Topical Bible: Books: Often Sealed

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical literature, the concept of sealed books or scrolls carries significant theological and symbolic meaning. The act of sealing a book often denotes the preservation of divine mysteries, the protection of sacred knowledge, or the withholding of revelation until an appointed time. This theme is prevalent in both the Old and New Testaments, where sealed books serve as instruments of God's sovereign plan and divine communication.

Old Testament Context

The imagery of sealed books is notably present in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of a vision that is like the words of a sealed book: "And the entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed scroll. If it is given to someone to read, he will say, 'I cannot, because it is sealed'" (Isaiah 29:11). Here, the sealed book symbolizes the people's spiritual blindness and inability to comprehend God's message due to their disobedience and lack of faith.

The Book of Daniel also features the motif of sealed writings. Daniel is instructed to "shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4). This sealing signifies that the full understanding of the prophecy is reserved for a future time, emphasizing God's control over the unfolding of history and revelation.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation provides a vivid depiction of a sealed scroll. In Revelation 5, the Apostle John describes a scroll with seven seals in the right hand of God. No one in heaven or on earth is found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it, except for the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ: "And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?' But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it" (Revelation 5:2-3). The opening of the seals by the Lamb signifies the revelation of God's redemptive plan and the execution of divine judgment.

The sealed scroll in Revelation underscores the authority of Christ and the unfolding of eschatological events. Each seal broken by the Lamb reveals a portion of the apocalyptic vision, demonstrating that only through Christ can the mysteries of God's kingdom be unveiled.

Theological Significance

Sealed books in the Bible highlight the tension between hidden and revealed knowledge. They remind believers of the limitations of human understanding and the necessity of divine revelation. The sealing of books serves as a metaphor for the mysteries of God's will, which are disclosed according to His timing and purpose.

Furthermore, the concept of sealed books emphasizes the importance of faith and obedience. As seen in Isaiah and Daniel, the inability to access the sealed content often correlates with spiritual unpreparedness or rebellion. Conversely, the opening of the seals in Revelation signifies the fulfillment of God's promises and the ultimate victory of Christ.

In summary, the motif of sealed books in Scripture reflects the profound and often mysterious nature of divine revelation. It calls believers to trust in God's sovereign plan and to seek understanding through faith in Jesus Christ, the one who alone is worthy to open the seals and reveal the fullness of God's purposes.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 29:11
And the vision of all is become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he said, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Daniel 12:4
But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Revelation 5:1
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

How to Speak in Public
... the furniture of our mind, to the great books of the ... one's mind is not likely to
be often diverted by ... by that discriminating audience and his doom was sealed. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kleiser/talks on talking/how to speak in public.htm

Other Passages from the Song of Songs are Considered with Relation ...
... Three Books Concerning Virgins ... the recesses of your breast, for it is most often
to be ... sister, My spouse, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed;" [3203] because ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter ix other passages from.htm

The Power of Prayer
... state of China by reading several books, and especially an ... empire which was then
apparently so sealed against the ... Often I had tried to make myself a Christian ...
//christianbookshelf.org/taylor/a retrospect/chapter i the power of.htm

The Chariot of Fire
... are the books, or portions of books, really written ... five friends of God, that he
often visited them ... Rulman Merswin's room was found a sealed chest, containing ...
/.../bevan/three friends of god/chapter xlvi the chariot of.htm

New Testament History and Prophecy.
... can understand a single one of the books of the ... be easily understood, and whose truth
is often sorely needed ... The book sealed with seven seals is given to him ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter x new testament history.htm

The Credibility of Scripture Sufficiently Proved in So Far as ...
... Church, because they supplied us with books of which ... The proud often eye this simplicity
with disdain, because they ... of Scripture, that it was sealed with the ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 8 the credibility of.htm

The Struggler;
... above twelve years, by imprisonment, whereby he sealed to the ... conscience to any of
these particular books with the ... and that I have proved by often trying most ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the struggler.htm

And Forgive us Our Debts as we Also have Forgiven Our Debtors
... do not grieve Him in whom we were sealed unto a ... brought to trial when, as it were,
the books that have ... to remember our own indebtedness and how often we have ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen on prayer/chapter xviii and forgive us.htm

The Apocalypse.
... borrowed from the old Hebrew prophets, often spiritualized and ... only of the briefer
prophetic books, as those ... twelve tribes of Israel are sealed twelve thousand ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxii the apocalypse.htm

Sebastian Franck: an Apostle of Inward Religion
... to the Present").[7] It has {50} often been pointed ... Other significant books from
his pen are his ... 7 Siegeln verschlossene Buch ("The Seven-sealed Book"), 1539. ...
/.../chapter iv sebastian franck an.htm