"Paradox and mystery are everywhere…and are part of the very essence of Christianity itself. Jesus Christ died to defeat death. Through death He gave us life. He who humbles himself will be exalted. If one tries to save his life, he will lose it. The Christian faith is built on paradoxes such as these.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou)
“The Book of Revelation takes its name from the first verse, identifying the text as “the Revelation (Apokalypsis) of Jesus Christ” This is important to understanding the text. It is not the revelation of “end time” events in the distant future. It is not the revelation of esoteric spiritual secrets about the cosmos. It is a revelation of who Jesus Christ truly is.” (Fr. Stephen De Young)
“…when it comes to understanding God there is always mystery. God cannot be grasped by us nor completely explained by our logic…The Trinity exceeds our comprehension. The knowledge that divine revelation gives us of this mystery, however, opens to us a deeper understanding of God and love then might otherwise be possible.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh, Vigen Guroian)
“…mystery is not only an aspect of the divine, but part of the nature of all reality. Everything is far more than it appears….Mystery is a major term in some of St. Paul’s writings…But there is more to the word than mere secret. St. Paul also speaks of the “mystery of godliness” and the “mystery of iniquity.” In those expressions the word does not describe secret information, but a hidden process at work. And this gets closer, I think, to St. Paul’s other uses as well. For him, “mystery” is not the same thing as “secret.” It is not information that is being held back. Rather, it is a reality that is not made manifest as of yet…I personally think that there is something within the human that is particularly attuned to revelation. We describe the experience by saying, “A light came on,” or “The coin dropped.” The movement between ignorance and knowledge in such situations is not a path. It is sudden and even jarring. We see when shortly before we were blind. I would suggest that the knowledge acquired in such a manner differs qualitatively from knowledge gained in other ways.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“All knowledge is in God, and when He wills it, according to His mercy, He will reveal these mysteries to the mind of an individual…Because God’s mystery revealed is divine, it is possible for some to misunderstand it. God reveals to each of us according to our abilities. So, it is possible that to protect some from falling into error, that it is better for them that certain aspects of God’s revelation remain a mystery. God will give them to know what they need to know, but there may remain some things beyond their comprehension. This is OK because God in His love reveals to each what they need to know for their salvation.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Fr. Ted Bobosh)
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