Category: End Times

January 3, 2012

Until their fellow slaves were killed (Rev. 6:9-11)

Previously: A white robe was given (Rev. 6:9-11)

The scripture

Rev. 6:9 – When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had. ¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice: “O Lord, holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” ¹¹So, a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until [the number of] their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been, would be completed. (HCSB)

Until their fellow slaves were killed

The martyrs are told to rest “until [the number of] their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been, would be completed” (v. 12). It appears that many more will experience martyrdom before the return of Christ. While we may wonder why God doesn’t put a stop to the killing – some brashly question whether He is able to do so – we may be confident that He is sovereign over human history, causing or allowing all things for reasons we may not fully understand. God has determined that a number of saints will give their lives because of His word and the testimony they have. Only God know when this number – like the measure of sins being filled up by the wicked – will reach capacity.

According to the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the total number of Christian martyrs in the 20^th century alone reached 45 million. How many millions of others have given their lives from the time of Stephen, the first martyr, until now is impossible to know with certainty. But no doubt there is ample room beneath the altar in heaven for those who have identified with the slaughter of the Lamb.

R.J.D. Utley writes, “One of the major truths of this book is that God is in control of all things, even the death of Christian martyrs! All of history is in His hand. God is not surprised by any events, actions or outcomes. Yet there is still pain, suffering and unfairness in this fallen world. This concept of a completed number of martyrs (cf. I Enoch 47:4) is a symbolic way of referring to God’s knowledge and plan for mankind. This is similar to Paul’s concept of ‘the fullness of the Gentiles’ (cf. Rom. 11:12, 25) which refers to God’s knowledge of all the Gentiles who would be saved” (Utley, Hope in Hard Times – The Final Curtain: Revelation, Vol. 12, Study Guide Commentary Series, 63).

Four views

Briefly, here is a summary of the four major views of these verses:

Most historicists see the fifth seal fulfilled during the rule of Diocletian, who persecuted the church in the last days of his rule from 284 – 304 A.D.
Preterists argue that the souls under the altar are those of first-century Christians slain at the hands of the Jewish persecutors.
Futurists contend that these saints are killed during the yet-future Tribulation.
And spiritualists say this passage reveals the present state of those who already have died for their faith.

In any case, interpreters agree that Jesus comforts His martyrs, grants them rest and assures them that His judgment, whenever it falls, will be swift and sure.

Next: The sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17)

December 23, 2011

A white robe was given (Rev. 6:9-11)

Previously: O Lord … how long? (Rev. 6:9-11)

The scripture

In response to the martyrs’ question about God’s plans for His day of vengeance, the Lord provides each of them with a white robe, and they are told simply to “rest a little while longer” (v. 11). We see white clothing in other places in Revelation:

In Christ’s letter to the church at Sardis, He tells them, “but you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes” (Rev. 3:4-5a, emphasis added).
In Rev. 3:18, Jesus urges the Laodiceans to “buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed …” (emphasis added).
And in Rev. 4:4, we see that the 24 elders are dressed in white clothes. Surely these white clothes represent the righteousness of Christ.

In Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet (Matt. 22:1-14), the one thrown into outer darkness is not dressed in appropriate attire. It’s not that he is too poor, or ill-advised; rather, he refuses to wear one of the white robes the host provides freely to all guests. The white robes given to the martyrs in Revelation 6 no doubt symbolize that they were made white by the blood of the Lamb, and that those clothed in Christ’s righteousness may wait in confident expectation that He will avenge their untimely deaths.

Maimonides, one of the great Torah scholars of the Middle Ages, says the Jews used to array priests, when approved of, in white robes; “thus the sense is, they are admitted among the blessed ones, who, as spotless priests, minister unto God and the Lamb” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Rev. 6:11).

The martyrs also are told to rest “a little while longer.” None of them presses the issue by asking, “How long is that?” It seems enough to have God’s assurance that He will be true to His word. The timing of the Lord’s plans for the ages is known only to Him and remains a mystery and at times a matter of considerable debate for us. One reason the Book of Revelation is so difficult to interpret is because of the timing of its content. Have most of these prophecies been fulfilled, as preterists argue? Are they fulfilled at various stages in human history, as historicists contend? Are they yet future, as futurists believe? Are they to be interpreted figuratively rather than literally, as spiritualists argue? Or is there perhaps some element of truth in all of these interpretations, as eclectics say? One thing we all can agree on is that God, who is “holy and true” (v. 10), will fulfill His promises. That truth alone enables the saints to rest.

Nowhere in this passage do the saints seek to take vengeance into their own hands. They know what the Lord has said: “Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay … As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me” (Deut. 32:35, 40b-41).

