There is a passage in the New Testament where Jesus is explaining to His disciples why He uses parables. Matthew 13:10-15 says that it had been granted to them (His disciples) to understand, but to others it had not been granted. Why would Jesus do this? Is He wanting to keep people away from God? Is He wanting to keep individuals from getting to Heaven? As Paul would say, “may it never be.” God wants all people to come to the knowledge of Him. He wants all people to come to him with a heart willing to change.
There are a few reasons why Jesus may speak in riddles. The first reason is the mysteries of God might be reserved for those that truly seek Him. There is no secret gospel, but there are hidden truths. We can discover those truths by a relationship with Jesus. That relationship is built through prayer and reading His Word. We are not saved by works, nor are we saved by reading the Bible, but we grow in our knowledge of Him when we read it to understand Him. He wants you to dig and discover who He is.
Psalm 78:2 also hints of this when it says, “uttering dark sayings of old.” The old things are not dark because they are evil, but because they’ve been obscured. Again, there are things that are only realized through a relationship with God. Jesus talked about the Pharisees as blind guides. They understood the words of Scripture, but not its meaning. For the Spirit filled believer, it is God’s Spirit that guides us and reveals things to us. 1 Cor 2:13 tells us that it is His Spirit that explains spiritual realities to us. Verse 14 than says, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”
I also believe that God has hidden things from demonic forces and the devil himself. I’ve often thought, surely the devil can see the Word of God and know what is going to happen. Why doesn’t he change his actions to make a different outcome? I believe it’s because he cannot spiritually discern the truth. It is hidden from him. I think Satan was a hundred percent fooled when Jesus rose from the grave. I think Satan moved on the Roman and Jewish leadership in that day and caused them to rise up and try to kill the Messiah. He was going to thwart God’s plan. He was going to win. He was sorely mistaken. Satan did not understand the prophecies concerning Christ and he lost. I think the same is true for the end times. They have been hidden from Satan and revealed to the Sons (and daughters) of God. Jesus even prayed, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants.” Satan is boastful, prideful, and arrogant, and for that reason he is blind to the truths of God.
We can see that in Daniel 12:4 God tells Daniel to seal up the prophecies. I believe these will become clear to those who seek Him in the last days. I want to encourage you to pick up the Bible and read it with an open mind. Don’t bring your agenda to it, but clear your motives and read it to understand. Then pray and ask the Father to reveal it to you.
The book of Hebrews says that God rewards those who diligently seek him. Draw close to God and you will find Him. Seek after God with your whole heart and you will be rewarded with understanding and wisdom. Your relationship with God should never get to the place where you know Him enough. There is always something to learn when you search the Scriptures.