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

And he says to me, Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book. The time is near.

And he saith to me, 'Thou mayest not seal the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is nigh;

"Make no secret," he added, "of the meaning of the predictions contained in this book; for the time for their fulfillment is now close at hand.

And he said to me, Let not the words of this prophet's book be kept secret, because the time is near.

He said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

Then the angel said to me – "Do not keep secret the words of the prophecy contained in this book; for the time is near.

And he saith unto me - The angel.
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book - That is, seal not the book itself, for it may be regarded altogether as a prophetic book. On the sealing of a book, see the notes on Revelation 5:1 . Isaiah (Isaiah 8:16; Isaiah 30:8) and Daniel (Daniel 8:26; Daniel 12:4, Daniel 12:9) were commanded to seal up their prophecies. Their prophecies related to far-distant times, and the idea in their being commanded to seal them was, that they should make the record sure and unchangeable; that they should finish it, and lay it up for future ages; so that, in far-distant times, the events might be compared with the prophecy, and it might be seen that there was an exact correspondence between the prophecy and the fulfillment. Their prophecies would not be immediately demanded for the use of persecuted saints, but would pertain to future ages. On the other hand, the events which John had predicted, though in their ultimate development they were to extend to the end of the world, and even into eternity, were about to begin to be fulfilled, and were to be of immediate use in consoling a persecuted church. John, therefore, was directed not to seal up his predictions; not to lay them away, to be opened, as it were, in distant ages; but to leave them open, so that a persecuted church might have access to them, and might, in times of persecution and trial, have the assurance that the principles of their religion would finally triumph. See the notes on Revelation 10:2.
For the time is at hand - That is, they are soon to commence. It is not implied that they would be soon completed. The idea is, that as the scenes of persecution were soon to open upon the church, it was important that the church should have access to these prophecies of the final triumph of religion, to sustain it in its trials. Compare the notes on Revelation 1:1, Revelation 1:3.

Seal not the sayings - Do not lay them up for future generations; they concern the present times; they must shortly come to pass, for the time is at hand. See above, Revelation 22:6. What concerned the Jews was certainly at hand.

(3) And he saith unto me, (4) Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
(3) The angel returns to his former speech: in which he teaches to use of this book both towards ourselves, in this and the next verse: and in respect of God for declaration of his truth, there to the fifteenth verse (Revelation 22:11-15). (4) That is, propound this prophecy openly to all and conceal no part of it. The contrary to that which is commanded in (Isaiah 8:16; Daniel 8:26).

And he saith unto me,.... Not the angel, but Christ, as is manifest from Revelation 22:12. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version.
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book; as the orders are, when things are intended not to be published, but concealed, at least as yet, because of the distance of the accomplishment of them, which was not the case here; see Revelation 10:4. Christ would have the things John saw and heard, written, and made public, sent in an open book, unsealed, to the churches, that they might be seen and read of all; that so the afflictions and persecutions of the people of God, both under Rome Pagan, and Rome Papal, might be known, and the saints not be offended at them when they came, but be prepared for them, to endure them patiently; and that they might be apprised of the errors and heresies that were to spring up, and of the appearance and wickedness of the man of sin, and his followers, and beware of them; and that they might have some assurance of the destruction of antichrist, and of the glorious state of the church, both in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ, and so be comforted in the midst of their tribulations, and rejoice in the faith and hope of these things. We may learn from hence, that the Scriptures in general are not to be locked up, and concealed from the common people, but lie open, and are to be read by all; and in particular, that this book is not so dark and obscure as it is thought to be:
for the time is at hand; when the things in this book shall begin to be fulfilled; see Revelation 1:1.

Seal not--But in Daniel 12:4, Daniel 12:9 (compare Daniel 8:26), the command is, "Seal the book," for the vision shall be "for many days." The fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy was distant, that of John's prophecy is near. The New Testament is the time of the end and fulfilment. The Gentile Church, for which John wrote his Revelation, needs more to be impressed with the shortness of the period, as it is inclined, owing to its Gentile origin, to conform to the world and forget the coming of the Lord. The Revelation points, on the one hand, to Christ's coming as distant, for it shows the succession of the seven seals, trumpets, and vials; on the other hand, it proclaims, "Behold, I come quickly." So Christ marked many events as about to intervene before His coming, and yet He also says "Behold, I come quickly," because our right attitude is that of continual prayerful watching for His coming (Matthew 25:6, Matthew 25:13, Matthew 25:19; Mark 13:32-37 [AUBERLEN]; compare Revelation 1:3).

Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book. To seal them would mean to conceal them and store them away. But they are not to be hidden. The time had come for the fulfillment to begin.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. This is not a command, but a warning. He that is fixed in injustice and unrighteousness, let him go on. The future judgments revealed in the preceding visions show that he shall reap that he has sown. But the holy and true, let them be encouraged to press on; they have their reward. The reason that the saints may be sure of this is next given.
Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me. Then the unjust and the holy shall each be rewarded according to his works.

And he saith to me - After a little pause. Seal not the sayings of this book - Conceal them not, like the things that are sealed up. The time is nigh - Wherein they shall begin to take place.