Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. But it turns out that Britain's longest-reigning monarch still has something to say. We just won't know what it is for another 60 years or so. That's because a letter that she wrote to the people of Sydney, Australia, is sealed in a vault with instructions not to be opened until 2085, about 100 years after it was written.

The Queen wrote the letter in November of 1986 on one of her 16 visits to Australia. She addressed the letter to "the just and honorable Lord Mayor of Sydney, Australia" with very specific instructions: "On a suitable day to be selected by you in the year 2085 A.D, would you please open this envelope and convey to the citizens of Sydney my message to them." She then signed the mysterious message, "Elizabeth R.”

The secret letter left by Queen Elizabeth II to the people of Sydney was written to honor the restoration of the Queen Victoria Building. This building was first constructed in Sydney in 1898 for the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, who was also the Queen's great-grandmother. The Queen chose to celebrate that restoration, completed in 1986, with her secret letter.

The letter is located in a restricted part of the historic building inside a glass case. The Queen did not even tell her personal staff what the message to the future contains. Only the Queen was aware of the letter’s contents and it’s to be opened by the city’s future mayor.

Possible Preaching Angle:

1) Bible; Word of God – The scriptures can only be truly read and understood by God’s people (Isa. 29:11-12; Matt. 13:11); 2) Prophecy; Secret – God has revealed many things in his Word--past, present, and future. But there are some things that God has sealed up until the proper time. God told Daniel to “seal up the vision for it concerns the distant future” (Dan. 8:26). At the proper time it will be unsealed along with the prophecy of Revelation for all to read “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this scroll because the time is near” (Rev. 22:10).