Why The Bible Is Still A Mystery In the 21st Century
Someone asked me the other day, if God wanted us to be saved, why did he create parables and mysteries? That is a good question and one that needs some explaining. Most people believe that we can just pray and ask the holy spirit for direction, open the Bible, and POW!!, you’ll get an understanding. The Word of God has never been set up that way nor will it ever be. Because of the complexity of the Bible, they tend to read it in a vacuum, applying every scripture to themselves. Here is one huge clue which lets us know that the Bible is still a mystery today.
There were 217 denominations listed in the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, but there may well be other groups that function as a denomination but do not regard themselves as such. The single largest religious group in the United States is the Roman Catholic Church, which had 67 million members in 2005. If one was to examine the history and the doctrines of these denominations closely, you will discover that these denominations are products of internal disputes regarding biblical principles. The Protestant Reformation was a widespread theological revolt in Europe against the abuses and totalitarian control of the Roman Catholic Church. Reformers such as Martin Luther in Germany, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, and John Calvin in France protested various unbiblical practices of the Catholic Church and promoted a return to sound biblical doctrine.
For example, John Smyth, founder of the Baptist religion, who wanted to create a church like the one described in the Book of Acts, fought against any attempts to create a hierarchy. Each congregation, not the congregation’s officers, was the highest authority next to God, he wrote in his 1607 Principles and Inferences Concerning the Visible Church. The Bible, he believed, only allowed for bishops (also called elders) and deacons—and even they would be subject to the laity. The following year, he continued publishing his disagreements with the Separatists in The Differences of the Churches of the Separation.
This is an example of how most religious denominations were established. One or more people didn’t agree with its current leader, whether it was spiritual principles or moral behavior, and decided to break away and start their own faction of the religion.
Another is example is the AME Church. The AMEC grew out of the Free African Society (FAS) which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and others established in Philadelphia in 1787. When officials at St. George’s MEC pulled blacks off their knees while praying, FAS members discovered just how far American Methodists would go to enforce racial discrimination against African Americans. Hence, these members of St. George’s made plans to transform their mutual aid society into an African congregation. Although most wanted to affiliate with the Protestant Episcopal Church, Allen led a small group who resolved to remain Methodist. Because black Methodists in other middle Atlantic communities encountered racism and desired religious autonomy, Allen called them to meet in Philadelphia to form a new Wesleyan denomination, the AME. (https://www.ame-church.com/our-church/our-history/).
It’s understandable why Richard Allen felt compelled to begin a new denomination, (AME aka African Methodist Episcopal) The point is, it was not built off of the original foundation of the New Testament Church or such mysteries as the one that Peter gave(Matthew 16:17). His principles were built off of a denomination which was started by John Wesley. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a breakaway from the Church of England. Wesley did not intend to found a new denomination, but historical circumstances and his organizational genius conspired against his desire to remain in the Church of England. (http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html).
Henry VIII started the process of creating the Church of England after his split with the Pope in the 1530s What eventually 
became known as the Church of England (the Ecclesia Anglicana – or the English Church) was the result of a combination of three streams of Christianity, the Roman tradition of St Augustine and his successors, the remnants of the old Romano-British church and the Celtic tradition coming down from Scotland and associated with people like St Aidan and St Cuthbert. (https://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/history.aspx)
If you trace any denomination, you will discover similar paths. These paths were not guided by the holy spirit or God’s need to start a new denomination; they were man’s creation and his/her desire to create the Church according to their need, wants and desires.
God’s “True Church” started out as one group of people, which was led by one leader. This leader was not self-appointed, but it was a position which was appointed by the Father. (Numbers 27:16; Eph. 4:11-12) Throughout the bible, God has revealed the mysteries of salvation to his Church through these leaders. (Deut. 29:1,29;Amos 3:7; Eccl.12:11)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Ephesians 4:11-13 gives us an indication that perfection can only be obtained through the office in which God Establishes. If perfection comes only by this method, it must mean that the secrets of salvation can only be given through God’s divine system.
In the New Testament, Christ continued to speak to his disciples in parables.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.- Matthew 13:10-11
When the disciples had finished with their training before the Messiah was to depart from them for good, he told the disciples to go ye therefore, and teach all nations, the doctrine which was taught to them. (Matthew 28:19-20)
We must not forget that this doctrine had not reached anyone else in the world; this is why they had to go and teach it. We must also remember that that this is the same doctrine in which Christ spoke in parables. The disciples were responsible for not just giving the word, but for explaining the mysteries within it.
When the Bible says that the Spirit will guide you into all truth (John 16:13), it was not talking to the world, so the world is making a mistake in applying this scripture to themselves. This scripture was for the Apostles. The Bible is indeed a mystery and God had a good reason for setting it up this way. He has always had a divine system in place in which his truth was designed to flow through. Because the religious communities don’t understand this system, they will emphatically deny it. Scripture clearly lets us know that God does not change and warns the world not to change his word. This includes his divine system ( Deut. 4:2; Malachi 3:6; Psalms 89:34;Hebrews 13:8).
If you look around today, you will notice thousands of different religions, denominations, etc, who have different doctrinal points, although they all read from the same Bible. You will find thousands of different interpretations related to the same one scripture and hundreds of different groups that proclaim to be the only group who hold the truth. There are people throughout the world who have stopped seeking God because they are so confused with the variety of doctrines. To a person that doesn’t read or understand the Bible, everyone may sound right yet they all are teaching different principles. It is only through the mysteries and the revelation of these mysteries that you will know who God’s “True Church” is.
Scripture tells us to “PROVE ALL THINGS” (1Thes.5:21). It is through the proof of scripture that you can come to know him and begin to distinguish God’s True Church from all the false ones. Most churches and pastors don’t even realize that what they are preaching is not God’s word. Not to suggest that they are deliberately trying to deceive you, but when you are not preaching the same message that the true church preached in both the Old and New Testament, then the message that is preached is not valid. We often think that everyone that holds up a Bible and read from it, is righteous and a man of God. Let me remind you that the Scribes and Pharisees read and taught from the scriptures as well and was accused by Christ of shutting up heaven unto man.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. (Matthew 23:12)
By not knowing the mysteries pertaining to salvation, Satan is able to deceive the entire world because salvation is obtained by knowing and applying the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Deut.29:29 Rev.12:9). I know that it is not popular amongst the religious community, but we must have the same teachings understanding of the Apostles doctrine. This is the doctrine that they were giving to the nations after the death of Christ. The Bible is not open for personal interpretations, but unfortunately, it is the personal interpretations that are the major cause of new religions and denominations. Just because a way seems right or a congregation may have a big membership does not mean that their way is right.
