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Revelation 10:4

in Revelation 10

When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

KJV

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

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This verse in Revelation 10

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write it down. The mysteries of the Christian faith are neither to be shown to all indiscriminately, lest they become cheap, nor hidden from the worthy, lest they be entirely unknown. Hence, later he …

This site's exposition

seven thunders uttered their voices

on Revelation 10:3-4

The angel cries with a voice like a lion's roar, and seven thunders answer, seven complete and articulate voices, for John was about to write what they said until a voice from heaven stopped him, seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. This is the one place in the whole book where John receives revelation he is expressly forbidden to record, and the exposition names the plain lesson without speculating at the content: some things God discloses to his servants and does not commission them to publish, and Daniel's own sealed words at Daniel 12:4 and 9 stand as the pattern for a revelation partly withheld even from its own prophet.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Seal up those things which the seven thunders have uttered, and write them not - These are the only things of all which he heard that he is commanded to keep secret: so something peculiarly secret was revealed to the beloved John, besides all the secrets that are written in this book.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Though heard by John, they were not to be imparted by him to others in this book of Revelation; so terrible are they that God in mercy withholds them, since "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The godly are thus kept from morbid ponderings over the evil to come; and the ungodly are not driven by despair into utter recklessness of life.

The words behind it

25 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Daniel 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”12 worksDaniel 8:26The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”7 worksRevelation 22:10Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.7 worksDaniel 12:9“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.6 worksDeuteronomy 29:29The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.4 worksRevelation 14:13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”4 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
Habakkuk 2:2–3Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.3 worksRevelation 1:11saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”3 worksIsaiah 29:11And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”3 worksIsaiah 8:16Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.3 worksRevelation 19:9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”3 worksRevelation 2:1–3“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.2 worksIsaiah 8:1Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.2 worksDaniel 7:1In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.2 worksRevelation 7:2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:1 worksRevelation 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.-1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 29:29

    The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 2:22

      He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

    • Acts 1:7

      Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.

    • Romans 11:33–34

      O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

    • Matthew 13:11

      He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

    • Job 11:6–7

      and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

  • Through

    Daniel 12:4

    But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

    it leads to

    • Daniel 8:26

      The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Daniel 12:9

      “Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Daniel 12:9

    “Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 12:4

      But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 10 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Revelation 10 →