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If we examine the structure of Romans, it becomes clear that the complete
epistle demands the inclusion of Rom. 16: 25-27; otherwise the opening salutation of
Rom. 1: 1-7 is without its corresponding member. In Rom. 1: 1-7 we have the gospel,
"which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures", concerning Christ
as the Seed of David and Son of God, "for obedience of faith among all nations". In the
corresponding passage at the end of the epistle, Rom. 16: 25-27, we have, not the
"preaching" of the gospel or its "power unto salvation", but a reference to "Him that is of
power to stablish you , according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of
faith". In Rom. 16: we have an advance on Rom. 1:, but not something entirely
different. The secret "now" made manifest (that is, at the time of Paul's writing) is said
to have been "silenced" in aionion times. Let us give this statement our careful attention.
Where the A.V. reads "kept secret" we have substituted "silenced". What is the
justification for this alteration and what does it imply? The Word used in the original is
sigao, and occurs nine times in the N.T. One of these occurrences is in Luke 9: where
the disciples had heard the voice speaking out of the cloud saying: "This is my beloved
Son: hear Him." Immediately after this, we read:
"And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and
told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen" (Luke 9: 36).
Again, in Luke 20:, after the Lord had answered the question put to Him regarding
the lawfulness of giving tribute to Caesar, we read:
"And they could not take hold of His words before the people; and they marveled at
His answer, and held their peace" (Luke 20: 26).
The remaining occurrences are Acts 12: 17; 15: 12, 13; Rom. 16: 25; I Cor. 14: 28,
30 and 34. There is no suggestion in any of these passages of "keeping a secret", but
rather the consistent idea of keeping something quiet.
Returning to Rom. 16:, we observe that this act of "silencing" is said to have taken
place "in aionion times", whereas the mystery of Ephesians is related to a period "before
the overthrow of the world" (Eph. 1: 4), or "before aionion times" (II Tim. 1: 9). The
mystery of Rom. 16: cannot, therefore, be the mystery of Eph. 3: or Col. 1:
Moreover, this mystery, which was silenced in age times, was made manifest by the
apostle Paul and "by the scriptures of the prophets". It has been suggested that these
"scriptures of the prophets" are not the O.T. prophecies, but the "prophetic writings" of
the N.T., either the epistles of Paul himself, or the writings of those who had the gift of
prophecy in the early church. So far as Rom. 16: itself is concerned, there is no
positive evidence either way, so that we must turn to other passages for help. In
Rom. 16: we have graphon prophetikon, "writings prophetic", and in II Pet. 1: 19
prophetikon logon, "prophetic word". In the latter passage we are not left in doubt as to
whether this "prophetic word" was uttered by O.T. or N.T. prophets, for the inspired
comment reads: