The Fifth Seal: Martyrs in Heaven – Revelation 6:9-11

[angels4u]

Who are those martyrs?

 

When the fifth seal is opened John sees all the souls of those had been slain for the word of God gathered under the altar of God calling out for vengeance.

The altar  can refer to the altar in the court of the temple used for the daily sacrifices or the altar of incense inside the temple itself (Luke 1:11). But it can also refer to the sacrifice on the altar itself.

Who are these souls under the altar in Revelation 6? Are they just people killed in the tribulation or throughout the history of the church? Revelation refers to people killed for their testimony and their refusal to worship the beast (13:15) or refused his mark (20:4). The souls are under the altar because the resisted the kingdom of the beast. This could refer to all the martyrs for the whole history of the church (an idealist view) or just those who died in the tribulation (a futurist view). Beale suggests their location under the altar “emphasizes the divine protection that has held sway over their “soul” despite even their loss of physical life because of persecution” (Revelation, 392).

The people under the altar call out to God as “Sovereign Lord.” Lord is δεσπότης (despostes), a term that is normally used by a slave addressing their master, although it is used in the LXX 17 times for God. Aune points out it is a “regular Greek translation of two Latin terms for the Roman emperor” (Aune, Revelation 6–16, 407). This is a hint of the identity of the source of the persecution of God’s people in Revelation, the master who rules the world is not the real, “holy and true” master in heaven.

The people crying out are wearing white robes and are standing under the altar of God. To be under the altar is to be covered in the blood of the slain Lamb of God. In the seven letters, the ones who have overcome are given white robes (3:4-5; 18).

These souls ask God how long he will wait before avenging their deaths. The cry “how long?” appears in the Psalms and Zechariah 1:12. For example, Psalm 6:3, “my soul is greatly troubled, But you, O Lord, how long?” Psalm 13 begins with the words “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 74:10, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?”

The Lord tells them to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers is complete. This answer can be taken several ways. First, it could refer to the total number of martyrs is reached. This implies God knows how many have been chosen to give their lives. Second, some would take this as a reference to when the last martyr dies, then Christ will return and destroy the kingdom of the Beast. The view of the early church was that God had established a “number” for the martyrs. A third possibility is this refers to the end of suffering on earth in general This may include martyrdom, but some will survive until the end to enter into the kingdom.

The souls call on God to avenge them. This is a common Old Testament theme: God is the avenger of the innocent. The souls under the altar are making a legal complaint to God for justice. Since God is the “just judge,” the martyrs can ask him to give them the justice they deserve by punishing the ones who put them to death.

Psalm 9:13 O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

Fourth Ezra has a similar theme. In 4 Ezra 4:35-37 the souls of the righteous call out “how long” and look forward to the harvest when they would be rewarded. Like Revelation 6:10, they are told they must wait until “the number of those like yourselves is completed.”

4 Ezra 4:35–37 Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, ‘How long are we to remain here? And when will the harvest of our reward come?’ 36 And the archangel Jeremiel answered and said, ‘When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance, 37 and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.’ ”

In 1 Enoch 9:10 the ones who have died of blood and oppression bring a lawsuit to the gate of heaven, described as groaning under in the face of their oppression.

1 Enoch 9:10 And now behold, the Holy One will cry, and those who have died will bring their suit up to the gate of heaven. Their groaning has ascended (into heaven), but they could not get out from before the face of the oppression that is being wrought on earth

The fifth seal therefore vividly pictures those who have given their lives resisting the empire and holding on to their testimony for the Lord waiting on the Lord to avenge their deaths. The Lord’s words are comforting, they only need to wait a little while. The Lord will judge rightly between the oppressor and the oppressed and he will punish and reward with justice.The Fifth Seal: Martyrs in Heaven – Revelation 6:9-11 - Reading Acts

[R. Hartono]

They are not the wise virgins who are taken alive to the wedding..

But The foolish virgins are left behind with the world n shud they be brave to resist the beast they shall be martyred n taken directly to under the Altar, not to paradeiso part of hades anymore.

As the paradeiso part of hades will be emptied by 1 Thes 4:16, no more martyrs go there in the GT 

Edited November 2, 2021 by R. Hartono

[AdHoc]

On 11/2/2021 at 7:45 PM, angels4u said:

Who are those martyrs?

