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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 2 - THE ENTHRONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST (REVELATION 4:1 - 6:17)
PART 2.3 THE LAMB OF GOD BREAKS OPEN THE SEVEN SEALS (REVELATION 6:1-17)

5. The Fifth Seal: The Crying Souls of the Martyrs at the altar for Burntoffering (Revelation 6:9-11)


REVELATION 6:9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.

The first four seals of the scroll which Jesus opened brought the revelation of anti-Christ and the judgments accompanied with him. The fourth seal in particular combined the preceding three seals and intensified them. The cunning promises of anti-Christ emerged as horrifying hardships for mankind.

Then God's Lamb broke the fifth seal after his accession to power of world government. So the eyes of the seer were directed from the developments on earth to hidden events in heaven which were now going to be revealed to him. Suddenly he saw and heard crying souls from the altar for burnt offerings before the throne of God and his Lamb.

This vision still follows the speech of Jesus about the future in Matthew 24. There the Lord, after he had cautioned his disciples against cunning antichrists and false prophets, he pointed wars, famine and earthquakes out to them as the beginning of the birth-pangs. His church should not be frightened but trust in his promises and his presence (Matthew 24:4-8). Afterwards Jesus had explained his tautly listening disciples on the mount of Olives that they cannot count on ministerial posts under his future rule, but prepare for cunning, hatred, death and apostasy (Matthew 24:9-14).

After disasters and wars Christians are accused over and over again of having caused the misery and must act as a buffer. The innocents have to expect bloody persecutions as it happened in Rome under Nero and his successors.

In the breaking of the fifth seal the four living creatures had not been involved any longer, as this event is not a matter of judgments of the fallen creation, but a matter of law before the throne of God and his Lamb.

When the risen and enthroned Lord broke the fifth seal, John saw below of the archetype of the altar for burnt offerings the souls of the martyrs of the Old Testament who had been killed (Revelation 16:5-7). At the tent of meeting and in the temple there was a special altar which was only available for burnt and whole burnt offerings but not for sacrifices of atonement. The blood of the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings had been poured out in a channel under this altar (Leviticus 1:5).

The bible bears witness to the fact that the life of each creature, that is its soul, is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11+14), or that the blood is the life (Deuteronomy 12:23). In these revelations mysteries are hidden which had become strange to our generation. In Arabic soul means "self of a person", his mind, his psyche and his real nature. This cannot be found out by analysing the blood group or verified by the composition of the red and white blood cells. Most likely close is to this mystery the genetic program of a cell which sketches out character and health of man to a large extent.

Instead of their shed blood John saw in the channel under the archetype of the altar for burnt offerings before the throne of God and his Lamb the souls of the killed witnesses for God and his Son. He did not see the shape of these persons but only their souls, their self.

J. A. Bengel refers to these martyrs as "blessed dead". They live near by God but have not yet experienced the resurrection.

These persons had been killed by the sons of disobedience who are persecuting righteous people at all times. The spirit of the "murderer from the beginning" thirsts for the blood of those who want to obey God's word and his Spirit. He cannot stand them but he must fight against them and intrigue so that they will preferably be massacred.

Abel may belong to these blood witnesses, also Jeremiah, who is said to have been cut into pieces. The soul of John the Baptist who had been beheaded because of his witness may have been seen under the altar by the seer. The series of witnesses to faith in Hebrew 11 indicates to further martyrs of the Old Testament. They endured hatred, betrayal, inquisitions, torture, and murder so as to be faithful to their Lord (Matthew 24:9-13; 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42). They gave their lives to God as a whole burnt offering and as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and the Lord accepted their devotedness (Philippians 2:17).

These persons had been mocked, beaten and tortured because of their witness and the revelations which they received from God. Nevertheless, they held to the word of God and did not agree to the public opinion and the zeitgeist. They swam against the current and did not care about the consensus with the government and scientists. They were faithful up to the bitter end. They were deprived of food. Their reputation was soiled, they were portrayed as betrayers and enemies of the people. Yet they preferred to suffer for the sake of the truth and were not prepared to support illusions, pipe dreams and self-deception based on lies. The life of Jeremiah provides an example of an excellent witness of such an upright behaviour (Jeremiah 20:2; 17:16; 18:18; James 5:10-11).

