Revelation 6:1

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, ¹  “Come!” ² 

Isaiah 8:16

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, ³ 

seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers. ⁴ 

Isaiah 29:11

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation ⁵  is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read ⁶  and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.”

Daniel 8:26

8:26 The vision of the evenings and mornings that was told to you is correct. ⁷  But you should seal up the vision, for it refers to a time many days from now.”

Daniel 12:4-9

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, ⁸  and knowledge will increase.”

12:5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. ⁹  12:6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” 12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky ¹⁰  and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters ¹¹  the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

12:8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, ¹²  what will happen after these things?” 12:9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.

[6:1]  ¹ tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

[6:1]  ² tc The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses.

[8:16]  ³ tn Heb “tie up [the] testimony.” The “testimony” probably refers to the prophetic messages God has given him. When the prophecies are fulfilled, he will be able to produce this official, written record to confirm the authenticity of his ministry and to prove to the people that God is sovereign over events.

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “seal [the] instruction among my followers.” The “instruction” probably refers to the prophet’s exhortations and warnings. When the people are judged for the sins, the prophet can produce these earlier messages and essentially say, “I told you so.” In this way he can authenticate his ministry and impress upon the people the reality of God’s authority over them.

[29:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[29:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”

[8:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “truth.”

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Or “will run back and forth”; KJV “shall run to and fro”; NIV “will go here and there”; CEV “will go everywhere.”

[12:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “one to this edge of the river and one to that edge of the river.”

[12:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ¹¹ tc The present translation reads יַד־נֹפֵץ (yad-nofets, “hand of one who shatters”) rather than the MT נַפֵּץ־יַד (nappets-yad, “to shatter the hand”).

[12:8]  ¹² tn Heb “my lord,” a title of polite address.