THE FIFTH SEAL GLOBAL MARTYRDOM Revelation 6v9-11
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.........."
The people of God are not immune from the traumas of earth. There are times, like in the days of the Exodus, when God shielded His people from the plagues descending on Egypt; however history has shown that He will not always do that , and in this, the most traumatic time in all of history, there will be many martyrs for their faith in Christ. This is an aspect of the Christian faith which Jesus emphasizes in Matthew 24v9-14 and many other such passages. We might well ask who are these martyrs since at the "harpazo" all believers will be removed from the earth. The answer will come when we study chapter 7 but for now it is enough to say there will be many people not only saved, but committed enough to give their lives for Jesus Christ.
It is remarkable, in a time of the manifest wrath of God upon earth, that the Spirit of God will be active in saving many souls. The theme of martyrdom runs throughout the book of Revelation, as if to give them special mention. To give one's life for Jesus Christ is the highest sacrifice and heaven recognizes it as such. There is a touching comment here "I saw under the altar the souls of them who had been slain." The imagery is very important. In the brazen altar of the tabernacle and the temple there was a channel under the altar or around the base of the altar to receive the blood of the slain animals . The language here reminds us that these people were now in heaven having given up their life blood for the testimony of God. They literally laid all on the altar for God. We must not be confused by the fact that these are disembodied spirits, yet they are speaking; the answer is that God sees the ultimate end of all things and presents everything as though it is complete. These martyred souls are now wise to the prophetic issues of heaven. Just as the angel of the Lord cried in Zechariah 1v12 "How long.....?" so these. In the context of deepest earthly sorrow appeal in the presence of God for the soon coming of the kingdom of God.
White robes were given to them. Again, scripture is taking the long view here, since the white robes are the garments of distinction they will wear forever. Everyone in heaven be rewarded and clothed with distinction, depending on their works. We are not redeemed by good works, but we are rewarded for good works and surely the martyrs will come very high in the honours list. There is a special place in the heart of God for those who have given up their lives; Jesus was described in Revelation 1 as "the faithful witness" (the word is marturo). The fact is, from the very beginning there have been many slain for their faith in God. Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 23v24 "wherefore behold I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood from the righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias whom ye slew between the temple and the altar." All the apostles were martyred save one. Time and space would fail us to list all the events of martyrdom throughout the past 2000 years and it will go on into the future age. Like the blood of Abel which "cried unto God from the earth" blood shed unlawfully, blood shed out of due time, that should never have been,; heaven takes note and will avenge.
The quotation we made from Matthew 23 is interesting in that it says "whom ye slew," when in fact the people to whom he was speaking did not. What Jesus is saying that to take sides against Him in like atrocities, which amount to nothing short of high treason, they will stand guilty with the very hands which committed the deed. God will avenge all martyred blood. There is a common phrase here which is repeated throughout the book namely "them that dwell on the earth." The expression means "earth dwellers" not so much people who simply live on the earth, but people who live for the earth and want nothing to do with heaven. The day of vengeance of our God has begun and the answer to the cry of the martyrs is on its way and justice will prevail.
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