THE SACRED SECRET AND GOD’S ADMINISTRATION

THE WOMAN AND HER SEED AND THE SNAKE AND HIS SEED 

The word “secret” has an electrifying effect on some people. When this word is spoken, the curiosity of the listeners is wetted, and they are eager to know the revelation of the secret. This reaction should particularly be in connection with God’s secrets, which even the angels want to know.

THE THINGS IN WHICH THE ANGELS ARE DESIRING TO PEER  

The apostle Peter wrote two letters, and in his first letter, he wrote something that alludes to the sacred secret of God. He refers to the heavenly hope those whom he addressed in 1:3 – 5, 8, 10-12:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for YOU, ⁵ who are being safeguarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last period of time.

⁸ Though YOU never saw him, YOU love him. Though YOU are not looking upon him at present, yet YOU exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy, ⁹ as YOU receive the end of YOUR faith, the salvation of YOUR souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this very salvation a diligent inquiry and a careful search were made by the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for YOU. ¹¹ They kept on investigating what particular season (kairos) or what sort of [season] the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ and about the glories to follow these. ¹² It was revealed to them that, not to themselves, but to YOU, they were ministering the things that have now been announced to YOU through those who have declared the good news to YOU with holy spirit sent forth from heaven. Into these very things angels are desiring to peer.

Peter wrote to “the temporary residents scattered about in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” According to verses 3 and 4, these had a living hope of a heavenly salvation. There is a time element that Peter mentions. Their hope would be revealed “in the last period of time. The Greek words are kairos with the meaning “appointed time” and eskhatos with the meaning “last.” To what do the words “last appointed time” refer? We find the answer in Mark 1:15

¹⁵ and saying: “The appointed time (kairos)has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Be repentant, YOU people, and have faith in the good news.”

When Jesus started his preaching work, he said that “the appointed time has been fulfilled.”  He must have referred to the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 where it is said that the Messiah should come after 69 weeks of year. The 69th week ended in the year 29 CE when the work of Jesus as the Messiah started. This corroborates  the words in 1 Peter chapter 1 that are quoted above. Peter describes the nature of the salvation of those to whom he writes. This means that in his view the last period of time had arrived.

However, the book of Revelation was written at the end of the first century, and 1:1 shows that the book contains prophecies about the future. This includes 10:7 indicating when the sacred secret of God will come to a finish and when the Kingdom of God will be established. This suggests that there is also  another time that can be called “the last period of time” or “the last appointed time.”

All persons who spoke or wrote down the words of God were prophets, and that includes Moses. These prophets are mentioned in 1 Peter 1:10. They “kept on investigating what particular season (kairos, “appointed time”)” their prophecies about the Christ, his suffering, and the glories that would follow referred to. This was a sacred secret in which even the “angels are desiring to peer.”

The first prophecy in the Bible, in Genesis 3:15, is a prophecy about the Christ and of persons who will get salvation by means of Jesus Christ. I will now give an identification of the persons mentioned in this prophecy. The next two sections will deal more detailed with the sacred secret of God and God’s administration respectively.

THE MEANING OF THE FIRST PROPHECY — GENESIS 3:15 

I will now look at the way God has made arrangements for his eternal purpose from a prophetic point of view. In addition to the joy of learning new sides of Jehovah’s purpose, the way the prophetic statements occur in the books of the Bible represent strong evidence that all 66 books have one author, Jehovah God.

From one point of view, the Bible can be compared with a crime drama. In such a story, the persons are presented in the first chapter, and the crime is committed. In the following chapters “threads” are placed that cannot be immediately understood. Then, in the final chapter, the mystery of the crime is cleared up and the guilty persons receive their sentence. And now—when everything is cleared up—we can look at the threads in the different chapters and see how each one fits into the same clear pattern.

In Genesis, the persons are presented: God, Adam and Eve, and Satan. The crime—the rebellion against God—is committed, and in all the books of the Bible there are “threads” that cannot be immediately understood. In the last book of the Bible, the criminals—Satan and his seed are convicted—and they receive their final sentence, which is eternal annihilation. On this basis we can understand the threads in the different books, and we understand that one author, Jehovah god haa put the threads in each book.

After the rebellion of Adam and Eve, God uttered a prophecy and said regarding the serpent (Genesis 3:15):

¹⁵ I will set enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you, that is, the head, and you will bruise him, that is, the heel.

It is obvious that the first human pair, and the people of Israel, who later read the prophecy in the book of Genesis, did not understand this prophecy. They could not know who the woman and her seed were and who the snake and his seed were. The Hebrew word zæra‘ (“seed”) has the same form in the singular and plural. But the use of “he” in connection with the bruising of the head of the snake and “you” (singular) in connection with the bruising of the heel, suggests that two singular persons were referred to.

About four thousand years after the prophecy was uttered, the snake was for the first time identified. In John 8:44, Jesus calls the Devil “the father of the lie,” and because the snake was the one who told the first lie, the snake must represent the Devil. In the same verse Jesus says that the Devil “was a manslayer from the beginning,” and because the snake was responsible for the death of Adam and Eve, because he caused them to sin, the snake was the first manslayer and must be identified with the Devil.

The words of John 8:44 also identify the seed of the snake. Jesus sayd to the Jews who stood there: “You are from your father, the Devil.” All humans who follow the Devil are part of his seed, as well as the demons, symbolized by stars in Revelation 12:4.

This was a thread in the big crime drama, but almost no one would understand this. How the snake’s head would be bruised was first revealed sixty years after Jesus identified the snake as Satan. In Revelation, the last book of the Bible, the grand finale of the crime drama is described. Revelation 20:1–3, 10 tells that the Devil will be bound in the abyss for 1,000 years, and after the end of the 1,000 years the Devil will be annihilated in the lake of fire. This must be the fulfillment of the bruising of the snake’s head.

