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Col. 1:26
The mystery which hath been hid.
Col. 1:27
This mystery among the Gentiles.
Col. 2:2
The mystery of God.
Col. 4:3
To speak the mystery of Christ.
Interim epistles
1 Tim. 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith.
1 Tim. 3:16 Great is the mystery of godliness.
Revelation
Rev. 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars.
Rev. 10:7
The mystery of God should be finished.
Rev. 17:5
Mystery, Babylon the great.
Rev. 17:7
The mystery of the woman.
Musterion O.T. (LXX)
Dan. 2:18
Mercies ... concerning this secret.
Dan. 2:19
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel.
Dan. 2:27
The secret which the king hath demanded.
Dan. 2:28
There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets.
Dan. 2:29
He that revealeth secrets.
Dan. 2:30
The secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom.
Dan. 2:47
Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou
couldest reveal this secret.
Dan. 4:9
No secret troubleth thee, tell me.
The Greek Christian `fathers' used the word of any such sign, whether
of words or actions. They spoke of the offering of Isaac as a musterion,
i.e., a sign or a symbol of the secret purpose of God concerning His Son,
Jesus Christ. And they used it interchangeably with the words tupos type,
sumbolon symbol, and parabole parable.
So far we have been concerned with the material that we are to use. We
must now inquire into the essential meaning of the term, and this we shall
gather (1) from its etymology and (2) from its usage.
Etymology of Musterion
Etymology used alone is an unsafe guide, for language is living, and
the folk who use it are not necessarily students; it is therefore wise to
balance etymology with usage. This we will do.
Muo does not occur in the New Testament but is the basic word from
which musterion is derived. It means
`to close', especially the lips or the eyes. Muzo, which likewise does not
occur in the New Testament means `to murmur with closed lips, to mutter'. It
will be observed that in the English words murmur, mutter, mumble and mute
this meaning persists.
Mueo. To initiate into the mysteries, this is not only found in
classical Greek but is used by the apostle in Philippians 4:12, `I am
instructed', better, `I am initiated'. Moffatt translates the passage, `I
have been initiated into the secret', Rotherham renders the word, `I have
been let into the secret'.
Muopazo (myopia in English) 2 Peter 1:9, `cannot see afar off'.
Kammuo (derived from kata muo) to shut, especially the eyes (Matt.
13:15; Acts 28:27).