God keeps certain things secret because He is sovereign and has the right to withhold truth until His appointed time to reveal it.
Les Feldick teaches from Deuteronomy 29:29 that 'the secret things belong unto the LORD our God,' showing that God is not obligated to disclose everything at once. God keeps things secret until He reveals them, and when He does reveal them, He expects people to believe and obey what He has made known.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — This verse directly answers the question by showing that secret things belong to God, while revealed things belong to His people.
The Bible 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.' This verse, written by Moses to the children of Israel, draws a clear line between the things God has chosen to keep hidden and the things He has chosen to reveal. The things He reveals are given so that His people may know them and do them.
Les Feldick emphasizes that God is sovereign and therefore has the prerogative to keep things secret for as long as He chooses (Clips 1, 3, 7). Les points to Deuteronomy 29:29 as the clearest expression of this truth: 'the secret things belong unto the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children' (Clips 1, 2, 4, 5). God does not tell His people everything they would like to know; He tells them everything they need to know, and He reveals it in His own time (Clip 5). Les also explains that when God does reveal something, it ceases to be a secret and is then to be believed and obeyed (Clips 3, 4). This principle runs through Scripture, and Paul's frequent use of the word 'mystery' is simply the Greek equivalent of a secret that God has now made known (Clip 6).
Les Feldick explains that 'secret things' are the truths God has not yet spoken or revealed. They belong to the Lord our God because He is sovereign. Until God reveals something, it remains hidden in His mind. When He chooses to reveal it, it becomes one of 'those things which are revealed' and belongs to His people and their children. This is exactly how Les teaches the passage: 'until it's revealed, it is a secret' (Clips 1, 4, 5).
Les Feldick emphasizes that once God reveals a previously hidden truth, it is no longer a secret. From that moment, God expects people to believe it and live by it. For Israel, this meant believing and obeying the Law and tabernacle worship after God revealed them. For believers today, the same principle applies: when God reveals truth in His Word, it is to be believed and accepted by faith. As Les says, 'when He reveals it, He expects mankind to believe it' (Clips 3, 4).
Les acknowledges that Moses was writing to Israel in Deuteronomy 29, but he says, 'you see the same thing applies to us today.' God has seen fit to keep some things secret until, in His sovereign grace, He chooses to release and reveal them. This is why, as Les points out, believers in the Old Testament were not expected to understand the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection before God revealed it; it had not yet been made known (Clips 2, 5).
The Rapture Secret Most Christians Miss — 1 Corinthians 15:51
So we'll pick up there in this half hour, but again, we'd like to welcome our television audience and let you know that all our past programs are available on videotapes and audiotapes as well as they've all been transcribed into corresponding little books, word for word. And in order to hold the cost down, we have put six hours on each one of the videos and six hours on the audio.
God's Right and Ability to Keep Secrets
Les says God is sovereign and has the right and ability to keep things secret. He quotes Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that secret things belong to God until He reveals them.
Secrets Kept Until God's Sovereign Release
Les applies Deuteronomy 29:29 to Israel and to believers today, explaining that God kept the Pauline doctrine secret until the time He chose to reveal it.
God's Prerogative and the Demand to Believe
Les teaches that God has the prerogative of keeping things secret until He reveals them, and that once revealed, mankind is expected to believe what God has made known.
Revealed Secrets Are to Be Believed
Les says that when a secret is revealed it is no longer a secret, and God expects His people to believe it and live by it, just as Israel was to obey the revealed Law.
God Reveals What We Need in His Own Time
Les explains that God tells us what we need to know, but in His own time. He uses the example that Adam, Eve, and Abraham were not expected to understand the gospel because it had not yet been revealed.
Mystery Means Secret
Les connects Paul's frequent use of the word 'mystery' with the concept of a secret, saying 'I show you a mystery, a secret,' tying the idea to Deuteronomy 29:29.
God's Sovereignty Includes Hiding Things
Les again points to Deuteronomy 29:29 and emphasizes that part of God's sovereignty is His capacity to hide things until He reveals them, citing the psalmist's question 'why do you hide these things?'
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 key verse Les uses to explain that God reserves some things as secret and gives other things to His people for their knowledge and obedience.
1 Corinthians 15:51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
Les references this verse to show that the word 'mystery' in Paul's letters simply means a secret that God reveals.
Yes, according to Les Feldick, God is sovereign and has the right and ability to keep things secret until He chooses to reveal them. This is seen in Deuteronomy 29:29 where the secret things belong to God (Clip 1).
No. Les says God tells us everything we need to know, but He tells it in His own time. God is not obligated to reveal every truth immediately (Clip 5).
When God reveals a secret, it is no longer a secret. At that point God expects people to believe it and live by it, just as Israel was expected to obey the Law after it was revealed (Clip 4).
Les teaches that although Moses wrote to Israel, the same principle applies to us today. God has kept some truths secret until His sovereign grace chose to reveal them (Clip 2).
Watch the Teaching: The Rapture Secret Most Christians Miss — 1 Corinthians 15:51