But who is the woman, and the seed of the woman? In Revelation 12:1 a woman who is on the point of giving birth to a son is seen. Before her is the Dragon, who represents the Devil, and 12:17 says that the Dragon was angry and “went to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed.” Because of the words of verse 17, we understand that this is the woman mentioned in the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. But who is she? Her seed is also mentioned, and we learn that her seed is plural.

That opens up for another question: Regarding the seed of the woman, the snake should bruise his heel. So, who among those who constitute the seed of the woman is the one who will get his heel bruised? The first thread we find is the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 22:17, 18. By means of the seed of Abraham, all nations of the earth will bless themselves. According to verse 17, Abraham’s seed will be numerous. However, verse 18 has the construction “the gates of his enemies,” and this shows that one member of Abraham’s seed has a special position. Abraham had the son Isaac, and Isaac had the son Jacob. When Jacob on his deathbed blessed his sons, he said to Judah (Genesis 49:10):

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs (shiloh) comes, to whom the nations will be obedient.

The Hebrew expression “Shiloh” (“to him”) is ambiguous, because it is not stated what it is that “belongs to him.” But it is clear that a ruler will come from the tribe of Judah, and the nations will be obedient to this ruler. King David was of the tribe of Judah, and according to 2 Samuel 7:12, 13 God would raise up his seed, and his throne and kingdom would be established to time indefinite. The prophecy in Daniel 9:25–27 tells that the anointed one (masshiah) should come after a period of sixty-nine weeks. This “anointed one” must be the same as the seed of David. The prophecy of the sixty-nine ‘weeks of years’ ended in the year 29 CE, and in that year, Jesus Christ started his work. When Jesus was born, an angel said regarding him (Luke 1:32, 33):

³² He will be great, and he will be called the son of the Most High, and Yehowa God will give him the throne of his father David. ³³ And he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever; his Kingdom will never end.

All the threads we so far have followed show that Jesus Christ must be the seed of the woman. (Genesis 3:15) But how did Satan bruise his heel? Evidently, it was when Satan caused Jesus to be killed. The bruising of a heel gives much pain, but normally it is not life threatening. After being dead in parts of three days, Jesus was resurrected (Matthew 28:6), and later he was taken up to heaven. (Acts 1:9, 10) Thus, the wound of his heel was healed. The death of Jesus represented the ransom sacrifice, and by his loyalty until death he settled the issue raised by Satan, whether humans only were loyal to God when they had benefits.

I will now look more closely at the seed of Abraham. Galatians 3:16 says:

¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. The saying was not: “and to seeds,” as if there were many, but as to one, “and to your seed,” who is Christ.

As mentioned, the Hebrew word for “seed” has the same form in the singular and the plural. But because the 3rd person personal pronoun is used instead of “seed” in Genesis 22:18, Paul’s argument is valid—only one person is referred to as Abraham’s seed. However, Genesis 22:17 shows that Abraham’s seed also would become numerous, and Paul says in Galatians 3:29:

²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

These words show that the primary seed of Abraham is Jesus Christ, and the secondary seed are those who belonged to the Christian congregations in the days of Paul. According to the promise given to Abraham, all the nations of the earth will bless themselves by means of Abraham’s seed. How can that be? Jesus told his disciples, who were the seed of Abraham, that they should preach the good news of the Kingdom to all nations (Matthew 24:14), and that they should make disciples of all the nations. (Matthew 28:19, 20)

This means that Abraham’s seed are used to offer all who want to be reconciled with God on the basis of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, to be reconciled. (2 Corinthian 5:19, 20) Those who are reconciled will receive blessings, and therefore they will bless themselves by means of those preaching the good news. On the basis of the words about Abraham’s seed in Galatians we can understand the threads in the Book of Daniel.

I quote Daniel 12:4 (above) and 12;8, 9 (below):

This means that any attempt to draw the threads of the scrolls together in order to understand the whole drama before the time of the end would be futile. The book of Revelation, where the restoration of all things is described, was written at the end of the first century CE. In 1:1 we read that the book is written “to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place.” The wicked world is still standing, and this shows that all the prophecies, including the binding of the Devil, have not yet occurred.

Revelation 1:1 shows that those who would understand the purpose of God were called “his slaves.” When we go back to Daniel, the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan are mentioned in 12:10: “None of the wicked will understand, but the wise ones will understand.” It is obvious that “the wise ones” are the same as “the slaves of God” mentioned in Revelation 1:1. Daniel 7:27 calls this group “the holy ones of the Most High,” and Daniel 11:35 says that “those of the people who are wise, will instruct many.” The wise ones, in contrast to the wicked persons, will be teachers. This suggests that they belong to Abraham’s seed, the ones who will bring blessings to the nations.

In Romans 16:20 there is a clear reference to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. We read that God will “crush Satan under your feet.” This refers to the Christians in Rome, and we must conclude that those belonging to the seed of the woman were the members of the Christian congregations. We also note that the seed of the woman is mentioned in Revelation 12:17, whom the Dragon wage war against, “have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.” This is the work of Abraham’s seed by whom all nations on the earth would bless themselves. Thus, this verse also confirms that the seed of the woman and the seed of Abraham are one and the same.

But who is the woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15? Which threads do we find? Chapter 54 in the book of Isaiah describes a woman, and verse 5 says, “For your Maker is your husband,” The context shows that a collective woman is described, namely the nation of Israel. We learn from this that the term “woman” can be applied to a group of persons. But the woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15 cannot be the nation of Israel, because of the words of Paul in Galatians 4:26. In the previous chapter the seed of Abraham is described, and in this verse Paul says: “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” Revelation 21:2 speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem, so the “mother” of Abraham’s seed resides in heaven. Just as the nation of Israel, with its capital, Jerusalem, in a symbolic sense, was the wife of God, the angels in heaven can, in a symbolic sense, be viewed as God’s wife. This is the woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15. Corroborating this is the fact that the symbolic woman mentioned in Revelation 12:1 resides in heaven.

