By “mystery,” I am referring to things not yet revealed. While God has told us a great deal about the end times, there are still some very important things left out.
Consider the hundreds of prophecies from the Old Testament regarding the first advent of our Lord Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not put together who Christ was because there were so many apparently contradictory prophecies. Yet in hindsight, their fulfillment was obvious. To quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:8, “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Had they known, God’s entire plan of salvation could have been sabotaged.
I believe something similar is at work regarding Christ’s second coming. Some important information is not revealed that reconciles the apparent contradictions in eschatology. There is valid scriptural evidence for all three positions in the Bible, pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. Personally, after weighing the evidence for the last 45 years, I am in the pre-tribulation camp, although I moved to the post-tribulation camp for a few years awhile back. But I am still not 100% certain. What I do know for certain is that all revealed scriptures will be literally fulfilled to the letter, and the fulfillment will be as obvious as was the first coming. God has his reasons for this mystery. I suspect, but do not know, it is so the powers of darkness cannot sabotage God’s coming plans for the future.