Translation
When the seven thunders had spoken I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things
the seven thunders have
spoken and do not write them.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
When all the powers of nature
had spoken I was
about to write, but I heard
a voice from heaven saying,
“Keep hidden from view the things all the powers of nature have spoken and do not write them.”
Footnotes
1: "do not write them"
Why would God show John something but not allow him to communicate it to others? There are times that God wants us to know there is more truth out there than what we have access to. It keeps us humble by showing us we don’t know everything. This is a reminder that God, being God, retains some knowledge for Himself. He is not obliged to show us everything. This is especially true regarding future punishments and rewards. We should be very careful in these matters because it is most likely that God has not revealed to us all the punishments or all the rewards He has in mind for mankind.