1. _The Emblem of the Seals._――The seal has been usually taken as signifying concealment or secrecy; sealed things have been regarded as synonymous with hidden things. And very much conjecture has been offered as to what were the hidden mysteries contained in the sealed book or scroll. But, whatever secondary meaning the seal may have, concealment is not its principal one. A seal denotes, primarily and specifically, ownership, not secrecy. The sealing of anything implies that it is, or is claimed to be, the property of him who affixes the seal. The outward stamp is the declaration that the owner makes of his rights and is the official token of his authority. It is the mark of lordship or seigniority. Any concealment of contents therein involved is a secondary consideration. Some illustrations from Scripture will substantiate this interpretation. When it is said (Romans iv, 11) that Abraham received “the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had,” it is meant that he then became in a special sense the personal property of Almighty God and entitled to all the protection of Omnipotence. “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal [‘hath set his seal to this,’ Revised Version] that God is true” (John iii, 33), means that the assured conviction of God’s reality and faithfulness has become the personal possession of the believer, something which belongs to him of right. “Him hath God the Father sealed” (John vi, 27) means that God officially ratifies and acknowledges as his own what Christ does, and attests it with the stamp of authority. When Pilate sealed the sepulcher where Christ was laid (Matthew xxvii, 66) it was meant that the tomb became the property of the Roman empire and was under the guardianship of its officials, and that whoever tampered with it must be prepared to try questions with Cæsar. “Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit” (Ephesians i, 13) means that ye received as your own possession, in your own personal experience, the earnest of your inheritance; the gift of the Holy Spirit attests your rightful claim to it. These examples will suffice to indicate the scriptural meaning of the seal. We have only to apply this meaning to the solution of the problem before us. “A book written within and on the back side,” that is, completely, all over, with no blank or empty space, is seen lying in the right hand of God on the throne. Plainly, this book with its contents signifies something over which the divine Being asserts supreme sovereignty, which he claims as his of right and alone. And the number of the seals――seven――indicates that this sovereignty is complete, undivided, perfect.