# Mystery ## Ignatius Catholic Study Bible *Mystery* ([[ephesians-03#^ephesians-03-3|Eph 3:3]]) – *Mystērion* (Gk.): \"mystery\" or \"secret\". The term is used six times in Ephesians and 22 times in the rest of the NT. Like Jesus, who revealed the mysteries of his kingdom through parables ([[matthew-13#^matthew-13-11|Mt 13:11]]; [[mark-04#^mark-04-11|Mk 4:11]]), Paul often teaches his readers about the hidden plan of God now manifest in the reign of Christ ([[romans-16#^romans-16-25|Rom 16:25]]; [[1-corinthians-15#^1-corinthians-15-51|1 Cor 15:51]]; [[ephesians-05#^ephesians-05-32|Eph 5:32]]; [[colossians-02#^colossians-02-2|Col 2:2]]; [[1-timothy-03#^1-timothy-03-16|1 Tim 3:16]]). The most likely background for this notion is the Book of Daniel, where \"mystery\" (Aramaic raz) appears eight times in a single chapter ([[daniel-02#^daniel-02-18|Dan 2:18-19, 27-30, 47]]). Here the mystery is described in a dream to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who envisioned a huge statue of a human body that symbolized the great empires of the earth. Though the king himself was the \"head\" ([[daniel-02#^daniel-02-38|Dan 2:38]]) of the statue who received his empire from the Lord ([[daniel-02#^daniel-02-37|Dan 2:37]]), Daniel went on to describe how the statue would be destroyed and replaced by the messianic kingdom of God. This is the mystery of the kingdom revealed in Ephesians ([[ephesians-01#^ephesians-01-9|Eph 1:9]]; [[ephesians-03#^ephesians-03-4|3:4, 9]]). It is the mystery of another body, the Church, with its head, Jesus Christ (CCC 772, 1066). ### Source [[10-ephesians-commentary#^91invj|Mystery — word study]]