The end of the crime drama is described in Revelation, chapters 20 and 21. The Devil will have his head crushed when he and all his seed will be annihilated in the lake of fire. In this way the “test case” (basanos) is concluded, and the precedent of this case stands forever. Jehovah God is fully vindicated!

The primary seed of the woman, who also is the primary seed of Abraham had his heel bruised, and as a result of this, all of Adam and Eve’s offspring who believe in God and his Son will no longer feel the effects of their inherited sin. Instead, all things will be restored, as we read in Revelation 21:3, 4:

³ Look the dwelling of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor crying nor pain. The former things will have passed away.

When Daniel wrote down his prophecies, he said that he did not understand them. When he asked for the meaning, he was told that no one would understand the prophecies before the time of the conclusion (end). (Daniel 12:8) It is obvious that we must understand the full purpose of God before we can look at all the threads and make a synthesis of them. This was not possible before the end of the 1st century CE, when the last book of the Bible was written. And it was not even possible then because first, the prophecies of the time of the conclusion had to be fulfilled, which they are right now before our very eyes.

There is one important conclusion we can draw regarding  all the threads of the drama regarding the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan, namely that the Bible has only one author. The different books of the Bible were written down during a period of 1,600 years, but the 40 writers did not understand the threads they laid down. When we today can gather all the threads in the different books of the Bible and see that they make one coherent picture, this suggests that one person directed all the writers and what they wrote down during the 1,600 years. This person must be The Creator, and therefore the Bible must be inspired by God.

Table 1.1 The identification of the persons in the prophecy in Genesis 3:15

John 8:44	The snake pictures the Devil.
Revelation 20:1.3, 10	The Devils head will be bruised — eternal annihilation after the 1,000 years.
John 8:44; Revelation 12:4	The seed of the Devil — all humans and demons that follow the Devil.
Luke 1:32, 33	The seed of the woman  — Jesus Christ.
Roman 16:20	The seed of the woman — includes the anointed brothers of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:6; Acts 1:9, 10	Bruising the heel of the seed of the woman — Jesus was killed but he was raised from the dead.
Galatians 4:25; Revelation 12:1	The woman — the angels in heaven that are a symbolic wife of Jehovah.
Ephesians 1:10	The sacred secret is that there will be unity in heaven and on earth through Christ. This means a restoration of the earthly paradise.

THE SACRED SECRET OF GOD 

We have now identified the different persons that have been mentioned in the first prophecy. Now I will study several details that connect this prophecy with the sacret secret (mystērion) of God. This secret relates to all sides of God’s purpose of salvation for the descendants of Adam. Therefore, it is described in many different ways, as I show below.

Table 1.2 References of the sacred secret

	THE SACRED SECRET OF CHRIST
Romans 16:25	The proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery (mystērion) hidden for long ages past.
Ephesians 3:3	The mystery (mystērion) of Christ.
Colossians 1:26	This mystery (mystērion), which is Christ in you.
Colossians 2:2	The sacred secret (mystērion) of God, namely, Christ.
Colossians 4:3	That we may proclaim the mystery (mystērion) of Christ.
1 Timothy 3:16	The sacred secret (mystērion) of this godly devotion is admittedly great: ‘He was made manifest in flesh.
1 Timothy 5:32	This sacred secret (mystērion) is great. Now I am speaking with respect to Christ and the congregation.
	THE SACRED SECRET OF THE HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY SALVATION
Ephesians 3:5, 6	The sacred secret(mystērion) of the Christ…namely, that people of the nations should be joint heirs and fellow members of the body and partakers with us of the promise.
Ephesians 6:19	The sacred secret (mystērion) of the good news.
1 Corinthians 15:51	I tell you a mystery (mystērion): We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.
Romans 11:25	This mystery (mystērion)…Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
Ephesians 1:9, 10	The sacred secret (mystērion)…for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.
	THE SACRED SECRET OF LAWLESSNESS
2 Thessalonians 2:7	For the secret power of lawlessness (mystērion) is already at work.

THE SACRED SECRET OF JESUS AND THE CONGREGATION 

The first prophecy was uttered after Satan had caused Adam and Eve to break the law of God. So, this prophecy pointed to a restoration of the purpose of God. But its fulfillment was a sacred secret. And by all the prophecies given by the prophets, this was the most important one. And this was the one even the angels want to understand.

PASSAGES THAT POINT TO JESUS CHRIST ALONE AS THE SACRED SECRET 

The most important side of the first prophecy from a human point of view was the words about the seed of the woman. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul shows that the identity of the seed of the woman had been a mystery for a long time. This is Christ! We read in Colossians 2:1-2 (above) and 4:3 (below):

¹ For I want YOU to realize how great a struggle I am having in behalf of YOU and of those at Laodicea and of all those who have not seen my face in the flesh, ² that their hearts may be comforted, that they may be harmoniously joined together in love and with a view to all the riches of the full assurance of [their] understanding, with a view to an accurate knowledge of the sacred secret (mysterion) of God, namely, Christ.

³ at the same time praying also for us, that God may open a door of utterance to us, to speak the sacred secret about the Christ, for which, in fact, I am in prison bonds.

The sacred secret has been revealed in different ways, and in Romans 16:23-26 Paul says that it has been known through the prophetic scriptures. He also says that there is a purpose of the revelation of Christ, the sacred secret, namely, to promote obedience by faith.

²³ Now to him who can make YOU firm in accord with the good news I declare and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the sacred secret (mysterion) which has been kept in silence for long-lasting times ²⁶ but has now been made manifest and has been made known through the prophetic scriptures among all the nations in accord with the command of the everlasting God to promote obedience by faith.

In his first letter to Timotheus, Paul gives a description of different sides of Jesus Christ that are part of the sacred secret. We read in 3:14-16:

¹⁵ but in case I am delayed, that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in God’s household, which is the congregation of [the] living God, a pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ Indeed, the sacred secret (mysterion) of this godly devotion is admittedly great: ‘He was made manifest in flesh, was declared righteous in spirit, appeared to angels, was preached about among nations, was believed upon in [the] world, was received up in glory.’

Jesus came to the earth as a righteous man, the angels who wanted to peer into the sacred secret observed his sojourn on the earth. The good news about the Savior Jesus Christ was preached among the nations, and after he had died as a ransom sacrifice, he received his heavenly glory. All these things were important sides of the sacred secret.

PASSAGES POINTING TO THE GLORIOUS RICHES OF THE SACRED SECRET 

The first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 not only identifies particular persons, but it also shows that in connection with the sacred secret the purpose of God will be accomplished. Paul shows in Ephesians 6:19, 20 that the sacred secret is expressed by the good news:

¹⁹ also for me, that ability to speak may be given me with the opening of my mouth, with freeness of speech to make known the sacred secret of the good news, ²⁰ for which I am acting as an ambassador in chains; that I may speak in connection with it with boldness as I ought to speak.

In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul speaks about marriage, and the relationship between the man and his wife. He compares the congregation of new creations who are sons of God to a wife for Jesus Christ, and in verse 32 he says:

 ³² This sacred secret is great. Now I am speaking with respect to Christ and the congregation.

These words show that the sacred secret both includes Jesus Christ and all his followers who are members of spiritual Israel. In Colossians 1:24-27, Paul shows that the sacred secret does not only include Jesus Christ. But there are glorious riches included as well, which includes the hope of glory:

²⁴ I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for YOU, and I, in my turn, am filling up what is lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh on behalf of his body, which is the congregation. ²⁵ I became a minister (diaskonos) of this [congregation] in accordance with the stewardship (oikonomia) from God which was given me in YOUR interest to preach the word of God fully, ²⁶ the sacred secret (mysterion) that was hidden from the past systems of things and from the past generations. But now it has been made manifest to his holy ones, ²⁷ to whom God has been pleased to make known what are the glorious riches of this sacred secret (mysterion)  among the nations. It is Christ in union with YOU, the hope of [his] glory.

In Ephesians 3:1-9, Paul shows that the sacred secret had not been known in previous generations. But now Paul has received a revelation of the sacred secret, and it was also revealed to “his holy apostles and prophets by spirit.” Paul now elucidates the expressions “the glorious riches” and “the hope of glory” showing that a part of the sacred secret is that the people of the nations will also be a part of spiritual Israel.

¹ On account of this I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of YOU, the people of the nations ² if, really, YOU have heard about the stewardship (oikonomia) of the undeserved kindness of God that was given me with YOU in view, ³ that by way of a revelation the sacred secret was made known to me, just as I wrote previously in brief. ⁴ In the face of this YOU, when YOU read this, can realize the comprehension I have in the sacred secret of the Christ. ⁵ In other generations this [secret] was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by spirit, ⁶ namely, that people of the nations should be joint heirs and fellow members of the body and partakers with us of the promise in union with Christ Jesus through the good news. ⁷ I became a minister (diakonos) of this according to the free gift of the undeserved kindness of God that was given me according to the way his power operates. ⁸ To me, a man less than the least of all holy ones, this undeserved kindness was given, that I should declare to the nations the good news about the unfathomable riches of the Christ ⁹ and should make men see how the sacred secret is administered which has from the indefinite past been hidden in God, who created all things.

This side of the sacred secret is also expressed by Paul in Romans chapter 11, and I quote verses 25-32:

²⁵ For I do not want YOU, brothers, to be ignorant of this sacred secret, in order for YOU not to be discreet in your own eyes: that a dulling of sensibilities has happened in part to Israel until the full number of people of the nations has come in, ²⁶ and in this manner all Israel will be saved. Just as it is written: “The deliverer will come out of Zion and turn away ungodly practices from Jacob. ²⁷ And this is the covenant on my part with them, when I take their sins away.” ²⁸ True, with reference to the good news they are enemies for YOUR sakes, but with reference to [God’s] choosing they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are not things he will regret. ³⁰ For just as YOU were once disobedient to God but have now been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so also these now have been disobedient with mercy resulting to YOU, that they themselves also may now be shown mercy. ³² For God has shut them all up together in disobedience, that he might show all of them mercy.

The principal point in Romans chapter 11 is that spiritual Israel consists of a finite number of individuals, and both Jews and people of the nations will be parts of spiritual Israel. This has been a part of the sacred secret that first was revealed in the first century CE.[1]

In Colossians 1:27, Paul shows that included in the sacred secret is “the hope of glory.” In 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, he shows what this glory means for the members of spiritual Israel. Those who are living during “the last trumpet” will not sleep in death. But they will be changed and get a spiritual body so they can reign with Jesus Christ in heaven.

 ⁵¹ Look! I tell YOU a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

There is one more important side of the sacred secret that Paul mentions. We have seen that the sacred secret includes the truth that there will be a congregation of spiritual Israel, and this congregation consists of Jews and people of the nations. But there is one extra group of believers that is included in the sacred secret. Paul explains this in Ephesians 1:5, 8-10:

⁵ For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ in praise of his glorious undeserved kindness which he kindly conferred upon us by means of [his] loved one. ⁷ By means of him we have the release by ransom through the blood of that one, yes, the forgiveness of [our] trespasses, according to the riches of his undeserved kindness.

