Due to limited space, we will not quote both passages, but there are verses in each passage that can be compared. First of all, let’s read Daniel 12:4 & 9: “But you, Daniel, SHUT UP THE WORDS, AND SEAL THE BOOK until the time of the end….Go your way, Daniel, for THE WORDS ARE CLOSED UP AND SEALED till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and NONE OF THE WICKED SHALL UNDERSTAND, but the wise shall understand” (NKJV). These verses teach us that the prophecies that were given to Daniel were CLOSED AND SEALED until “the time of the end” (the Tribulation Period yet to come). When the time of the end does come, his prophecies will still be A SEALED BOOK to the wicked, for God says of them, “none of the wicked shall understand.” Their spiritual blindness will prevent them from understanding God’s Word.

Now let’s read Isaiah 29:9-14: “Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. The whole vision has become to you LIKE THE WORDS OF A BOOK THAT IS SEALED, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I am not literate.’ Therefore the LORD said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; For THE WISDOM OF THEIR WISE MEN SHALL PERISH AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR PRUDENT MEN SHALL BE HIDDEN.” Do you see the obvious connection between the passage in Daniel and this passage? God’s Word will always be “like the words of a book that is sealed” to the wicked. They may pretend to “draw near” to the Lord with praise from their lips, but the Lord says they “have removed their hearts far from Me.” They love the “commandment of men,” but God’s Word holds no place in their hearts. As a result they are BLIND to His Word and “the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

Before we end this short meditation, it is important to see that everyone is born in this state of “spiritual blindness.” The apostle Paul describes this state in Ephesians 4:18: “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” He also addressed this issue in 1st Corinthians 2:14: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they spiritually discerned.” This simply means that the “natural man” (the one who has not been “born again”) cannot understand God’s Word; it is indeed A SEALED BOOK to him.

Is the Bible A SEALED BOOK to you? If so, we would plead with you to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do, you will be “born of the Spirit” (see John 3:1-7). The moment you are born again the Holy Spirit will come to live in you (see John 7:37-39; 14:16-17; and Ephesians 1:13) and the Bible will no longer be a sealed book to you. The Spirit will be your Divine Teacher Who will give you the ability to understand God’s Word. 1st Corinthians 2:12-13 declare, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that WE MIGHT KNOW the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.”  (223.1)  (DO)