It is interesting to note that when Jesus reads from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth and declares that “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled” (see Luke 4:16-21), He stops quoting the prophet in mid-sentence. He has declared that his earthly ministry involves preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom to the captives, recovering sight for the blind, setting free the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. But then, abruptly, He stops. If He were to go on, the next line reads, “and the day of our God’s vengeance” (Isa. 61:2). Clearly, Jesus reserves that day of vengeance for a future time more closely associated with His second coming. When we finally get to Rev. 19:2 we see that “He has avenged the blood of His servants …”

The length of the martyrs’ rest is implied but not implicit. It is “a little while,” eti chronon nikron, yet a little time, just a little while. God’s timing is not ours. Peter writes, “Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: with the Lord one day is like 1,000 years, and 1,000 years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8). His delay is an opportunity for repentance (2 Peter 3:9). And judgment most certainly will come, followed by new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Next: Until their fellow slaves were killed (Rev. 6:9-11)

December 14, 2011

O Lord … how long? (Rev. 6:9-11)

Previously: The souls of those slaughtered (Rev. 6:9-11)

The scripture

O Lord … how long?

John hears the martyrs in heaven cry out, “O Lord, holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” (v. 10). A more literal translation asks, “Until when will You exact vengeance for our blood?” Warren Wiersbe raises an interesting question about the verse in his commentary: “But is it ‘Christian’ for these martyred saints to pray for vengeance on their murderers? After all, both Jesus and Stephen prayed that God would forgive those who killed them.”

Wiersbe then offers this insight: “I have no doubt that, when they were slain on earth, these martyrs also prayed for their slayers; and this is the right thing to do (Matt. 5:10–12, 43–48). The great question, however, was not whether their enemies would be judged, but when. ‘How long, O Lord?’ has been the cry of God’s suffering people throughout the ages (see Pss. 74:9–10; 79:5; 94:3–4; also Hab. 1:2). The saints in heaven know that God will eventually judge sin and establish righteousness in the earth, but they do not know God’s exact schedule. It is not personal revenge that they seek, but vindication of God’s holiness and the establishment of God’s justice. Every believer today who sincerely prays, ‘Thy kingdom come!’ is echoing their petition” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, Rev. 6:9).

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit there are times we seek God’s justice for our own gratification and not for His glory. We tend to want justice for our enemies and mercy for ourselves. It is the old nature emerging in our words and deeds – and even in the words and deeds of those who walk most closely with the Lord. When a Samaritan village refuses to welcome Jesus, for example, James and John are quick to ask, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and consume them?” (Luke 9:54). Jesus quickly rebukes His followers for their fleshly desires in the following verse.

Of course, there is a day coming when the Lord will vanquish His adversaries. Paul writes in 2 Thess. 2:8b, “The Lord Jesus will destroy (“consume” KJV) him [the lawless one] with the breath of His mouth and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming.” And the writer of Hebrews warns that there is a penalty for willful sin, “a terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries” (Heb. 10:28).

The martyrs in Revelation 6 are not questioning God’s righteousness; they call Him “holy and true.” Nor are they challenging His patience, for they know He does not want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). It appears they are simply asking God to reveal His timetable – a request He declines, but not without providing the saints with comfort and assurance.

Next: A white robe was given (Rev. 6:9-11)

December 4, 2011

The souls of those slaughtered (Rev. 6:9-11)

Previously: The fifth seal (Rev. 6:9-11)

The scripture

Rev. 6:9 – When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had. 10 They cried out with a loud voice: “O Lord, holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” 11 So, a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until [the number of] their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been, would be completed (HCSB).

The souls of those slaughtered

John describes the martyrs as having been “slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had” (v. 9). We are told that John has been exiled to Patmos for similar reasons – “because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus” (Rev. 1:9). But these saints receive a harsher sentence; they are slaughtered. The Greek word used here is sphazo, which describes the slaying, or cutting, of a sacrifice. They are identified with the Lamb in their death since He, too, is “slaughtered” (Rev. 5:6, 9, 12). The Greek word martus, from which we get the English word martyr, means “a witness” (see Rev. 2:13; 17:6). These saints are slaughtered because of their witness to the truth of God and the message of Jesus Christ.

This is not intended to minimize John’s suffering. According to the testimony of Tertullian, John is thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil in Rome without suffering injury. Perhaps in exasperation – we cannot be sure – the Emperor Domitian banishes him to Patmos.

Matthew Henry makes the following observations about these martyred saints: “Hence note, [1.] Persecutors can only kill the body, and after that there is no more that they can do; their souls live. [2.] God has provided a good place in the better world for those who are faithful to death and are not allowed a place any longer on earth. [3.] Holy martyrs are very near to Christ in heaven, they have the highest place there. [4.] It is not their own death, but the sacrifice of Christ, that gives them a reception into heaven and a reward there; they do not wash their robes in their own blood, but in the blood of the Lamb” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, Rev. 6:9–17).

But what “testimony” has enraged the powers that be so they will slaughter the saints? Likely it is a testimony of judgment. Whether one takes a preterist view and places the Book of Revelation in the first century A.D., or a futurist view and projects these mass killings into the future Tribulation, it is the message of man’s sin and God’s judgment that differentiates the true prophet and rankles the wicked.

It has always been this way. Noah’s 120-year message of judgment goes unheaded and no doubt greatly ridiculed. Samuel’s first message from God is one of judgment on the house of Eli because he did not rebuke his sons for their wickedness. Isaiah is sent to Judah to preach a message of pending national humiliation for its sins – a message opposed and unbelieved. Jeremiah predicts the destruction of the armies of Israel and the obliteration of the temple, and for this truth he is placed in chains and finally cast into a pit. Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that He, the Son of Man, is coming one day in power and great glory, and the high priest tears his robes, accuses Jesus of blasphemy and cries for His execution. We should not be surprised that the true prophet of God preaches judgment and is hated for his honest words.

