According to the New Testament, the Apostles possessed secret knowledge, the meaning of which was previously concealed from the Hebrew prophets and the oracles of the Gentiles:
•When [Jesus] was alone, [his disciples] asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand.” Mark 4:10-12
•Great indeed...is the mystery of our religion. 1 Timothy 3:16
•The mystery was made known to me by revelation. Ephesians 3:3
•The revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed. Romans 16:26
•I became a minister...to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages from angels and men but now made manifest to his saints. Colossians 1:26
•...To proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:18-19
•...My insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Ephesians 3:4-5
•I was made a minister...to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages by God. Ephesians 3:7-9
1. Does God keep secrets from Israel? According to the Bible, he does not:
I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in chaos.' I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right. - Isaiah 45:19
2. Does God keep secrets from his prophets? According to the Bible, he does not:
Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
3. Are the prophets supposed to keep secrets from Israel? According to the Bible, they are not:
“You, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.” Ezekiel 33:7
Therefore, if there are no explicit, unequivocal passages about Messiah, Hell or the End Times in the Hebrew Bible, then God cannot be seen as endorsing Christianity, especially given that there are warnings about magicians and false prophets in Zechariah 13 and Deuteronomy 13 and 18 which resemble Jesus and his apostles every bit as much as any of the supposed messianic proof texts in the Hebrew Bible.
The Messianic Secret
Jesus healing a man who can't speak...then advising him to keep his mouth shut.
(Mark 7:36)
Why didn't the people of Jerusalem see that Jesus was the Messiah & Son of God? Were they blind? Didn't they see his miracles? The answer is: no, they didn't.
Jesus performed most of his signs & wonders in secret, often for the exclusive benefit of his 3 closest disciples (Peter, James & John). Then, after performing miracles or being called messiah, he issued a stern injunction that the witness tell no one of what they saw, heard or experienced. Here are some examples of what Bible scholars have dubbed The Messianic Secret:
AFTER PETER'S CONFESSION: [Jesus] strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Mt16:20, cf. Mk7:36, 8:30, Lk9:21)
AFTER AN EXORCISM: The man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might [follow] him. But he refused. (Mt5:18, cf. Lk8:38)
AFTER HEALING A LEPER: "Say nothing to anyone" (Mk1:44, Mt8:4), "tell no one" (Lk5:14).
BEFORE REVIVING JAIRUS' DAUGHTER: He allowed no one to follow him except Peter & James & John. (Mk5:37)
AFTER REVIVING JAIRUS' DAUGHTER: He strictly charged them that no one should know this (Mk5:43), "tell no one" (Lk8:56).
AFTER CURING TWO BLIND MEN: Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it." (Mt9:29-30)
DEAF-MUTE IN DECAPOLIS: [Jesus] charged them to tell no one. (Mk7:36)
AFTER THE TRANSFIGURATION: Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead (Mt17:9), He charged them [Peter, James & John] to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead (Mk9:9), And they kept silence & told no one in those days anything of what they had seen (Lk9:36).
TO THE PHARISEES: Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Mk11:33, Mt21:27)
SECRETLY ATTENDING A FEAST: "Go to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." So saying, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. (Jn7:8-10)
PEOPLE ONLY SUPPORT HIM IN SECRET: For fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. (Jn7:13)
HE HAS "SECRET" DISCIPLES: Joseph of Arimathea... was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews (Jn19:38), Nicodemus also (Jn19:39).
HE IS TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES IN SECRET: To you has been given to know the secret of the kingdom, but for those outside, everything is in parables so that they will hear but not understand. (Mk4:10-12, Mt13:10-11, Lk8:10)
Some secrets were hidden even from his disciples.
AT THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY: At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him. (Jn12:16)
AT THE EMPTY TOMB: Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw & believed; for as yet they [the 12 disciples] did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. (Jn20:8-9)
"I HAVE SAID NOTHING SECRETLY"
In the fourth gospel, Jesus swears to the high priest that “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues & in the temple, where all Jews come together; I have said nothing secretly." Jn18:20
This statement is false.
