The Mystery of God Finished
Revelation 10:7 is one of the most significant verses in the entire study of biblical mystery. It describes the moment when God's mystery is no longer partially revealed or progressively unfolding — it is finished.
The Key Passage: Revelation 10:5-7
"And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever... that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."— Revelation 10:5-7 (ESV)
The angel makes an oath: when the seventh trumpet sounds, the mystery of God will be completed (etelesthē, from teleō, meaning to bring to completion or to fulfill). This is the endpoint of everything the New Testament has been calling "mystery."
What Is "the Mystery of God" Here?
The phrase "the mystery of God" is comprehensive. It does not refer to one particular mystery but to the whole of God's hidden plan that has been progressively revealed throughout Scripture. This includes:
- The mystery of God's will — the plan to unite all things under Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10).
- The mystery of Christ — the inclusion of all peoples in one body.
- The mystery of the gospel — the message of salvation proclaimed to the nations.
- The mystery of the resurrection — the transformation of believers at the last trumpet.
When the seventh trumpet sounds, all of these are brought to their completion. Nothing remains hidden. Nothing remains unfulfilled.
"As He Announced to His Servants the Prophets"
The angel says this mystery was "announced" (euēngelisen, a form of the verb meaning "to proclaim good news") to God's servants the prophets. This connects the Revelation passage back to the Old Testament prophetic tradition and to the book of Daniel, where mysteries were first revealed to a prophet. It also connects to Paul's claim that the mystery was "made known... through the prophetic writings" (Romans 16:26). The mystery of God has been the subject of progressive revelation throughout the entire biblical timeline.
The Seventh Trumpet
The seventh trumpet sounds in Revelation 11:15, and the response is: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." This connects the completion of the mystery to the full establishment of God's kingdom — the same kingdom whose secret was given to the disciples in Mark 4:11. What began as a seed sown in parables reaches its harvest in the final trumpet.
Connection to the Mystery of Lawlessness and Babylon
The completion of God's mystery coincides with the destruction of the counter-mystery: the mystery of lawlessness. The fall of Babylon in Revelation 17-18 and the defeat of the beast are the negative side of this resolution. God's plan is fulfilled; evil's hidden power is exposed and destroyed.
No More Mystery
This passage implies that in the age to come, there will be no more mystery in the biblical sense. Everything that was hidden will have been fully revealed. Everything that was planned will have been accomplished. The tension between "already" and "not yet" that characterizes the present age will be resolved in the "already and forever" of God's completed kingdom.