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"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end."
"The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."
These words have been variously interpreted. Some think they refer to the official
seal being set upon the whole book of Daniel at its completion, guaranteeing it to be
authentic and canonical. This view does not seem tenable in the light of the added words:
"even to the time of the end", and "till the time of the end". Another view is that the
prophetic utterances found in Daniel are only to be fully understood in the light of the
Book of the Revelation. This is nearer to the truth, but not quite, for it looks to the Lord's
people instead of the Lord Himself. We believe the shut book will be opened together
with its seals "at the time of the end" by the Lord Himself, as so graphically stated in
Rev. 5: and 6::--
"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 . . . . . the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of
David, hat prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
The opening of the seals is described in Rev. 6:, which sets forth the features of the
time of the end already prophesied in Daniel and by the Lord Himself in Matt. 24::--
Revelation 6:
Matthew 24:
The
WHITE horse.
False christs.
The
RED horse.
Wars.
The
BLACK horse.
Famines.
The
PALE horse.
Pestilences.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows."
The martyrs.
The martyrs.
Signs in heaven.
Signs in heaven.
"The day of wrath come."
That Matt. 24: speaks of the same prophetic period as does Daniel, verses 15-21
make quite clear:--
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place . . . . . then shall be great tribulation" (Matt. 24: 15-21).
"There shall be a time of trouble . . . . . the abomination that maketh desolate set up"
(Dan. 12: 1 and 11).
The closing of the book, moreover, has a significance that is made clear by a reference
to Luke 4: 16-21. There the Lord read a portion of the prophecy of Isaiah, ceased half
way through a verse, closed the book and said: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears." Upon examination it will be seen that the Lord ended His reading at the
words: "the acceptable year of the Lord." Had He read on and included the words: "the
day of vengeance of our God", He could not have said: "This day is this scripture
fulfilled", because two distinct dispensations would have been confused, the one of
mercy and the other of wrath. The closed book in Luke 4: and in Dan. 12: indicates
that an interval must be allowed, and that the prophetic visions of Daniel belong to the