02.21. LECTURE No. 21 -- Rev_6:9-11
LECTURE No. 21 -- Revelation 6:9-11 The Fifth Seal - The Souls Underneath the Altar - The Martyred Remnant of the Tribulation Period - The Intermediate State Between Death and Resurrection - There Is Hope for us - The Question Is "How Long?" In the Meantime the Souls Beneath the Altar Have Rest
WE have already studied in Revelation 4:1-11 concerning the vision which John had of things in heaven, namely, the enthroned Elders and the four living creatures. In the 5th chapter we studied concerning the Seven Sealed Book, which John saw in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. This book, we have learned, represented the Title Deed to the earth, which man forfeited when he sinned in the Garden of Eden.
According to what was stated in Revelation 5:1-14, Jesus, under the threefold title of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David, and the Lamb of God, was the only one in heaven, or upon earth, or under the earth who was found worthy, and who was able to open the seals thereof, and to act as man’s kinsman-redeemer, and restore unto fallen humanity their lost and forfeited inheritance.
Thus far in Revelation 6:1-17 we have studied the opening of the first four seals of this Seven Sealed Book. The opening of these seals we have discovered to be a work of judgment, whereby the Lord, acting as our kinsman-redeemer, purposes to dispossess Satan of the earth, and to judge the wicked, and restore unto man his lost inheritance.
Under the opening of the first seal there went forth a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.
By comparing scripture with scripture we learned that the rider on the white horse was none other than the coming Antichrist, who shall go forth conquering and to conquer; thus imitating the true Christ, who is also described as coming forth on a white horse in Revelation the 19th chapter, which will not occur until the close of the tribulation period.
Under the opening of the second seal, there went forth a red horse, and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword.
There is no question but what the red horse was symbolic of universal war and bloodshed.
Under the opening of the third seal there went forth a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. This we said was symbolic of famine and scarcity and high prices for the necessities of life.
Under the opening of the fourth seal there went forth a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. This we said was symbolic of pestilences and plagues, which shall come as a result of the conditions described under the opening of the preceding seals. The Fifth Seal We are now ready to advance in our study by considering the opening of the fifth seal. In Revelation 6:9-11, it says,
“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;
“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
“And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” The Scene Changes
It is of striking interest to note, that upon the opening of this seal the scene changes from earth to heaven. The four horses, representing God’s judicial power and wrath against the wicked, have already gone forth, and the judgments which they represent must be looked upon as having taken place before the opening of the fifth seal. All that the Apostle John saw upon the opening of the fifth seal was merely the result!
From what is stated in our lesson text, it is not difficult to discern that the opening of the fifth seal represents the martyred remnant of the tribulation period, which as we know is yet future.
The scene presented here could not represent the martyrs of the past ages; because we have already seen in chapters four and five that the saved of past ages were represented by the enthroned elders and the four living creatures, which were already in heaven.
Things Hereafter
What we are studying in this chapter, therefore, belongs to those things which shall be hereafter, i. e., after the resurrection and the rapture of the Church. Therefore the time of those who shall suffer martyrdom, as set forth in our present lesson is still future, and will be done during the Tribulation Period.
The fact that they are to be martyrs is one of the central thoughts presented, in our lesson, but what, may we all is a martyr?
Someone has said, "It is not death, but the cause in which death is incurred which constitutes a martyr.”
There is no question but what under the opening of the first four seals millions of people will be killed, but they are not spoken of as martyrs; because when they die they will only be receiving what was justly due them because of their sin and wickedness.
But those who are mentioned in our lesson text were called martyrs because they were slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held!
Now let us enlarge on this point just a little, and find out if we can, why it was they were slain.
There is no question but what thousands upon thousands of people today are hearing the Word of God with an attitude of indifference and unconcern. They hear the Word of God and only half way believe it. They look upon those of us who preach the Gospel, and who present the prophesies of God’s Word to the people, as being just a little off balance, and they think we are going to unnecessary trouble to make to things known. The Time Is Coming
But, my friends, the time is coming when the Church will suddenly be resurrected and raptured away to be with Christ, and then the opening of the seals will begin, and God’s judgment will go forth with unrelenting power against the wicked of the whole earth. And then many who were careless indifferent and skeptical, and somewhat unbelieving, will wake up to the fact that all they had heard concerning these things was true after all. They will discover then that the Bible was the literal and infallible word of God, which can no longer be denied.
