Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:3-14
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed. He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Do you ever contemplate these ‘mysteries’? Whole ideologies, doctrines, and many, many, books and ‘spiritual leaders’ have been written and preached …attempting to explain these mysteries. Who should you listen to? Who and what should you study? Have you learned to go to the Holy Spirit … first …when wanting to understand ‘difficult’ scriptures … before seeking out ANY other advice, explanation, or information? Be careful trying to ‘explain’ these mysteries to others. Be sure to allow room for the Holy Spirit to ‘interpret’ these mysterious passages. Is your (individual) interpretation the “correct” one? Or could the ‘mystery’ being shared in these scriptures …actually be bigger, and deeper, than you understand? This is where so much of the Church falls into difficulty – when the ‘leader’ expects everyone to agree with their own interpretation of the spiritual ‘mysteries’. And it you don’t agree, you most likely will be ‘shunned’, and told that you are wrong and the that the ‘leader’ is right. When you know the mystery is deeper than what was just ‘explained’.
Humility is definitely needed when approaching things that are definitely ‘out of this world’, that are beyond our own current understanding. Do you actually approach Him asking for understanding of these mysteries? Or do you just ignore ‘hard sayings’ in the scriptures? Are you willing to be uncomfortable in not totally understanding and still ‘trust’ Him? Are you open to things that will reset much of your spiritual understanding? How much can the Holy Spirit trust you? His knowledge will definitely ‘rock’ what you think you know or understand.