Next: O Lord … how long? (Rev. 6:9-11)

November 28, 2011

The fifth seal (Rev. 6:9-11)

Previously: Authority was given to them (Rev. 6:7-8)

The scripture

Rev. 6:9 – When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had. ¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice: “O Lord, holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” So, a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until [the number of] their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been, would be completed (HCSB).

When Jesus opens the fifth seal, the scene changes dramatically from earth to heaven. The thundering hoof beats of the four horsemen have been heard on earth as their riders conquer, wage war, bring famine and pestilence, and kill. But now we are taken to heaven, where martyred souls at rest cry out to God for vengeance. They are given white robes and told to rest a while longer. The killing on earth is not over yet; the martyrs are told to rest until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers, who are going to be killed just as they have been, is completed.

Why the shift to a heavenly scene? Who are these martyrs? And why does God permit the wicked to slaughter even more righteous people before He finally does something about it? How do John’s first-century readers understand this passage? And what does it mean to us today?

The fifth seal

As the Lamb opens the fifth seal, giving way to another portion of the message in the scroll, John sees the souls of martyrs under the altar. But the booming voices of the four living creatures do not attend this vision. Rather, John hears the cries of the deceased saints, petitioning the Lord for vengeance. W.A. Criswell points out that the fifth seal is different from the rest of the seven in that we do not see the action itself, but the result of action: “Heretofore and hereafter, as a seal is broken or a trumpet is blown or a vial is poured out, across the state of human history we shall see the judgment develop … But not here…. John sees under the altar the souls of those who have already been slain. Back of those souls that are slain, we must imagine, though it is undepicted and undescribed, the blood and fury and fire of awful persecution, the blood bath in which they lost their lives” (Expository Sermons on Revelation, p. 102).

The translation of the Hebrew and Greek words for “altar” means “a place of sacrifice,” or in the verb form “to sacrifice.” But it’s important to note that there are two altars in the temple:

The altar of burnt offering (Ex. 30:28), also called the bronze altar (Ex. 39:39) and “the Lord’s table” (Mal. 1:7). As described in Ex. 27:1-8, it is a hollow square, 5 cubits in length and breadth, and 3 cubits in height. It is made of wood, overlaid with plates of brass and ornamented with “horns” (Exc. 29:12; Lev. 4:18). This is where animal sacrifices are made, with their blood poured out underneath.
The altar of incense (Ex. 30:1-10), also called the golden altar (Ex. 39:38; Num. 4:11). It stands in the holy place near the curtain that leads into the Holy of Holies. On this altar sweet spices are burned with fire taken from the altar of burnt offering. The high priest offers incense on this altar to begin the morning and evening services. The burning of the incense is a type of prayer (Ps. 141:2; Rev. 5:8; 8:3-4).

In this passage in Revelation, it appears that John sees the altar of sacrifice. We are told in Hebrews that the earthly tabernacle and all its trappings are patterned after the one in heaven. Therefore, just as the blood of animal sacrifices on earth pools beneath the altar, the souls of the saints gather in heaven at the foot of the One who was sacrificed for them. “For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed,” Paul writes in 1 Cor. 5:7.

It is clear that this is a heavenly altar, for the “souls of those slaughtered” are gathered there. The soul – essentially the unseen real person consisting of mind, emotion and will – separates from the body at death. The apostle Paul writes confidently that for believers to be “out of the body” (in death) is to “home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). These are real people with real identities and real consciousness. Unlike believers prior to Christ’s crucifixion, whose souls went to a state of rest at Abraham’s side in Sheol, these saints are in the presence of the Lord, meaning that John has a true New Testament vision since the Lamb’s blood already has been shed for them. Some commentators believe that Old Testament saints did not ascend to heaven after death because their sins were only atoned for, or temporarily covered, by the blood of sacrificial animals. But after Jesus died on the cross, fulfilling the sacrificial system and removing believers’ sins once and for all, their souls could pass into His presence in heaven.

But why are these martyrs under the altar? Why not beside it or above it? Perhaps because the Bible depicts faithful Christian service in sacrificial terms. In Rom. 12:1, for example, Paul writes, “I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.” In 2 Tim. 4:6, as Paul faces the looming reality of his martyrdom, he says, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.” Christians who suffer persecution mirror the sacrificial life of Christ, who notes their service and rewards it. Some interpreters believe there is a special reward in heaven, the “crown of life,” for those who are martyred (Rev. 2:10). The souls of the martyrs are under the altar because they became martyrs when their blood was spilled for the cause of Christ.

“As the blood of sacrificial victims slain on the altar was poured at the bottom of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed for Christ’s testimony are symbolically represented as under the altar, in heaven; for the life or animal soul is in the blood, and blood is often represented as crying for vengeance (Ge 4:10)” (R. Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, D. Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, Re 6:9).

Next: The souls of those slaughtered (Rev. 6:9-11)