ring and to conquer. This
description agrees with the much fuller description of the Lord Jesus
near the end of the book, as he goes to the earth for the decisive close
of the tribulation.[138]

This gives fresh emphasis to the fact that what follows is the direct
result of His advance step. At once there follows on earth a time of
war, famine, death, and of persecution to the death of God's people.
There is no hint as to how long this goes on. It is brought to a close
with an earthquake and an equally terrific disturbance of the heavens,
the sun, moon, and stars, something unknown before.

The utmost consternation is created on earth. All conditions of men,
crowned kings, merchant princes, men of autocratic power financially and
politically and socially, join with the humblest in hiding themselves in
the great holes made by the earthquake. They feel that the time of
judgment has come, and they are not ready for it.

The description of their terror tallies remarkably with the prophetic
language used by Isaiah,[139] even as the whole description fits into
our Lord's Olivet talk. This is seen to be a general, rapid vision of
the whole tribulation period.

Then there follows what clearly seems to be a parenthesis fitting in
just before the great earthquake. The earth and sea have been terribly
torn up by the earthquake. This parenthesis begins with a command that
the earth and sea be not hurt until certain things have taken place.

This fits the two events of the parenthesis in just before the ruinous
earthquake takes place. The two events are of a radically different sort
from what has just been told. They are thus put by themselves, and the
run of evil and of judgment upon it, put by itself, so keeping these two
quite clear, following the general plan of the book.

There are two events in this parenthesis. There is what is called the
"sealing" of a certain number of the Hebrew tribes _on the earth_.
Twelve thousand of each tribe are sealed, making a total of one hundred
and forty-four thousand. The word "seal" is used in two senses in the
Bible, as a means of fastening up a writing or roll, and, in the New
Testament, commonly for the presence of the Holy Spirit in a human life.

The seal in this second sense was a mark of ownership. Paul tells us
that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit,[140] so indicating that we
belong to the Lord Jesus, who gives us this evidence of His ownership.
If this simple, natural meaning