And although they will have missed their opportunity to be a member of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, which by that time will have been caught up to be with Christ, they will realize that if they are to be saved at all, they will have to be true to the Word of God, and seal their testimony with their own blood.
We can well imagine, therefore, that in the midst of the Tribulation period, when this believing remnant arises to witness and testify to the truth of God’s Word, and preach to the wicked all about them, that the judgments, which are coming upon the earth are justly deserved by those upon whom they are falling, they will be hated by the unregenerate mass of humanity who, even in the midst of judgment, will refuse to repent.
Conditions Now
These conditions exist now to some extent; for one of the signs of the end of the age is that men shall be despisers of those that are good.
Any one today who, with faith and courage, and without fear or compromise preaches the whole truth of God’s Word, is hated and cast out even by some of those who call themselves Christians, but who are not real Christians at heart.
But during the Tribulation period the feeling against those who witness a good testimony for the Lord, will be much more intense than it is now, and those who disapprove their witness and testimony, and who become angry at them for preaching the truth, will rise up and slay them in cold blood, and thus multitudes will be slain and become Martyrs of the Lord Jesus Christ during the awful time of Tribulation, which is still future.
Now let us consider their condition as John saw them at the time of the opening of the fifth seal.
In Revelation 6:9, John said, “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.”
What John saw, therefore, was the disembodied souls of those who shall be slain during the coming Tribulation Period, for the Word of God and for their testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
About the Altar
There is no question but that the Altar referred to here was in heaven. This is not inconsistent with scriptural teaching, because we know that the Tabernacle of Moses, with its altar and all of its furniture, was a pattern of the true tabernacle in the heavenlies. Later when the Temple was built in Jerusalem to take the place of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the altar was still preserved and was a necessary part of the worship of Israel.
Now, in the exercise of worship, according to Leviticus 4:7, the Priest was required to pour all of the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering, which was at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation.
There was such an altar before the Temple in Jerusalem, and beneath it was a large opening into which the blood of the sacrifice was poured. Concerning this altar in Jerusalem, Seiss, in his book on the Apocalypse says,
“I have myself stood in the opening, under the rock, on which the altar had its place, and stamped my foot upon the marble slab which closes the mouth of the vast receptacle, and satisfied myself, from the detonations, that the excavated space is very deep and large. And as the life of the animal was in its blood, this vast subterranean cavity was, naturally enough, regarded as the receptacle of the lives of the victims which there were slain. The Mohammedans, to this day, as I was told on the spot, regard it as the place where spirits are detained until the day of judgment.
They call it THE WELL OF SPIRITS.
It is in the center of the Mosque of Omar, whose interior had, for ages, been most rigidly guarded from the visits or eyes of any but Moslems, but, by permission from the Government, can now be seen. And as the deep cavern under the earthly altar was the appointed receptacle of the lives of the animal sacrifices, so the souls of God’s witnesses, who fall in His service, are received into a corresponding receptacle beneath the heavenly altar.”
Light for Us This explanation, I am sure, throws some light upon the scene which is described in our lesson text. What the Apostle John saw, therefore, in prophetic vision, was the disembodied souls of those who are to die as martyrs during the Tribulation Period, beneath the Altar in heaven. From what is stated here it is perfectly clear that death does not end all, and that even though the body dies and goes back to the earth, the souls of men live on in an intermediate state, awaiting the morning of the resurrection.
This truth is also confirmed in Matthew 10:28, where Jesus said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
What stronger proof, my friends, could we have for the immortality of the soul. In this statement the Lord plainly teaches that those who kill the body, cannot kill the soul, and from this we understand that when the body dies, the soul lives and since it can no longer inhabit the body, it must go somewhere! We know this is true from what is stated in Ecclesiastes 12:5-8, where it says,
“Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
There is another very interesting passage in Luke 20:37-38, where it says, “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living; for all live unto him.”
Now, why do you suppose Moses spoke of God as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; when they had already died in the flesh?
The reason he did this was because the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were still living in the intermediate state between death and resurrection, and therefore Moses could rightfully declare that He is not a God of the dead, but of the living. For Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were then, and are still, living unto God, awaiting the morning of resurrection.
If this were not true, how could we ever hope for the ultimate and final fulfillment of the covenant which God made with Abraham, and which He confirmed to Isaac and Jacob? Indeed, my friends, only because we believe that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still live in spirit, and because we believe that they will share in the resurrection, are we able to believe that every promise of the Abrahamic covenant will be eventually fulfilled! The Intermediate State
Another interesting and important passage, relating to the intermediate state of the dead, is found in Luke 16:19-31, where Jesus gave the account of the rich man and Lazarus. In this story given by the Lord Himself, it is perfectly clear that after death the disembodied souls of both the rich man and Lazarus were perfectly conscious, and that while one was suffering conscious torment, the other was enjoying peace and rest.
