Synopsis: The
scroll “sealed” by Daniel is unsealed in the book of Revelation. The messianic age arrived in the Death and Resurrection
of Jesus – Revelation 22:10.
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By Aaron Burden on Unsplash |
At the close of his visions,
the prophet Daniel was commanded by an angel to “shut up the words and seal
the book until the season of the end.” One popular view assumes this to mean
the interpretation of Daniel’s prophecies will be disclosed in the final few years
before the end of the age, that is, to the “last generation” to live before the
return of Jesus in glory (Daniel 12:1-4).
However, this understanding
misses a key point of the book of Revelation stressed at the beginning
and end of the book - The season of fulfillment and disclosure arrived with the
Death and Resurrection of Jesus. What Daniel was commanded to “seal” is
unsealed in the “Revelation of Jesus Christ”:
(Daniel 12:4) – “But, thou, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the
time of the end—many will run to and fro, and knowledge shall abound.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation 1:1-3) –
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to
him to point out unto his servants the
things which must needs come to pass with speed—and he shewed
them by signs, sending through his messenger unto his servant John; who
bare witness as to the word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ—whatsoever
things he saw. Happy! he that readeth and they who hear the words of the
prophecy, and keep the things therein written; for the season is near.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation
22:10) – “And he saith unto me—Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll,
for the season is near.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
The very first word of Revelation
is apokalupsis, or “revelation,” a term that means, “unveiling,
disclosure, revelation” (Strong’s - #G602). God gave this “revelation” to Jesus
to show His servants “what things must come to pass soon.” The visions in
the book of Revelation are meant to disclose what was previously hidden;
not to hide or mystify us about the future, whether near or remote.
The first paragraph of the
book declares its purpose - To “show God’s servants by signs what things must come to pass
soon” In the immediate context, the term “servants” refers to the seven churches of Asia. The paragraph concludes with promised blessings
for all who heed the words of the prophecy, because “the season is near”.
The clause from Verse 1 alludes
to the words of Daniel to king Nebuchadnezzar concerning his dream of a great
image - “There is a God in heaven that reveals mysteries, and has shown the
king what things must come to pass
in latter days.” The Greek clause in the Septuagint is
an exact match to the one in the first verse of Revelation, only, “latter
days” has been changed to “soon.” What was
once in a distant future is now imminent for the churches of Asia:
(Daniel 2:26-28) – “The king answered and said unto Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar—Art
thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the
interpretation thereof? Daniel answered before the king, and said—The
secret which the king hath asked, the wise men, the magicians, the sacred
scribes, the astrologers are not able to declare unto the king; but there
is a God in the heavens who revealeth secrets and hath made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar what shall come to pass in the afterpart of the days.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation
1:1) – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which
God gave to him to point out unto his servants the things which must needs come to pass with speed.” – (The Emphasized
Bible).
“The season is near.”
The clause from Verse 3 is based on the angel’s instructions to the prophet Daniel
in the closing section of his book, as follows:
(Daniel 12:4) – “But,
thou, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the time
of the end—many will run to and fro, and knowledge shall abound.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation
1:3) – “Happy! he that readeth and they who hear the words of the
prophecy, and keep the things therein written; for the season is near.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
In both passages, “season”
represents the Greek noun kairos, meaning, “season, the opportune time, set
time” (Strong’s - #G2540). As before, the book of Revelation
changes the time reference from “the end” to “near” or engus, a
term which denotes something “near, imminent, at hand” (Strong’s - #G1451).
At the conclusion of the book
of Revelation, an angel commanded John NOT “to seal
the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the season is at hand.” This is a deliberate
contrast with the command of the angel to Daniel to “close up
the words and seal the book.” What Daniel was told to seal until a distant future
John is told not to seal - The time of disclosure had arrived
(Revelation 22:10).
The prologue of Revelation
opens with greetings to the churches of Asia from God, the “seven spirits
before the throne,” and from “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the
firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, and loosed us
from our sins by his blood.” The present sovereignty
of Jesus is an accomplished fact. He is the one who bore “faithful
witness” in his death, he is the “firstborn of the dead”
through his resurrection, and, therefore, his Death and Resurrection form the
basis of his present and very real reign over the nations.
By obedience unto death,
Jesus “overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne.” His right to open the scroll “sealed with seven seals” was achieved in his
sacrificial death. Already, he has all authority (“I am the Living one; and
I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death
and of Hades” – Revelation 1:18-19).
Jesus began to open the
sealed scroll following his Death and Resurrection:
(Revelation 1:17-18)
– “Do not fear! I am the First and the Last, and
the Living One—and I became dead;—and lo! living am I unto the ages of ages,
and have the keys of death and of hades.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation 3:21) –
“He that overcometh, I will give unto him to take his
seat with me in my throne, as I, also, overcame, and took my seat with my
Father in his throne.” –
(The Emphasized Bible).
(Revelation
5:5-10) – “And one of the elders, saith unto
me—Do not weep! Lo! the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
hath overcome to open the scroll and the seven seals thereof. And I saw in
the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of
the elders a Lamb, standing, showing that it had been slain…And he came and at
once took [it] out of the right hand of him that was sitting upon the
throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the
four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp and
bowls of gold full of incense—which are the prayers of the saints; and
they sing a new song, saying—Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open the
seals thereof; because
thou wast slain and didst redeem unto God by thy blood [men] out of every
tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, And didst make them unto our
God a kingdom and priests—and they reign on the earth.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
Thus, in accordance with the
promise of Yahweh made to Israel, men and women freed by the sacrificial death
of the Lamb have been constituted “kings and priests” and reign with him
“on the earth.” From the start, the visions of the Book of Revelation
are anchored in the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus. And following his
enthronement, Jesus, the Lamb, began to unveil what was previously
veiled. In him, the “season” dawned.
Any Christian still waiting
for a presumed future date for new revelation and insight into the prophecies of
Daniel is a day late and a dollar short. The messianic age and the time of
fulfillment has already arrived in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus -
Already, Jesus reigns!
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