:
There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer of Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh. [Daniel 2:10-11.]
I can imagine Daniel and his friends spending a considerable length of time praying to God to give them the answer to the actual dream that the king had dreamed, as well as the interpretation! What a challenge to have to interpret someone else’s dream. I wonder how long that prayer session was? For the answer was given to Daniel in another dream, together with its answer!
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel said, ‘Let the name of God be blesses forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes Kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter.’ [Daniel 2:10-23]
Notice how Daniel takes no credit for himself when he is received by King Nebuchadnezzar:
The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered before the king and said. ‘As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.’ [Daniel 2:26-28]
It is now plain that the basic meaning of the word MYSTERY in the Bible is—TRUTH REVEALED!
Peg here:
I hope you have enjoyed this study from my Dad. He was a true Bible scholar. I have one of his Bibles which is the NEW SCHOFIELD REFERENCE EDITION from Oxford University Press, 1967. The spine is taped together at the bottom, some pages are also taped, but the biggest blessings are the notes and highlights throughout. Truly another Found Treasure.
Your father was a wonderful, in-depth, Bible scholar, Peg. Thank you for sharing what he wrote . . . a beautiful tribute to him. It certainly opened my eyes to a new way in which to think about and understand the word, mystery. I'm fascinated with the biblical definition E. W. Vine gives for the word.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sally. Re-reading that email, which I found in an old folder just the other day, made me appreciate him all the more. Daddy had a unique way of digging into the 'mysteries' of the Bible. He could bring up some thought-provking questions. I still miss him acutely. He was a 'PK.' That explains so much.
ReplyDelete