It is also revealed that while they were in this disembodied state, the rich man had living relatives upon the earth; for he said, “I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.”
And so, my friends, we see there is an intermediate state for the wicked dead as well as for the righteous dead. The Dying Thief This thought is further confirmed in the case of the dying thief upon the cross. As the thief hung there upon the cross, “He said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom, and Jesus said unto him, verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
And so we see that when Jesus and the thief had died upon their respective crosses the souls of both went immediately to Paradise. This is further confirmed in 1 Peter 3:18-19, where it says, ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”
We Have Hope When we understand these things, can any one dare say that our hope of immortal life and our hope of a resurrection from the dead are mere hallucinations? Indeed, my friends, our faith in these things and our hope for the future, are based upon the teachings of the infallible word of God, and God pity the man who does not have faith enough to believe them.
When we understand these things, we are not surprised that when He had opened the fifth seal, John said, “I saw under the Altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they had.”
How Long?
Now, let us give our attention to what is stated in Revelation 6:10, where it says, “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.”
It is very significant that they were crying to the Lord for vengeance. This would be very much out of place in the present dispensation of grace, but it will not out of place at the time when these things come to pass, because at that time the attitude of God Himself will be one of vengeance against the wicked of the whole earth.
The very fact that they ask God to avenge their blood on them that dwell on the earth would indicate that they were martyrs, who had been recently slain, and that their murderers were still upon the earth. These facts help us to locate the time of these events and we see that they belong to the coming time of tribulation.
These disembodied souls of the martyred remnant, cried saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.”
The very wording of this statement would indicate that they understood that it was God’s intention to do just this very thing! They had no fear whatever that in due time God would avenge their blood on them that dwell on the earth, but they wanted to know how long that was going to be. To them it seemed as if God was too slow about the matter, and they could hardly wait for the plans and purposes of God in judgment to be carried out!
White Robes And so in verse Revelation 6:11 it says, “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest for a little season, until their fellowservants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
It is interesting to note that the Lord gave heed to their cry, and that He answered them with words of comfort and assurance; and to confirm His good intentions toward them, it says that “White robes were given unto every one of them.”
We know that white is a symbol of purity, and of acceptance with God, and the fact that God gave to each of them a white robe indicated His favor and full approval.
“And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
Rest This answer, which was given to them, revealed two things-
First, That these souls beneath the altar were at rest. How comforting it is to know that death, even by martyrdom, brings the soul into a haven of rest; that is, for those who are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The intermediate state, therefore, for the souls of righteous is one of peace and rest. For the most of us, life is one weary found of toil, and many of us are weary in body nearly all of the time, and truly the burdens of this life are many; so much so that we some times long for the time to come when we can lay our burdens down, and enter into that rest which is prepared for the people of God.
The answer which was given to the souls beneath the altar, also revealed the purpose of their waiting. In other words, there were others who were to enter into their same estate. There were others among their fellowservants, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were. Thus we see that God has certain purposes to accomplish, and that He will not allow even the impatience, or the cry of those who have been redeemed, to hinder Him in the accomplishment of those things which He has planned to accomplish, both through grace and also through judgment.
To illustrate this point we know that Christ has promised to come in the clouds of heaven with the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel, at which time the dead in Christ shall rise first; “then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
We Can Hardly Wait
Knowing these things, many of us who belong to Christ, can hardly wait for that time to come; for we know that it will mean a sudden and sweet release from the trials and tribulations of earth; but let us not forget that “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Therefore, every day that the Lord tarries, and delays His coming for His Church, it is a day of delay for us, but it is also one more day of grace for those who are unsaved, and so it was with those souls beneath the altar! They could hardly wait for the judgments of God to be accomplished, but if the Lord had done their bidding, their fellowservants and their brethren, whom God had intended should enter into rest with them, could not have been accomplished.
And so from what is written in our lesson text, let us also learn to be patient, and allow God time enough to accomplish His purposes, both in grace and in judgment, and in the end we know that all will be well for those who are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!
In our present lesson we have considered only the opening of the fifth seal. In our next lesson we shall consider the opening of the sixth seal, of the Seven Sealed Book.
~ end of lecture 21 ~