at all times to help and guide wherever we see a desire to know and follow on, being

assured that none will come to see the Mystery apart from the Lord's own illuminating.

We ourselves can at best be but the earthen vessels that He stoops to use in this most

wondrous work.

When we come to usage, there are several avenues of approach. (1) The pagan

mysteries. (2) The references in the Apocrypha. These two give an idea what the word

mystery stood for in the great outside world.  (3) The usage of the word in the LXX

book of Daniel. (4) Its usage in the N.T.  These show how it was used by Holy

Scripture. We can say little that would be profitable of the pagan mysteries. The Greek

mysteries which were prevalent in the days of the Apostles were derived from Egypt,

which in its turn received them from Chaldea, and so in them we have the mystery of

iniquity in germ. A search into the annals of the past would bring to light some of the

horrible doctrines and corresponding practices associated with these mysteries, but the

attitude of the Apostle must be ours:

and pass on to the positive teaching.

In the Apocrypha the word `musterion' rarely rises above the idea of a secret, either of

king or friend. Twice it refers to secret rites and ceremonies but nothing more. The fact

that the LXX did not use musterion until translating the book of Daniel may be accounted

for by many natural explanations, but when all is said, there must still be room left for the

exercise of Divine Providence. Some Lexicographers say that the Greek musterion is

derived from the Hebrew mistar, which is translated `secret' a number of times, yet the

Greek translators never use musterion for that or its cognate sether. The only word

translated musterion in the Greek O.T. is the Chaldee raz, which is used consistently

throughout Dan. 2:, and as this word does not occur anywhere else in the O.T., we have

no means of comparison. While the Chaldee word raz stands alone, we are not left

entirely without help, for on one occasion, Daniel uses the Chaldee from the Hebrew

word sether, a word translated `secret' and `secret place' in many passages.  This

provides us with the link that we felt we needed, teaching us that in the Chaldee raz we

have the equivalent word. The passage in Dan. 2: 22 `He revealeth the deep and secret

things' which the LXX renders `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 O.T. equivalent of Paul; he too was the prisoner of