Question 1

What does "Mystery" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Mystery" means "unsolved puzzle." The revealed-ness. A biblical mystery was not 'something nobody can figure out' but 'something God has now unveiled.' Paul's 'mystery of Christ' was that God's plan -- hidden for ages -- was now disclosed: Gentiles and Jews united in one body through Christ. The mystery was solved, not unsolvable.

Question 2

Why did the word "Mystery" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Greek mysterion ('revealed secret/divine plan now disclosed/truth previously hidden in God but now made known through Christ') detective-ified into 'unsolved puzzle.' The revealed-secret dimension inverted into the unsolvable-riddle dimension. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by still used but detective-ified (~1800).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Mystery"?

Accepted Answer

"Mystery" was replaced by: "puzzle" (though this something to solve; a mysterion was something god solved by revealing it); "secret" (though this hidden information; a mystery was specifically a secret now revealed); "unknown" (though this unknowable; a mystery was previously unknown but now made known through christ).

What Does “Mystery” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost