“6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city,
Without the people being afraid?
Does evil happen to a city,
And Yahweh hasn’t done it?
7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,
Unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.”
Amos 3:6-7 WEB

Of course, Liberalism believes in a “god” who does NOT intervene in His creation, so they would say there is nothing to reveal! However, Scripture consistently points to a God who constantly intervenes in our lives, makes sure we have food and clothes, may assist us or hinder or stop us in our endeavors. In fact James says,

“For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.””
Jas 4:15 WEB

So here is an all seeing God who guides events according to His purposes, and it is certainly consistent with the Bible message overall.

It is perhaps appropriate to admit that probably
MOST do NOT believe Amos 3:7!

This is a picture of an over-ruling God who constantly acts in history. And for God to let us know what He is doing? Many Christians even act blind, as if they have no idea what God does. But Amos 3:6-7 is a prophecy of what God will do, and says He does nothing unless He reveals it to His prophets. Further, Jesus says Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35. Many other passages says essentially the same.

So how should we take these assertions.

God reveals through examples the ways He interactss
with men throughout history.

We read, or we should be reading, the accounts given the prophets of the ways God responds to certain types of actions. It is revealed to us how He acts in certain conditions. We know,

… “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Jas 4:6 WEB

And we know,

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle;
But victory is with Yahweh.”
Prov 21:31 WEB

So it is with many things.

But there are exceptional things which WILL
happen in history.

Things in which God will act in special ways, or allow stunning things to happen. Of these it says,

“Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,
Unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.”
Amos 3:7 WEB

Most of what we see in life and history is common, repeatable things, which happen in one form or another, time after time, and are revealed by God’s prophets. They may not be common to us, but they are common things in Bible history,

And of the astounding things which will lead up to the end of this present universe … these also are revealed by God’s prophets.

Are there still any things known only to God?

Yes. They belong to God. But the things revealed are sufficient so that we can be prepared, Deut 29:29. But we do need those revelations.

Instead of acting blind, we should,

“Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, …”
2Cor 5:11 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

There are mysteries in Christianity, things which have to be revealed, things which you cannot just figure out.

Why do you speak in parables? Jesus’ disciples
asked, Mtt 13:10.

The truth is, just as the occult teaches, that not everyone deserves to know all of the secrets of eternal life!

“He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.””
Mtt 13:11 WEB

If you have any ears you should listen to these things, Mtt 13:9. The occult handles such things through not telling most people the core beliefs of their religion. In the gospel these things are handled in a different way. We are supposed to tell everyone what they need to know. Tell them, whether they will listen or not, Ezek 2:5. Even so, they truth is that people filter themselves out from life.

“Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
1Cor 2:14 WEB

We declare openly the very mysteries of life.

The One, Jesus the Christ, who created all life.

“3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Jn 1:3-4 WEB

The very wisdom of the ages we declare.

“6 We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown [teleios in Greek]; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, ”
1Cor 2:6-7 WEB emphasis added

If you have some understanding of eternal things,

God will give you even more.

“For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance,”
Mtt 13:12a WEB

You might compare this to our muscles. If you use your muscles they will grow and increase in strength. On the other hand,

“but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.”
Mtt 13:12b WEB

It is a use it or lose it sort of things. Similarly, if you never use your muscles, they can atrophy to the point you cannot use them at all.

If we decide we really don’t like this, don’t really
want to do this, we CUT OURSELVES off,
from further understanding.

“14 … ‘By hearing you will hear,
And will in no way understand;
Seeing you will see,
And will in no way perceive:
15 For this people’s heart has grown callous,
Their ears are dull of hearing,
They have closed their eyes;
Or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart,
And should turn again;
And I would heal them.’”
Mtt 13:14-15 WEB

If this is our case, our understanding
stops right there!

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Occult means hidden, and religiously is generally about secret or semisecret religions. Sometimes they had a public presence, but the details were secret. In New Testament times these were called “mystery” religions. Secrets were at the very center of their existence.

The Core Religious Secrets

Sometimes mathematical or scientific or political secrets were involved, but at the center of their teachings were religious secrets. Secrets revealed from “the gods,” but which were too high and holy for the average man. These were things needed for salvation, but only specially selected “better people” were good enough to learn these things.

When they encountered Christianity, they would say that Jesus was good, but that there were other higher truths which were necessary for salvation. These tended to be religions of the well-to-do, the rich and the famous.

Methods of Indoctrination

The teaching was mainly by powerful religious dramas in which the initiate participated. The initiate knew only his own lines, but until the initiation he did not know where the drama was leading, or rather, where it was leading him.

The secrets of whatever religion was involved, were revealed in stages or levels. In the beginning levels the dramas were intended to be emotionally impressive, but generally did not teach any serious secrets. The initiate was then covertly observed to see how he reacted, and whether he was capable of keep a secret! (Some people just cannot keep their mouths shut, and tell everything they know. If the initiate was like that, then he never advanced to higher levels of initiation.)

If the initiate proved receptive, and could keep secrets, then he was advanced to higher and higher levels of initiation. When he was fully instructed, then in Greek he was called a “perfect,” teleios.

The Political Realities of Such Groups

Such groups were ready made for political intrigue and duplicity, and almost always became involved in politics. With the different levels of indoctrination, the lower level men really never knew what the order was truly about. If they stayed, they were trusting that they were involved in some good higher calling, OR that regardless of the objectives of the order, that they would be on the inside of some lucrative enterprise that would bring them high level friends and advancement.

Such groups have often been the covert movers and shakers in whatever society they were involved. Some of these groups were what we now call “gnostics,” which roughly means, “those who know,” or at least think they know!

The Spiritual Realities

Especially the books of Ephesians and Colossians were intended to refute the claims of such groups. Paul says that their claims to higher knowledge are false. He says of the Christ he teaches,

“whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect [the Greek word here is teleios] in Christ Jesus;”
Col 1:29 WEB emphasis added

In other words, true salvation in Jesus Christ is for ALL. It is not just for men, or white men, or certain “better” men, but for ALL MEN, and it is all publicly revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901