The name of God, especially El Olam ('the everlasting God'), implies both His everlasting nature and His sovereign control over time, including His ability to keep things secret until He reveals them.
Genesis 21:33 calls God 'the everlasting God.' Les Feldick explains that the Hebrew word Olam, used in this name, points beyond eternity and includes the idea of hidden things. God is therefore the God of time who can conceal matters at His pleasure and reveal them when He is ready.
Genesis 21:33 — This verse gives the name 'the everlasting God,' which is the focus of the question.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — This verse makes the key biblical statement that secret things belong to God.
Matthew 24:36 — This verse shows that the Father alone knows the exact timing of future events.
Genesis 21:33 records that Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba and 'called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.' The Bible also states in 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.' Elsewhere, Scripture speaks of God's wisdom as hidden. Paul writes of 'the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory' (1 Corinthians 2:7) and of the mystery 'hid in God' from the beginning of the world (Ephesians 3:9). Jesus likewise told His disciples that the times and seasons 'the Father hath put in his own power' (Acts 1:7) and that only the Father knows the day and hour (Matthew 24:36).
Les Feldick teaches that the Hebrew name used in Genesis 21:33—El Olam, 'the everlasting God'—is far deeper than the English phrase. In Hebrew, Olam regularly conveys the idea of things hidden and points to God's sovereign ability to hide things. Because God is both timeless (from everlasting to everlasting) and the God of time, He can keep matters secret and reveal them only when He is ready. Les applies this to the disciples' question about the Kingdom: God knows the exact day and hour, but He told the eleven it was not for them to know. He also applies it to the Church Age, which, as Paul writes, was hidden in God until the appointed time.
Les explains that the English phrase 'the everlasting God' does not fully capture the Hebrew. The name is El Olam. In Hebrew, Olam in common usage always refers to things hidden. Therefore, according to Les, the name implies God's sovereignty to hide things as well as His eternal existence.
Les teaches that the everlasting God is also the God of time, and since He is sovereign He is totally capable of either revealing everything within time or keeping it secret. Les cites Deuteronomy 29:29 as the clearest expression: 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God.' The verse shows that hiddenness belongs to God's prerogative.
Les says yes. God knows the exact hour, day, and year that prophetic things will happen. When Jesus told the eleven it was not for them to know, He was not denying that God knows the timing; He was saying it had not been given to them. Scripture itself says the Father has put the times in His own power.
Les uses the Olam principle to explain why the Church Age was not revealed in the Old Testament. He says the entire period of grace and everything God will do in it was kept secret. It was hidden by the sovereign God of time and revealed only when He was ready—Paul's mystery in Ephesians 3 and the hidden wisdom of 1 Corinthians 2.
God withholds the timing of the Kingdom
Les shows that although God knows the exact day and hour of future prophetic events, Jesus told the eleven that the timing was not for them to know.
Everlasting God and the God of time
Les explains that the everlasting God is not just eternal; He is also associated with time, and as sovereign He can hide things at His pleasure.
God keeps secrets until He reveals them
Les pairs El Olam with Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that secret things belong to God and need not be revealed until His chosen time.
God's sovereignty over time and secrecy
Les emphasizes that God, as the God of intrinsic time, is totally capable of revealing everything or keeping it secret.
El Olam means the God who hides things
Les contrasts El Olam with other names of deity and points out that the Hebrew word Olam carries the meaning of hidden things and God's sovereign ability to hide them.
The Church Age was kept secret
Les applies Olam to the age of grace: the whole period and everything God brings about in it was kept secret within the scope of the everlasting God.
Revelation belongs to God's timing
Les reiterates that the everlasting God has the sovereign capability to keep things secret until it is time to reveal them, as seen in Ephesians 3.
Hidden wisdom throughout Scripture
Les connects Olam to the idea of hidden things throughout the Old and New Testaments, including the hidden wisdom of God.
Genesis 21:33: And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
This is the direct scriptural moment where Abraham uses the name 'the everlasting God' for the LORD.
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.
Les calls this the clearest verse for the truth that secret things belong to God.
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:
Paul describes the gospel as hidden wisdom ordained by God.
Ephesians 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Paul explains that the mystery was hid in God from the beginning of the world.
Matthew 24:36: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Jesus states that only the Father knows the day and hour.
Acts 1:7: And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Jesus tells the eleven that the times and seasons are in the Father's own power.
No, according to Les Feldick. The Hebrew word Olam used in this name also carries the idea of hidden things. So the name describes God as eternal and as the God of time who can keep things secret until He reveals them.
Les says God knows the exact timing, but He withholds it. The fact that the Kingdom is coming was confirmed; only the timing was not given. Deuteronomy 29:29 shows that secret things belong to God.
Genesis 21:33: 'And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.'
Watch the Teaching: Why the Church Age Is Hidden in the Old Testament