the Chaldee raz we have the equivalent word.  The passage in Daniel 2:22 reads

`He revealeth the deep and secret things' which the LXX renders `apokaluptei

bathea kai apokrupha' reserving apparently, the use of the musterion for the

Gentile term.  Its usage is confined to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in two

ways.  Nebuchadnezzar had either actually forgotten the substance of his dream,

or as a matter of policy withheld it in order to make sure that the

interpretation should be something more than a clever human invention (Dan.

2:8,9,10,11).  When Daniel went into the presence of the king, he did not

concentrate his attention on the substance of the dream, but its interpretation

(Dan. 2:16), but of course, as the substance of the dream had to be known before

the interpretation could be given, both dream and interpretation were included

in the `secret' concerning which Daniel and his fellows prayed (Dan. 2:18,19).

Nebuchadnezzar asked him `Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I

have seen, and the interpretation thereof?' (Dan. 2:26).  One cannot avoid the

feeling that there is a Divine overruling in the choice of this word musterion

here, and for this reason.  Daniel, in measure, was the Old Testament equivalent

of Paul; he too was the prisoner of the Lord for the Gentiles, and when Israel

failed, mystery comes into the record.  So, after Israel's rejection of their

Messiah (Matt. 11 and 12), the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven follow.

Paul was conscious as he penned the words `He made known unto me the

mystery' that he was making a tremendous claim.  He claimed to be in a special

manner the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles; he claimed that a

dispensation had been entrusted to him and that to him had been made known `the

Mystery'.  The history of the Christian church provides abundant evidence both

of the overweening ambition of Christian leaders and of the gullibility of their

followers.  The reader can doubtless call to mind claims that have been put

forward by individuals at different times to the reception of revelations, of

prophetic gift of a special revelation of truth.  Scattered about the country

are monuments such as `The Tower of Jezreel', and companies of Gentile

believers, whose great hope is to be numbered among the 144,000 regardless of

the revealed limitation `of all the tribes of the children of Israel'.

Consequently, before the apostle is free to communicate the special terms

of this new dispensation of the Mystery, he feels under an obligation to justify

his claim.  The very personal and peculiar nature of his commission made it

utterly impossible for any `letter of commendation' to be provided by any

existing authority.  He stood alone. He was not one of the twelve; and so he

would never sit on one of the twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of

Israel.  Unlike the twelve, he had been appointed by the Ascended Christ (Eph.

4:7-11), and was the first of his order.

If, as he claimed, the Mystery had not been a subject of revelation before

his time, if it had never figured in either type, shadow or prophecy, it was in

vain to appeal to earlier revelations of truth.  The Mystery had been `hid in

God' and `hidden from the ages and generations'.  There was but one way open to

him.  To show that where he shared with other teachers, the revelation given to

him was superior, in the hope that the reader would conclude that where he could

put the matter to the test and the apostle's claim was justified, then it was

reasonable to believe his further and related claim was also true. Consequently,

Paul turns from `The Mystery' to the `Mystery of Christ':