BLAMING THE JEWS
Christians fault Jews for not seeing Jesus in Isaiah 53, etc. This is problematic. Here's why:
1) For Jews to have read Jesus into the prophets would have constituted divination, which was forbidden by the Torah.
2) Jesus performed his supposed miracles in the small towns & farming communities of Galilee. His only "sign" to Jerusalem was riding a donkey, which people did every day.
3) If Jews expected a crucified messiah, but rejected Jesus, why would they allow him to be crucified, thereby legitimizing his claim?
4) The disciples of Jesus, being privy to exclusive "signs" like the Transfiguration, supposedly believed he was the Messiah, yet fled the moment he was arrested and denied knowing him when he was convicted. The Jews, who hadn't witnessed the Transfiguration or Jesus walking on water, or the reanimation of Lazarus, should not be blamed for his death if even his closest disciples wouldn't come forward in his defense when he was on trial.
CONCLUSION: The Jews were 100% justified in rejecting Jesus.
Secrets and Lies
The Last Supper by Simon Bening (c.1530)
“I HAVE SAID NOTHING SECRETLY”
Jesus to his disciples: To you has been given to know the secret of the kingdom, but for those outside, everything is in parables so that they will hear but not understand. (Mk4:10-12, Mt13:10-11, Lk8:10)
Jesus to the high priest: I have spoken openly to the world; I have said nothing secretly. (Jn18:19-20)
Sin and Salvation
Nineveh Repenting Upon Hearing the Prophecy of Jonah by Maarten deVos c.1585
Is the cross required for sinners to be saved?
"I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord; and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." Psalm 32:5
"He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors God; to him who orders his way aright will be shown the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23
"By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of YHVH a man avoids evil." Proverbs16:6
"I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake; and thy sins I will not remember." Isaiah 43:25
"I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins; return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee." Isaiah 44:22
"Let the wicked forsake his way, & the unrighteous man his thoughts; & let him return to God, & he will have mercy upon him; & to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7
"If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; in his righteousness that he has done he shall live." Ezekiel 18:21-22
"And God saw their doings, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, which he had said that he would do to them; and he did not do it." Jonah 3:10
"Our fathers...hearkened not to Thy commandments...but Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and forsook them not." Nehemiah 9:16-17
"O King [Nebuchadnezzar]....break off your sins by practicing righteousness, & your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your tranquillity." Daniel 4:27
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
"The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin." Deuteronomy 24:16
"I, I myself, am YHWH; and beside me there is no savior." Isaiah 43:11
"I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake; and thy sins I will not remember." Isaiah 43:25
"O Israel, that art saved by YHVH with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end." Isaiah 45:17
Is Jesus in Hell?
A New Covenant?
Paul asserts that God abolished his "old covenant" with Israel and established a new one through the blood of Christ (see Romans 11, Galatians 3 and Philippians 3). Is this true? And if so, is Paul calling God a liar? Let the reader decide.
I will establish my covenant between me and you [Abraham] and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. Gen17:7
•I will establish my covenant with [Isaac] as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. Gen17:19
•The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man. 1Sam15:29
•YHVH [is] our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as
an everlasting covenant. Ps105:7-10
•I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever. Ps119:44
•Thy testimonies are my heritage for ever; yea, they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform thy statutes for ever, to the end. Ps119:111-112
•Thy commandments are my delight. Thy testimonies are righteous for ever. Ps119:143-144
•Thou art near, O YHVH, and all thy commandments are true. Long have I known from thy testimonies that thou hast founded them for ever. Ps119:151-152
•As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so YHVH is round about his people, from this time forth and for evermore. Ps125:2
•Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Is52:1
•Israel is saved by YHVH with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. Is45:17
•The portion of Jacob...is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. Jer51:19
•In those days [when Messiah is enthroned] ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Zech8:23
...How can Christians be so sure he won't decide (or hasn't already decided) to change his mind a second time? The Christians have sinned against God every bit as much as any pagans or Jews before them, so why wouldn't God annul their covenant in the same way he, according to Christian teaching, annulled his covenant with the Jews? In the Bible, the Jewish nation is punished by God via Nebuchadnezzar and Antiochus for the sins of Jewish kings and priests. Would God not even more readily punish the Christians for 1,600 years of wicked rulers?
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