Revelation 22:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

NIV: Then he told me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.

NASB: And he *said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

CSB: Then he said to me, "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.

NLT: Then he instructed me, 'Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near.

KJV: And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

NKJV: And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

The prophet Daniel was informed that his "words [were] shut up and sealed until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:9), but John was told not to seal the words of the prophecy of Revelation (Revelation 22:10). For Daniel, innumerable events needed to transpire before his prophecy would be fully meaningful. For John's Revelation, no events needed to occur because the time was near. He had seen or heard everything relevant which would take place in the end time. Even if specific details were unclear, or yet to be fully realized, the message was ready for mankind to hear and understand.

No one knows when the Lord will return (Matthew 24:36), but the doctrine of imminence (Revelation 22:7) teaches the rapture could occur at any moment (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). We don't have to wait for any signs to be fulfilled to recognize this as the next major event in God's timeline. The signs Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24 primarily occur after the rapture, in the tribulation, before Jesus returns to earth in a blaze of glory (Revelation 19:11–16).

Revelation 22:6–13 moves on from the description of life in New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9—22:5) and focuses on Jesus' return. This marks the end of John's visions of the future, returning to more immediate instructions for Christian believers; this is the epilogue to the book of Revelation. Both the beginning and closing of Revelation offer a blessing (Revelation 1:3; 22:7). Both stress the importance of keeping the prophecy being given (Revelation 1:3; 22:7). And both identify Jesus as the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8; 22:13).

John sees additional images of New Jerusalem. The city's depiction stands in contrast to the ruin experienced during the tribulation, and evokes comparisons to the garden of Eden from the book of Genesis. After this, John relates several commands and messages from Jesus Christ. Among these are a dire warning not to manipulate the words of this message. Revelation, along with the canon of Scripture, ends with a benediction and prayer for Jesus to return.

This passage completes the description of New Jerusalem. Earlier chapters in Revelation described the final judgments against sin and death. Genesis chapter 3 described humanity's loss of paradise; Revelation 22 describes paradise regained. Concluding remarks by Jesus begin in verse 6 and continue through verse 20. Verse 21 records the apostle John's benediction, which marks the end of the New Testament canon.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/7/2024 4:28:18 PM