 

When the fifth seal is opened John sees all the souls of those had been slain for the word of God gathered under the altar of God calling out for vengeance.

The altar  can refer to the altar in the court of the temple used for the daily sacrifices or the altar of incense inside the temple itself (Luke 1:11). But it can also refer to the sacrifice on the altar itself.

Who are these souls under the altar in Revelation 6? Are they just people killed in the tribulation or throughout the history of the church? Revelation refers to people killed for their testimony and their refusal to worship the beast (13:15) or refused his mark (20:4). The souls are under the altar because the resisted the kingdom of the beast. This could refer to all the martyrs for the whole history of the church (an idealist view) or just those who died in the tribulation (a futurist view). Beale suggests their location under the altar “emphasizes the divine protection that has held sway over their “soul” despite even their loss of physical life because of persecution” (Revelation, 392).

The people under the altar call out to God as “Sovereign Lord.” Lord is δεσπότης (despostes), a term that is normally used by a slave addressing their master, although it is used in the LXX 17 times for God. Aune points out it is a “regular Greek translation of two Latin terms for the Roman emperor” (Aune, Revelation 6–16, 407). This is a hint of the identity of the source of the persecution of God’s people in Revelation, the master who rules the world is not the real, “holy and true” master in heaven.

The people crying out are wearing white robes and are standing under the altar of God. To be under the altar is to be covered in the blood of the slain Lamb of God. In the seven letters, the ones who have overcome are given white robes (3:4-5; 18).

These souls ask God how long he will wait before avenging their deaths. The cry “how long?” appears in the Psalms and Zechariah 1:12. For example, Psalm 6:3, “my soul is greatly troubled, But you, O Lord, how long?” Psalm 13 begins with the words “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 74:10, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?”

The Lord tells them to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers is complete. This answer can be taken several ways. First, it could refer to the total number of martyrs is reached. This implies God knows how many have been chosen to give their lives. Second, some would take this as a reference to when the last martyr dies, then Christ will return and destroy the kingdom of the Beast. The view of the early church was that God had established a “number” for the martyrs. A third possibility is this refers to the end of suffering on earth in general This may include martyrdom, but some will survive until the end to enter into the kingdom.

The souls call on God to avenge them. This is a common Old Testament theme: God is the avenger of the innocent. The souls under the altar are making a legal complaint to God for justice. Since God is the “just judge,” the martyrs can ask him to give them the justice they deserve by punishing the ones who put them to death.

Psalm 9:13 O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

Fourth Ezra has a similar theme. In 4 Ezra 4:35-37 the souls of the righteous call out “how long” and look forward to the harvest when they would be rewarded. Like Revelation 6:10, they are told they must wait until “the number of those like yourselves is completed.”

4 Ezra 4:35–37 Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, ‘How long are we to remain here? And when will the harvest of our reward come?’ 36 And the archangel Jeremiel answered and said, ‘When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance, 37 and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.’ ”

In 1 Enoch 9:10 the ones who have died of blood and oppression bring a lawsuit to the gate of heaven, described as groaning under in the face of their oppression.

1 Enoch 9:10 And now behold, the Holy One will cry, and those who have died will bring their suit up to the gate of heaven. Their groaning has ascended (into heaven), but they could not get out from before the face of the oppression that is being wrought on earth

The fifth seal therefore vividly pictures those who have given their lives resisting the empire and holding on to their testimony for the Lord waiting on the Lord to avenge their deaths. The Lord’s words are comforting, they only need to wait a little while. The Lord will judge rightly between the oppressor and the oppressed and he will punish and reward with justice.The Fifth Seal: Martyrs in Heaven – Revelation 6:9-11 - Reading Acts

The matter of the souls under the altar is not complicated if we interpret scripture with scripture. The difficulties arise because many Christians automatically assume that the Roman Catholic doctrine of "going to heaven after death" is valid. The doctrine has its root in the fact that Rome "married" the Church in about 313 AD when Constantine declared Christianity a State religion. Because the Romans worshiped the "heavenly host", and because they believed that works justified one before the gods, their belief was that if one's works were weighed in the scales of justice and found to outweigh one's evil works, one would ascend to a "heavenly lodge".

But the Bible tells totally different story. First, there is not a single verse that plainly says that men go to heaven at death. Some verses are twisted to mean this, but the truth of the matter is that this doctrine is built on innuendo. So what does the Bible really say? 

The Bible says that man is made of three parts, body, soul and spirit (Gen.2:8, 1st Thess 5:23 etc.). Since he was made, man is called a "soul" because that it his main part. 1st Thessalonians 5:23, a prayer by Paul, says that the "whole" man is  body, soul and spirit. At death the three parts are torn apart. The body returns to the elements. The spirit returns to God who gave it (Eccl.3:21, 12:7, Lk.23:46). The soul, which is the man, descends to a subterranean place called Hades to wait for the resurrection. Even our Lord Jesus was not exempt and had to wait three days in Hades (Matt.12:40, Eph.4:8, Act.2:27). The word Hades means "hidden" and this  is appropriate for:

• A dead man is regarded as naked (2nd Cor.5:1-4) - an unnatural state which God cannot look upon
• A dead man is unclean (Nu.19:11-13)
• Death is the enemy of God (1st Co.15:26)

Finally, in every single case the dead "RISE" - an impossibility if they were already "on high" in heaven.

Now we must discover which altar is meant. There are, in God plan, TWO altars.

1. The altar of sacrifice and bloodshed in the outer court of the Tabernacle/Temple. It is made of wood covered with Brass and may not be lifted from the earth "lest nakedness is seen" (Ex.20:26). On this altar sacrifices to god are made. Brass denotes judgment because the brass was taken from the Rebel Korah and his hoard when he rebelled against Moses and was judged by fire.
2. The altar of Incense place just before the Veil leading into the Holy of Holies. It too was made of wood but covered with Gold. Blood is forbidden to be shed on it. It carried the insence which depicts Christ the High Priest sending up the prayers of His people as a sweet savor to God.

When Moses made the Tabernacle, he followed a pattern of the heavenly Tabernacle which God gave him on the mountain. In heaven, there is neither earth onto which the Tabernacle can be fixed, nor is their salvation for any heavenly creature. So the altar of sacrifice is an addition to the tabernacle ONLY VALID FOR EARTH. Added to this, the martyrs' blood was shed on earth and their blood was a sacrifice made to God. THE ALTAR OF REVELATION 6:9 IS ON EARTH AND THE MARTYRS ARE UNDER THE EARTH - AS THE REST OF THE BIBLE AGREES WITH. The are in HADES under the earth.

But more important is their prayer. In Luke 9:52-56 a Samaritan village, the same place that Elijah called fire from heaven centuries before, refused to entertain Jesus. His indignant disciples suggested to call fire on them. Our Lord Jesus sharply rebuked them and said that they were from another spirit. He said that He had come to save men - not kill. How come our Lord does not say the same to the Martyrs? The answer is that the martyrs had recognized that the end of the age of grace had come. God is just and blow must be met by blow. An eye for an eye and a life for a life! But, for the sake of reconciliation between God and man, God postpones judgment in the Church age so that men may have time to discover God. Justice is not neglected though, for it falls on Jesus. Added to this, there is a judgment for the living in Matthew 25:31-46, and a judgement for the risen dead in Revelation 20. Justice is not forgotten - just postponed.  

There will come a day when those who have loved the Lord and been intimate with Him will RECOGNIZE that the age of grace is over. The martyrs were first, and the two Witnesses of Revelation 11 were next, for they called down fire to kill men. Let us preach the gospel with energy so that we may bear fruit and make our lovely Lord's death worth it. But let us also be aware that there comes a day, not far away, when we will be required to wield a sword in Jesus' Name. Revelation 19 shows those found worthy to enter the Wedding Feast. From verse 11 it shows that these same Overcomers will form part of Christ's army for Armageddon. Let us be under no illusion. The Overcomer will do God's will when he turns the other cheek, but in a matter of weeks he could be required to kill in the bloodbath that runs up to the bridles of the horses (Rev.14:20).

The Christian, whether tendered hearted sister, or hardened ex veteran, must be ready to feel sorrow for the lost and preach the gospel on Monday, and wield a sword against a man's head on Friday. The lesson of the martyrs under the altar of their own blood is crucial. Are you an Overcomer that knows His Lord's will, whether in suffering or in administering justice?