⁸ This he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and good sense, ⁹ in that he made known to us the sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself ¹⁰ for an administration (oikonomia) at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.

Hebrews chapter 11 describes the faith of several persons who lived before Jesus Christ came to the earth. Among these was Abraham, and 11:10 says that “he was awaiting the city having real foundations.” Verse 13 speaks about the faithful men of old who did not get “the [fulfillment of the] promises, but they saw them afar off.” Now, Paul points to the reality of the promises that they saw far off has now been revealed as a part of the sacred secret.

The purpose of God, as we read in the first chapters of Genesis, was that the two first humans should procreate children, who again should procreate children, until the earth was filled with descendants of the first human pair. All these should live forever in the earthly paradise. God’s purpose was temporarily disturbed because of the rebellion of Satan and the human pair. But God’s purpose is the same.

Before the human pair sinned, there was unity in heaven and on earth, and the words of Paul in Ephesians 1:10 show that this unity again will be established in heaven and on the earth through Jesus Christ.

 The prophecy in Genesis 3:15 points to a restoration of the situation that existed on the earth before the two humans sinned. But when and how this would happen was a sacred secret. But now this sacred secret had been revealed, and Paul explains it. Ephesians 1:9 says that the mentioned unity through Christ is a part of the sacred secret. This is fitting because the seed of the woman is Jesus Christ, and the unity both in heaven and earth that is implied by the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, will be achieved through Jesus Christ.

THE SACRED SECRET OF LAWLESSNESS 

The seed of the snake consists of his demons and all humans on the earth who are wicked just like the Devil.  There are several accounts in The Christian Greek Scriptures of people who were possessed by evil spirits. There are also several accounts of people who acted in a wicked way.

But only one time is the sacred secret mentioned in connection with the enemies of God . We read 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10:

⁷ True, the mystery (mystērion) of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way. ⁸ Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. ⁹ But the lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents ¹⁰ and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved.

These wicked people are not identified. But the text says that their wicked actions are inspired by Satan the Devil. This is an allusion to the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 and to the seed of the snake.

Table 1.3 The different parts of the sacred secret

Ephesians 6:19	The sacred secret is the contents of the good news.
Colossians 1:2	The sacred secret is Christ.
Ephesians 5:32	The sacred secret is Christ and the congregations.
Ephesians 3:6; Romans 11: 25	The sacred secret is that people of the nations will be a part of spiritual Israel together with native Jews.
1 Corinthians 15:52	The sacred secret is that the members of spiritual Israel need not sleep in death but will be changed instantly during the last trumpet through a heavenly resurrection.
Ephesians 1:10	The sacred secret is that there will be unity in heaven and on earth through Christ. This means a restoration of the earthly paradise.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-10	The sacred secret is the lawlessness inspired by the Devil.

 In the next section, there is a detailed study of “how the sacred secret is administered,” which are the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:9.

[1]. A detailed discussion of Romans chapter 11, showing how Jews and people of the nations become a part of spiritual Israel, and that the finite number of spiritual Israelites mentioned in chapter 11 counts 144,000 members is found in the article “‘For many are called, but few are chosen’ — What the members of the Governing Body do not understand,” in the category, “The Governing Body.”

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOD 

 In order to understand the details of the relationship between oikonomia (“administration”) and mystērion (“sacred secret”) I will study the meaning of oikonomia.

THE MEANING OF THE ABSTRACT NOUN OIKONOMIA

 The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, by J.P. Louw and E. Nida says about this word:

To manage and provide for a household… In biblical times a household would consist of more than the nuclear family, that is to say, more than simply husband, wife, and children, for servants, slaves, and permanent hired workers living with the family would be regarded as a part of the total household.

The word oikonomia occurs three times the letter to the Ephesians, and the contexts of these occurrences are the focus of this study. But first I will show how the word is used the other six times it occurs in the Christian Greek Scriptures. In Luke 16:2, 3, oikonomia occurs three times:

 ¹ Then he went on to say also to the disciples: “A certain man was rich and he had a steward, (oikonomos) and this one was accused to him as handling his goods wastefully. ² So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Hand in the account of your stewardship (oikonomia), for you can no longer manage the house.’  ³ Then the steward said to himself, ‘What am I to do, seeing that my master will take the stewardship (oikonomia) away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, I am ashamed to beg.  Ah! I know what I shall do, so that, when I am put out of the stewardship (oikonomia), people will receive me into their homes.’

The Greek word oikos means “house,” the word oikonomos means “householder, administrator,” the person who was in charge of the household, which often was a slave. And the word oikonomia is an abstract word that refers to the household itself.

In the situation with the rich man and the steward (householder), the renderings “stewardship” and “management” (NIV) are good: The focus is on how the man handles the household.

Below are the NWT84 renderings three other passages with oikonomia.

1 Corinthian 9:17

¹⁷ If I perform this willingly, I have a reward; but if I do it against my will, all the same I have a stewardship (oikonomia) entrusted to me.

Colossians 1:25

²⁵ I became a minister of this [congregation] in accordance with the stewardship (oikonomia) from God which was given me in YOUR interest to preach the word of God fully.

1 Timotheus 1:4

⁴ nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing, but which furnish questions for research rather than a dispensing (oikonomia) of anything by God in connection with faith. [1]

In 1 Corinthians 9:17 and Colossians 1:25 the focus is on the work of Paul that is compared with the work of a householder who is managing the household. The verb “dispense” means “to give out things,” and the point in 1 Timothy 1:4 is that false stories and genealogies give rise to speculation rather than giving out anything from God’s “household.”

THE ADMINISTRATION (OIKONOMIA) OF THE SACRED SECRET (MYSTĒRION) 

In the previous section, the Greek word mystērion (“sacred secret”) was discussed, and it is important to note that oikonomia (“sacred secret”) is closely related to mystērion, as we see in Ephesians 3:9 (above) and 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2 (below):

⁹ and should make men see how the sacred secret (mysterion) is administered (oikonomia) which has from the indefinite past been hidden in God, who created all things.

