The Meaning of "Mystery or Secret" in the King James Bible
In the King James Bible, the word "mystery" carries a very specific and rich meaning quite different from how we use the word today. The most important thing is the context of Secret in the Old Testament Deuteronomy 29:29 — "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." and Romans 16:25 "According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began."
The Original Greek Word
The KJV word "mystery" translates the Greek word μυστήριον (mystērion, Strong's G3466), rooted in the word muo meaning "to shut the mouth" — carrying the idea of silence imposed by initiation into sacred rites. Bible Hub
What It Actually Means
The Greek musterion means a secret imparted only to the initiated — something unknown until it is revealed, whether it be easy or hard to understand. The idea of incomprehensibility, if implied at all, is purely accidental.
So a biblical "mystery" is not something permanently unknowable or puzzling. Rather:
In the New Testament, mysterion signifies a secret which is being, or even has been, revealed — divine in scope, and made known by God to men through His Spirit. The mystery of the New Testament has been described as an "open secret": matters previously kept secret in God's eternal purposes have now been or are being revealed (Eph. 3:3–5; 1 Cor. 2:7).
The Root Idea
The root idea is information known only to those on the inside, but hidden to those who are without (Mark 4:11). It refers to God's secrets — His counsels and purposes which are not known to man apart from His special revelation in Scripture or by His prophets (Dan. 2:18–23). In most cases in the New Testament it refers to church truth which was not known in Old Testament times, but has become revealed in the New Testament (Eph. 3:1–9).
Key Mysteries Named in the KJV
The word mystērion appears 27 times in the KJV New Testament, referring to things such as:
- The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:11)
- The mystery of the gospel — God's plan of salvation through Christ, once hidden but now revealed (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26)
- The mystery of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32)
- The mystery of Israel's blindness (Romans 11:25)
- The mystery of the Woman and the Beast (Revelation 17:7) Blue Letter Bible
Summary
In the KJV, a mystery is a divine secret that God has chosen to reveal — hidden in ages past, but now disclosed through Christ and His apostles. A mystery which has been revealed is no longer a mystery to whom it has been revealed; it then becomes a truth. It is a mystery only to those to whom it has not yet been revealed.
This is why Paul writes in Colossians 1:26–27 of "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints… which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
When is mystery used in KJB?
This is a rich topic! Here is a thorough breakdown of how "mystery" and "secret" are used across the Old Testament in the King James Bible.
IMPORTANT NOTE: "Mystery" vs. "Secret" in the Old Testament
The word "mystery" (Greek: musterion) does not appear at all in the KJV Old Testament. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the equivalent concept is expressed through the word "secret" (Hebrew: sôd — meaning a private counsel or hidden thing). In the KJV, "secret" is mentioned in 21 books of the Bible, most often in Psalms (13 times) and Daniel (7 times).
THE LAW (Torah)
Genesis 49:6 — Jacob on his deathbed warns: "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united." (God's counsel is not to be joined with violent conspirators.)
Deuteronomy 27:15 — "Cursed be the man that… putteth it in a secret place." (Hidden idolatry condemned.)
Deuteronomy 29:29 — "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." — This is the foundational Old Testament verse on divine secrets.
THE WISDOM BOOKS
Job 15:8 — "Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?"
Job 29:4 — "As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle." (Job recalls intimacy with God's counsel.)
Psalm 25:14 — "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant."
Psalm 27:5 — "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me."
Psalm 91:1 — "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Proverbs 3:32 — "For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous."
Proverbs 25:2 — "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."
Ecclesiastes 12:14 — "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
THE PROPHETS
Isaiah 45:3 — "And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD… am the God of Israel."
Isaiah 45:19 — "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth… I the LORD speak righteousness."
Isaiah 48:16 — "I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I."
Jeremiah 23:24 — "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
Ezekiel 28:3 — God addresses the prince of Tyre: "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee."
