In the Gospel of Mark it is written, “Unto you is given to know the Kingdom of God, but unto them that are without all things must be done in parables”. What does this mean?

Something all too often overlooked by Bible students is the fact that the teachings of Jesus are divided into two parts – the revealed and the unrevealed, or the mundane and the esoteric. The Mysteries were for disciples and the parables for the multitude. Thus Jesus said to his disciples, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot”. All religions having traditional roots in the past, going back beyond the last few centuries, have what is called their esoteric mysteries which are confined to a few. William Kingsland, in his book ‘The Gnosis or Ancient Wisdom in the Christian Scriptures’, states, “There Always has been and there always must be an exoteric doctrine for the masses, and esoteric teaching for those who, as Plotinus says, are fortunately able to receive it”. Clement of Alexandria, one of the early Church Fathers, is quoted as saying, “The Mysteries of the Faith are not to be divulged to all. It is requisite to hide in a mystery the wisdom spoken”. Knowing just what is hidden – the Secret of the Centuries – one can well understand why this should be so.