¹ Let a man so appraise us as being subordinates (hypēretēs) of Christ and stewards (oikonomos)  of sacred secrets (mystērion) of God. ² Besides, in this case, what is looked for in stewards (oikonomos)  is for a man to be found faithful.

The Greek words in Ephesians 3:9 are hē oikonimia tou mystēroiou, and the literal meaning is “the sacred secret’s administration.” This shows that the words oikonomia and mystērion have a relationship — oikonomia refers to the way the sacred secret is administered.

First Corinthians 4:1, 2 shows that Paul and his fellow Christians were subordinates of Christ and “stewards” (“administrators”) of the sacred secrets of God. Here the word mystērion is plural and refers to the different sides of the sacred secrets of God, as we see in Table 1.3.

In the previous section I discussed six different sides of the sacred secret of God. I will now discuss Ephesians 1:8-12 where all the different sides of the sacred secret are combined in one unit.

⁸ This he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and good sense, ⁹ in that he made known to us the sacred secret (mystērion) of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself ¹⁰ for an administration (oikonomia) at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. [Yes,] in him, ¹¹ in union with whom we were also assigned as heirs, in that we were foreordained according to the purpose of him who operates all things according to the way his will counsels, ¹² that we should serve for the praise of his glory, we who have been first to hope in the Christ. ¹³ But YOU also hoped in him after YOU heard the word of truth, the good news about YOUR salvation. By means of him also, after YOU believed, YOU were sealed with the promised holy spirit, ¹⁴ which is a token in advance of our inheritance, for the purpose of releasing by a ransom [God’s] own possession, to his glorious praise.

What is the relationship between word “sacred secret” (mystērion) in vers 9 and “administration” (oikonomia) in verse 10? The mystērion is connected with oikonomia with the preposition eis, with the meaning “(an idiom, literally ‘to be into’): to change from one state to another — ‘to change, to become.’” (Louw and Nida)”. This means that the “sacred secret” is equivalent to “administration.” The word oikonomia that is used in Luke 16:2, 3 includes the administration of the family members, the slaves, of the harvesting of the crops, producing or buying food, and giving the food to all members of the household at the proper time etc. In a similar way, “the sacred secret” is an abstract word that includes the work and actions of Christ to the benefit of human beings, according to Ephesians 1:10, those with a heavenly hope and those with an earthly hope, and the “restoration of all things.” (Acts 3:19). God’s administration will achieve all this, and therefore, this administration is equivalent to the sacred secret. The Watchtower of October 15, 1974, page 636 said:

“The term ‘administration’ does not mean the Messianic kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ,” the speaker emphasized. No, rather, it refers to God’s way of administering or managing things, his procedure in handling matters with a view to producing unity. The instrument God uses in his “administration” or management of things, it was shown, is the kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ.” (the author’s italics)

These somments are correct and show the real meaning of the Greek word oikonomia.

AN ANALYSIS OF EXPRESSIONS IN EPHESIANS 1:8-14 

The three expressions in the quotation above in brown script are important, and I will consider them in turn.

THE THINGS IN HEAVEN AND THE THINGS ON THE EARTH

The things in heaven and on the earth will be gathered together in Christ. The expression “all things” is translated from the Greek expression ta panta (literally “the all”). According to Ephesians 1:10, ta panta would be gathered in the Christ. This expression also occurs in Colossians 1:20:

²⁰ and through him to reconcile again (apokatalasso) to himself all [other] things (ta panta) by making peace through the blood [he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether they are the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens. ²¹ Indeed, YOU who were once alienated and enemies (ekhtros) because YOUR minds were on the works that were wicked.

I will first look at the Greek word apokatalassõ (“reconcile”). It has the meaning, “to reestablish proper friendly interpersonal relations after these have been disrupted or broken (the componential features of this series of meanings involve (1) disruption of friendly relations because of (2) presumed or real provocation, (3) overt behavior designed to remove hostility, and (4) restoration of original friendly relations.” (Louw and Nida)

We note that NWT84 has the rendering “reconcile again.” One definition of Louw and Nida is, “restoration of original friendly relations.” This was needed since verse 21 says that all humans were enemies of God. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had friendly relations with God, they were reconciled to God. But this was lost. Thus, when Paul uses the Greek word apokatalassō, he refers to restoration of the reconciliation between God and man that existed before the human pair sinned. Therefore, the rendering “reconcile again” conveys the correct nuance from the original text.

In verse 26, Paul connects the reconciliation to “the sacred secret” that has been made manifest.” And this connects the reconciliation with the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15, that points to a restoration of all things. This is also seen in Acts 3:21:

²¹ whom [referring to Jesus] heaven, indeed, must hold within itself until the times of restoration (apokatastasis) of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old time.

The verb apokatastasis has the meaning “to change to a previous good state — ‘to restore, to cause again to be, restoration.’” (Louw and Nida), and it is a synonym with the verb apokatalassō, as we see in the definitions of both verbs by Louw and Nida. So, apokatalassō refers to the restoration of the good relationship between God and the humans — a reconciliation, and apokatastasis refers to the restoration of the whole situation that existed before the sin was introduced. That apokatastasis points to a restoration supports the idea of “to reconcile again” in Colossians 1:20. And both verbs refer to the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15.

But who should be reconciled? They are described as “all [other] things” (ta panta) and “the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens.” The angels in heaven do not need any reconciliation. So, “the things in heaven” refer to humans who have become new creations and are adopted as sons of Gord, who will reign with Jesus Christ in heaven. And “the things upon the earth” refers to all the descendants of Adam who will live in the restored earthly paradise.

The situation is exactly the same in Ephesians 1:8-14. The same Greek words for “all things” and “the things in the heaven and the things one the earth” are used.  Therefore, the gathering in the Christ refers to those who will inherit the heavenly Kingdom and those who will get everlasting life on the earth. All the members of the congregation in Ephesus had the heavenly hope, and this is described in verses 13 and 14.[2]

TO GATHER ALL THINGS TOGETHER AGAIN

There is an important difference between the NWT13 and the NWT84 in Ephesians 1:10. The rendering of NWT84 is “to gather all things together again.” The footnote says:

‘To gather…together again.’ According to G.H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, fourth ed. (1901) p. 39 ‘to bring together again for himself.’

The difference is that NWT84 has the adverb “again,” while this is lacking in NWT13. The NWT84 shows that the unity between the things in the heavens and the things on the earth that will occur had one time earlier existed. But this idea is lacking in the NWT13.

Applying the principles of lexical semantics, we find that the use of “again” has a strong linguistic basis.  I will bring three quotations to show that. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. III, page 682, has the following comments on the verb anakefalaioō:

Iren. [Irenaeus, c. 130 — c. 200 CE, Church father] used anakafalaioō in the sense of gathering together, summation. Since every summation implies a kind of repetition, the word may sometimes have the direct sense of “to repeat.” The ana- thus assumes an iterative sense which it does not have elsewhere…Apsines [a Greek philosopher in the 3rd century CE] used anakafalaioō with reference to the repetition of an event. The recapitulare in Iren. [Irenaeus] is also to be understood in the first instance as repetition, though it is to be noted that it sums up the original and is thus qualitative…In this summation, however, the prominent element may be, not that of repetition, but that of the affirmation and confirmation implied in repetition.

We note the comment on the preposition ana (“up, upon, on”), which often is used distributively (= referring to each individual of a group rather than collectively to all individuals). The use of this preposition with a distributive meaning at the beginning of the verb anakefalaioō could signal the repetitive meaning of doing again, is the argument. Additions of prepositions to a word may change its meaning. For example, the Greek word gnosis means “knowledge,” but with the preposition epi (“over, upon”) prefixed, as epignosis, the meaning may be “accurate knowledge.”

Several commentators of Ephesians also argue about the repetitive meaning of 1:10. Galatians and Ephesians in Meyer’s Commentary on the New Testament (1883, 1979), page 322, says in comments on Ephesians 1:10:

Consequently anakefalaioō, summatim recolligere, “recapitulate summarily,” which is said in Rom xiii 9 of that which has been previously expressed singulatim, “individually,” in separate parts, but now is again gathered up in one main point, so that at Rom. l.e en touto to logo denotes that main point in which the gathering up is contained. And here this main point of gathering up again, unifying all the parts, lies in Christ.

The important point is that the commandments in Romans 13:9 have been expressed before, and now they are summed up again (anakefalaioō) in the saying, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

The commentator A.S. Wood in Ephesians in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (1978) Vol. 11, page 26, also stress the repetitive nature of the verb:

The verb anakefalaioō (“to bring together”) means to sum up together again (Rom 13:9). It is derived not from kefalē (“a head”) but from kephalaion (a summary, or sum total”). When a column of figures was added up, the total was placed at the top.

The three quotations above show that the use of the adverbial “again” in NWT84 has a solid linguistic basis. I do not know why the Governing Body deleted this important word from NWT13. But a characteristic of this translation is that subtleties and nuances in the original text often are ignored and are not rendered in English.

In the context of this article, the use of the adverb again is important because this word points to the fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. When Adam and Eve were created, there was peace and unity in heaven and on the earth. When they rebelled and sinned, this unity and peace were lost. The words in Genesis 3:15 about the seed of the woman who should bruise the head of the serpent point to a restoration of all things. And this restoration is seen in the expressions “to gather all things together again” in Ephesians 1:10 and “to reconcile again to himself all [other] things” in Colossians 1:20. When NWT13 in both places have not rendered the word “again,” the relationship between the words of Paul and the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is lost.

THE ADMINISTRATION AT THE FULL LIMIT OF THE APPOINTED TIMES (KAIROS)  

The prophecy in Genesis 3:15 points to the purpose of God. This purpose is described in different ways by the prophets of God. In the books of Daniel and Revelation, as well as in Luke 21:24, there are specific time prophecies related to the purpose of God. Paul shows that he also was aware of “times (khronos) or seasons (kairos) which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.” (Acts 1:7) The Greek word khronos is an unspecified refence to time, but kairos refers to an appointed time, and the time periods expressed by kairos can be counted.

Paul connects the administration of God with “the full limit of the appointed times (kairos).” How can we understand these words? I quote Mark 1:15 (above) and Galatians 4:4 (below):

¹⁵ and saying: “The appointed time (kairos) has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Be repentant, YOU people, and have faith in the good news.”

⁴ But when the full limit of the time (kairos) arrived, God sent forth his Son, who came to be out of a woman and who came to be under law.

Jesus used the word kairos in the singular in Mark 1:15, referring to an appointed time period. Paul uses kairos in the plural in Galatians 4:4, pointing to the end of a particular number of appointed times. The only place he could refer to is to Daniel 9:24-27 where we learn that the Messiah should come after 69 weeks of years.

Jesus also used kairos in the plural in Luke 21:24:

²⁴ and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times (kairos) of the nations are fulfilled.

In my book, My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body I argue that there is both a linguistic and a thematic relationship between the appointed times mentioned in Luke 21:24 and the seven appointed times that are mentioned in Daniel 4:14-17. This period of seven kairoi that would lead to the establishment of God’s Kingdom with Jesus Christ as king, ended in the year 1914 CE, as I argue in my book.