Amos 3:7 — "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." — One of the most significant "secret" verses in the Old Testament. Nave's Topical Bible
DANIEL — The Most Concentrated Use (7 times)
Daniel is the richest Old Testament book on this theme, using the Aramaic word raza (secret/mystery) repeatedly:
Daniel 2:18 — "That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish."
Daniel 2:19 — "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven."
Daniel 2:22 — "He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him."
Daniel 2:27 — "The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king."
Daniel 2:30 — "But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living."
Daniel 2:47 — "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret."
Daniel 4:9 — "O Belteshazzar… no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream."
SUMMARY TABLE
| Category | Key Verses | Theme |
| God's sovereign secrets | Deuteronomy 29:29 | Some things belong only to God |
| Intimacy with God | Psalm 25:14; Proverbs 3:32 | His secret is with the righteous |
| God sees all hidden things | Jeremiah 23:24; Ecclesiastes 12:14 | Nothing hidden from Him |
| God reveals to His prophets | Amos 3:7 | Secrets disclosed before judgment |
| Revealed through Daniel | Daniel 2 (×7) | God as the revealer of secrets |
| God speaks openly | Isaiah 45:19; 48:16 | He does not hide from His people |
The thread running through the entire Old Testament is this: God holds divine secrets, but He chooses to reveal them — to the righteous, to His prophets, and ultimately through Christ in the New Testament (Colossians 1:26).
Here is a complete overview of every occurrence of "mystery" (and "mysteries") in the King James Bible. The word "mystery" is used 22 times and "mysteries" 5 times, appearing in 8 books of the New Testament — most frequently in Ephesians (6 times) and Colossians (4 times). King James Bible Dictionary
📖 THE GOSPELS — The Mystery of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:11 "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."
Mark 4:11 "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables."
Luke 8:10 "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand."
✉️ ROMANS
Romans 11:25 "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery… that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."
Romans 16:25 "According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began."
✉️ 1 CORINTHIANS
1 Corinthians 2:7 "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
1 Corinthians 4:1 "Let a man so account of us… as stewards of the mysteries of God."
1 Corinthians 13:2 "And though I… understand all mysteries, and all knowledge… and have not charity, I am nothing."
1 Corinthians 14:2 "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh… unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."
1 Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."
✉️ EPHESIANS (most occurrences)
Ephesians 1:9 — The mystery of God's will Ephesians 3:3–4 — The mystery of Christ revealed to Paul Ephesians 3:9 — The mystery hidden from the beginning of the world Ephesians 5:32 — The mystery of Christ and the Church Ephesians 6:19 — The mystery of the gospel
✉️ COLOSSIANS
Colossians 1:26–27 "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints… which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Colossians 2:2 — The mystery of God, the Father, and of Christ Colossians 4:3 — The mystery of Christ
✉️ 2 THESSALONIANS
2 Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work."
✉️ 1 TIMOTHY
1 Timothy 3:9 — "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
1 Timothy 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
📖 REVELATION
Revelation 1:20 — The mystery of the seven stars and seven candlesticks
Revelation 10:7 — "The mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."
Revelation 17:5 — "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Revelation 17:7 — The mystery of the woman and the beast
Summary of the Major Mysteries in the KJV
| Mystery | Key Verse |
| The Kingdom of Heaven | Matthew 13:11 |
| Israel's blindness | Romans 11:25 |
| The hidden wisdom of God | 1 Corinthians 2:7 |
| The Resurrection | 1 Corinthians 15:51 |
| God's will to unite all in Christ | Ephesians 1:9 |
| The gospel going to the Gentiles | Ephesians 3:3–9 |
| Christ and the Church | Ephesians 5:32 |
| Christ in you, the hope of glory | Colossians 1:26–27 |
| The mystery of godliness | 1 Timothy 3:16 |
| The mystery of iniquity | 2 Thessalonians 2:7 |
| Babylon the Great | Revelation 17:5 |
In ending, the Mysteries in Paul epistles can on be applied in the dispensation of Grace. Since they were not known before that, the implications for each are revelant to this age.