And the vision of all has become unto 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 says, I cannot; for it is sealed:
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Cyprian of Carthage
AD 258
Isaiah [prophesied] that the Jews would not understand the holy Scriptures, but that they would become intelligible in the last times, after Christ had come: “And all these words shall be to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which, if you shall give to a man that knows letters to read, he shall say, I cannot read, for it is sealed.… But in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they who are in darkness and in a cloud; the eyes of the blind shall see.” - "To Quirinus 1.4"
For our Lord Jesus Christ did not come as it were to seal up the visions of the prophets. He rather opened and explained those that were of old obscure and sealed, tearing away so to say the seals impressed on them, and taught his disciples the meaning of the Holy Scriptures. Hence he says, “Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed, and he has opened the seals that were set on the book,” in John’s Apocalypse. What are these seals but the obscurities of the prophets? Isaiah knew them well and definitely says too: “And these words shall be as the words of the sealed book.” The Christ of God did not come then to shut up the vision and the prophet but rather to open them and bring them to the light. - "Proof of the Gospel 8.2"
And that the things spoken of old by the law and the prophets were all sealed, and that they were unknown to people, Isaiah declares when he says, “And they will deliver the book that is sealed to one that is learned, and will say to him, ‘Read this;’ and he will say, ‘I cannot read it, for it is sealed.’ ” It was right and necessary that the things spoken of old by the prophets should be sealed to the unbelieving Pharisees, who thought that they understood the letter of the law, and be opened to the believing. The things, therefore, which of old were sealed, are now by the grace of God the Lord all open to the saints. - "Fragments from Commentary on Daniel 2.19"
In the Apocalypse a book is shown sealed with seven seals, which if you deliver to one that is learned saying, “Read this,” he will answer you, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” How many there are today who fancy themselves learned, yet the Scriptures are a sealed book to them, and one which they cannot open save through him who has the key of David, “he that opens and no man shuts; and shuts and no man opens.” In the Acts of the Apostles the holy eunuch when reading Isaiah is asked by Philip, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man answered, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” To digress for a moment to myself, I am neither holier nor more diligent than this eunuch, who came from Ethiopia … and was so great a lover of the law and of divine knowledge that he read the holy Scriptures even in his chariot. Yet although he had the book in his hand and took into his mind the words of the Lord, no, even had them on his tongue and uttered them with his lips, he still did not k...
He who had revealed manifold truth to Daniel now signifies that the things he has said are matters of secrecy. And he orders him to roll up the scroll containing his words and set a seal upon the book, with the result that many shall read it and inquire as to its fulfillment in history, differing in their opinions because of its great obscurity. And as for the statement, “Many shall pass over” or “go through,” this indicates that it will be read by many people. For it is a familiar expression to say, “I have gone through a book,” or “I have passed through an historical account.” Indeed this is the idea that Isaiah also expressed in regard to the obscurity of his own book: “And the sayings of that book shall be like the words of a book that is sealed.” - "Commentary on Daniel 4.12"
What is the gate that is always closed, through which only the Lord God of Israel enters? Surely it is that about which the Savior spoke in the Gospel: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, woe to you teachers of the law, woe to you who hold the key of knowledge. You do not enter yourselves, and you prevent those who would from entering.” Isaiah wrote about the same thing, using the metaphor of a book: “The words of this book are like sealed words; when you give them to a man who cannot read and tell him to read, he will respond: ‘I don’t know how to read.’ And they will give it to a man who is able to read and tell him to read and he will say: ‘I cannot read because it is sealed.’ ” This is the same book whose seal no one can break and open either in heaven or on earth or under the earth, except the one about whom John said in the Apocalypse: “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root and race of David, has conquered so that he can open the book and break its seal.” Before the Sav...
This is also why Isaiah would say to the Jews: “Behold, all of these words will be to you like the words of a sealed book.” The skilled reader and the illiterate are equally said to be deprived of fruit, since one is prevented by the seal from penetrating what lies hidden within and the other is shackled by ignorance. - "Commentary on the Apocalypse 2.5"