This means that there are two time periods that would qualify for the words “the full limit of the appointed times” in Ephesians 1:10, the year 29 CE, when Jesus started his work as the Messiah, and 1914 CE when the kingdom of God was established. The administration should accomplish two things, 1) gather all things in the heavens, and 2) gather all things on the earth.

The Christian Greek Scriptures, including Ephesians and Colossians, show that all members in the Christian congregations were new creations who had been adopted as sons of God. (Ephesians 3:5) There is no evidence that persons with the hope of living in the regained earthly paradise were present in the first century CE. This means that the gathering of all things in the heavens started at “the full limit of the appointed times,” i.e., after the year 29 CE.

However, the great tribulation when the Devil will be bound and later annihilated as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is still in the future. Revelation 7:9-14 speaks about the great crowd that will survive the great tribulation and continue to live on the earth. These belong to “all the things on the earth,” and this means that the gathering of these started “at the full limit of the appointed times” that ended in the year 1914.

The Watchtower of October 15, 1974, page 622, has the following description of the fulfilment of the prophecy in Ephesians 1:9-11:

¹⁰ When God’s Son Jesus Christ was glorified in heaven and founded the Christian congregation at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E., the “administration at the full limit of the appointed times” started operation in its first stage, the most essential stage. The congregation of those who were to be associates in the unifying work with Jesus Christ in the heavens had to be gathered and unified under its Head, God’s Chief Servant. In this way “the things in the heavens,” the things destined for the heavens, would be ‘gathered together again in the Christ,’ so that the “body” used by God in his administration might be complete.​—Eph. 1:9-11.

¹¹ However, according to God’s purpose, the due time must come for the second feature of his “administration,” namely, to ‘gather together again in the Christ’ “the things on the earth.” This time arrived when the Gentile Times came to their fulfillment in autumn of the year 1914 C.E. There the time came for the Messianic Kingdom rule as formerly exercised by King David over in the Middle East to be reinstated, not in earthly Jerusalem, but in the heavens.

¹² In heaven, at God’s right hand, was where the permanent Heir of King David was now located, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then it was that Jehovah installed this heavenly Heir of King David on the throne, with royal power not just over the territory of ancient Israel but over all the earth, over all mankind for whom Jesus Christ had died as a perfect human sacrifice. Thereby the Kingdom of the Messiah went into operation. At that time, in a culminating way, the “full limit of the appointed times” had been reached when the “administration” that God was conducting ‘should gather together again in the Christ’ the estranged “things on the earth.” This would be the second stage of the gathering or uniting work according to God’s purpose.

This explanation agrees with the historical facts and is an accurate description.

[1]. The foot note to the word “dispensing” says: “Lit., “house-administration.”

[2]. Distinguishing between the two different groups that will be saved, one in heaven and the other on the earth as absolutely necessary in order to understand the text of the Bible. The first chapter in my book, The Reconciliation Between God and Man has a detailed discussion of passages where the two different groups are mentioned in the text of the Bible.

A SYNTHESIS OF GENESIS 3:15 AND THE PROPHECIES OF THE SACRED SECRET AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOD 

The prophecy in Genesis 3:15 was uttered at a critical time in the lives of Adam and Eve and their descendants. Because of the revolt against God and the introduction of sin, all humans were enemies of God, and all of them were sentenced to death. We read in 3:15:

¹⁵ And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.”

There are two opposite poles, the wicked side and the righteous side. The fulfilment of this prophecy was unknown for 4,000 years. But after the time of the full limit of the appointed time in 33 CE, the sacred secret was revealed, and in the Christian Greek Scriptures we find the six sides of the sacred secret:

It is included in the good news.

Its basis is Jesus Christ.

The Spiritual Israel is a part.

The spiritual Israel will reach its full number of Jews and people of the nations.

Members of spiritual Israel will instantly be changed in a heavenly resurrection.

Some will receive a heavenly reward and others will live in the earthly paradise.

The words of Ephesians 1:9-10 introduce a concept that is shown to be identical with the Greek word mystērion (“sacred secret”), and that is the Greek word oikonomia (“administration”). These two concepts relate to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 in two different ways. The sacred secret points to the different sides of the fulfilment of Genesis 3:15, and the administration points to how the different sides will be administered and fulfilled.

Both the hopes of a heavenly resurrection and the hope of an earthly resurrection are mentioned many places in the Christian Greek Scriptures. But the only place where these two groups are directly shown to be a side of the sacred secret is in Ephesians 1:9, 10. The prophecy in Genesis 3:15 implies that the original purpose of God will be fulfilled, that there will be an earthly paradise that will be filled with Adam’s descendants. This is shown in the context of Ephesians 1:9, 10. The other important side of the sacred secret, that is not implied in Genesis 3:15, is that God will have a heavenly government with 144,000 members. But this is an important part of the sacred secret.

The words in Ephesians 1:9, 10 combine all the six sides of the sacred secret into one unit, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. And Paul, by using the words “to gather all things together again” in verse 10 and by using the words “to reconcile again to himself all [other] things” in Colossians 1:20, connects the gathering of all things in the heavens and on the earth with the fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15.

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After I have completed this study, I am awestruck by the way Jehovah has dealt with the revolt in Eden, and how he will give all Adam’s descendants that have not sinned against the holy spirit the same chance as Adam got: As perfect humans at the end of the thousand-year-long Judgment Day they will get the chance to chose to serve Jehovah or to follow Satan. The words of Paul in Romans 11:33-36 excellently expresses how much I admire our heavenly father, Jehovah God:

³³ O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments [are] and past tracing out his ways [are]! ³⁴ For “who has come to know Jehovah’s mind, or who has become his counselor?”³⁵ Or, “Who has first given to him, so that it must be repaid to him?” ³⁶ Because from him and by him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

AMEN