Revelation 6:9-11 – When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.” Jesus again is the opener of the scroll and the seals.
Under the altar. The altar where sacrifices to God were made. At the altar people come in acknowledgement of who He is and to confess the goodness, the glory, and the absolute rule of God. Those who are under the alter are those who came to the Lord during the great tribulation. Those who had come to the Lord before the great tribulation are already in heaven as is the Lord’s promise in Revelation 3:10 “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” That End Times have begun and the Christians have been raptured to Heaven.
The sacrifices that these souls made were not animals offered to God for the forgiveness of their sins. Their sins had already been forgiven because of the Jesus, the Lamb of God who died for their sins. They did not give up their lives to save themselves, they gave up their lives because they were already saved. These souls are the souls of those who have loved the Lord and refused, under any circumstance, to denounce that Jesus is both Savior God and Lord God. The refused to deny the Lamb of God and so they were killed by the government of the Antichrist. These souls are heroes. Heroes for eternity. They are safe now. They are where they have always been, in the love and protection of God. They are safe. They are home. They are with God.
These souls did not keep the light of the Lamb of God under a bushel, they let it shine (Matthew 5:16). They boldly carried the Word of God with them everywhere they went and they released it, and the power of the Holy Spirit, everywhere they went. As the Antichrist proclaimed that there is no true god but him, these saints stood up for the Truth and proclaimed that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the only way to heaven and that the Antichrist was a charlatan (1 John 2:22). That is two important things that all who follow Christ must do. First we bring, everywhere we are, everywhere we breathe, the Truth that Jesus alone is Savior and Lord (Matthew 18-20). We bring and let loose the Gospel so that people may be freed from bondage, as we once were (Galatians 4:3). The second thing that saints do, after bringing the Truth, is exposing the lie (Ephesians 5:8-13). Everything and every person that claims to be a savior and lord we expose as a lie (1 John 4:3). We tell everyone that that is only one God, and one Mediator between man and God, and that is the Lord Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). That can bring anger towards us, but we stand in the love of God. Yes, the world will not like us, the time is coming when they will hate us and will hate the Gospel message (Mark 13:13). Even now many are killed for not denying the Lord. Now the killings, though many, are isolated. Then it will be common place. As hateful people behead saints now, so will they also then be beheaded (Revelation 20:4). Why? Because we bring the truth and expose the lies. We do not shrink back and neither will they. The souls below the altar as eternal heroes. Heroes who stand with Jesus. Praise God!
“They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”” A reader of this true scripture may be taken aback. How is it that Jesus (Luke 23:34) and Stephen (Acts 7:60) asked for mercy for their killers, but these call out for vengeance because of their blood being shed? There is no contradiction here. These saints are now in heaven and fully have a heavenly perspective. The avenging of their blood is not for their own sake. When God brings justice, it is not who He brings justice for, but it is God Himself, who is glorified. When God brings justice for the blood of these it is God who will be praised by the martyrs and by all other angels and saints. These martyred saints do not want vengeance for their sake, for that belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19). What they want is the goodness, the justice and the love of God to be revealed that all may see and know the beauty of God. God’s justice is pure and beautiful. The cry of these martyred saints is no less magnificent then the cry of Stephen, he and they call for the same thing. They call for the wonder and beauty of God to be revealed. Praise God!
“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” The white robes signify that these have been justified by Jesus and washed pure by the blood of Jesus. Their travailing in the world is over. Let us notice that they were “given” a white robe. Like grace, they did not earn it or buy it (Ephesians 2:8-9). They were given their white robes just as they were given eternal life by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Praise the Lord, the whole of God’s Word fits so wonderfully together.
These saints under the altar are told to wait a little longer (Deuteronomy 32:35). There were more that were going to stand strong for the Lord and be killed for allegiance to Jesus. Though ultimately, they are killed because the Antichrist and the world who follows him hate Jesus. Because they hate Jesus they put Jesus to death. Because they hate Jesus, they cannot tolerate those who love Him and share His Gospel to be in this world (Matthew 24:9). While the world calls us intolerant, it is they who are intolerant. We are taught to love our enemies and to be good to them (Matthew 5:44). That includes allowing them to have their beliefs, even if they are wrong. However, the world is increasingly being taught to hate us and to believe that we are the haters. We love them as Jesus loves us but they hate us because we, standing strong with the Word of God, expose the darkness of their lives (John 3:20). What is now will intensify and the difference between the people of God and those of the world will grow manifestly distinct. As we have been noting, while studying the spiritual stage of the end times, we must remember the horror that happens during those times is not an instantaneous occurrence, but rather it is the end result, the culmination of the evil that is even now working in the world (2 Thessalonians 2:7). That is why the scriptures say that the Antichrist spirit was active back then. Family, the End Times has been building since the death of Jesus. In fact, the spirit behind those who yelled “crucify Him” (Luke 23:20-23) and the spirit of the End Times is one and the same. The snowball has been rolling down the mountain for a long time and it is all about to come to an ugly ignominious end. Those who killed Jesus, and who kill saints now, are driven by the same Antichrist spirit of End Times.
Family, these are the End Times and the snowball is about to explode. Yet we need not fear. We know that our victory has already been secure and we are guarded and safe in the hand of God. Praise the Lord, we are safe in Him and the truth of His Word will be revealed even in our destiny. God is Good, God is Love and God is Truth and our salvation is entirely based on Him and who He is. We need not fear, Jesus is here…all time! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.