In the book of Revelation we can read over and over again about holding to the word of God and to the witness to Jesus Christ which may sometimes lead to suffering (Revelation 1:2+9; 12:17; 20:4). However, we do not read that the crying souls under the altar for burnt offerings had the witness to Jesus Christ. John speaks of their witness! This reference combined with the still following references illustrates that this is about the martyrs from the pre-Christian time who did not know Jesus yet. However, they had the revelations of the Old Testament, its promises, and laws, and were prepared to die for it (Matthew 5:10-12+17-20).

The voices of the tortured, hanged, stoned and broiled were not soft and gentle. They shouted and demanded their right for the sake of the honor of God. Their voices pervaded the heaven and were heard on the throne of God and his Lamb clearly. The voice of blood which is shed wrongly pervades eternity (Genesis 4:10; Hebrew 12:24).

The Prayer of the Martyrs of the Old Testament: The martyrs addressed God by a threefold name and title. They did not call him "kyrios", i.e. Lord, in the sense of the faithful God of Covenant, but "despotos", i.e. absolute ruler. God is their master, they belong to God. Their affairs are his affair. He cannot carry on calmly after their death. In fact, he must act and judge because his right and honor were questioned by the injustice they had suffered.

Furthermore, the souls of the dead called God the Holy One. He is the everlasting God, without any sin, and therefore he must judge every injustice for his own sake. His holiness uncovers every sin and pierces it. His holiness is also the root of his righteousness. He must act and punish the crime against the martyrs who died for the sake of his Word.

The third name, with which the tortured called God, is the True One. In the Greek language this word means the true one who cannot tolerate any lie. In Arabic this name means "the right". So, truth is no longer a non-committal philosophy, but becomes right according to which it will be judged. God himself is the right, the standard and the truth. Finally, every man who falls on him will be broken to pieces, in particular every liar and every false prophet.

The martyrs addressed God in terms of the Old Testament. They were men under the law and had to pant for revenge according to this law because of the suffered wrong. They had no right to forgive or to forget, as without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrew 9:22), and the blood of Jesus had not been shed within their lifetime.

We who are living in the New Covenant can hardly understand such a demand for revenge, because Jesus has atoned for our own sin and the sin of our adversaries alike. Therefore we have the right and obligation to forgive everybody any wrong immediately and totally. We are living in the era of grace and not under the law.

Yet Jews and Muslims still live under the demands of the law and must take revenge: eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Exodus 21:24; Matthew 5:38; Sura Al-Ma'idah' 5:45). Debts cannot be forgiven. Debts require atonement. As Jews and Muslims do not accept the atonement by Jesus Christ, they must take revenge by themselves or by a delegate, because otherwise the demands of their law will not be fulfilled. If they did not demand atonement or forgave unconditionally, they would incur guilt. Only by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we are freed from the burden of revenge.

The prayer of the crying souls under the altar for burnt offerings addressing God in such a manner establishes the opinion that the dead are martyrs of the Old Testament and do not belong to the era of grace (Deuteronomy 32:43).

The martyrs had waited until this moment for the breakthrough of the kingdom of God, for his righteousness and his power. The lion of Judah had now been enthroned, and now the promised Messiah has been ruling in heaven and on earth. Now the hour of their justification has come.

By the cry of the martyrs the eager longing of the believers of the Old Testament for the revelation of the kingdom of God on the earth comes to the fore. Many psalms teach us the kind of praying of those who are waiting, longing for and watching impatiently. They inspire us anew to learn waiting for the coming Lord Jesus (Psalm 42 and 43; Psalm 79 etc.).

Yet who lives from the gospel, will be touched by the spirit of the martyrs of the Old Testament curiously. Jesus had taken away the thoughts of revenge from our mind and heart. He himself prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). Stephen cried under the hail of stones of his murderers: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). We forgive, because we received forgiveness; we forgive likewise as we received forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15). Believers of the Old Testament lived under different prerequisites.

The White Robes of Righteousness: The Lamb of God answered the cries of the souls from the Old Testament. The Lord affirmed that they had not suffered in vain. He accepted their faithfulness. He gave each of them a white robe as a sign of their justification. They were to learn to rethink and accept the righteousness of the Lamb of God solely by grace.

With this sign of justification the re-education of the souls of the martyrs began. The time of the last judgment has not yet come; they had to prepare for it. J. A. Bengel notes that they received palm branches later on (Revelation 7:9), and afterwards harps (Revelation 14:2). They were to learn thanksgiving and praise before the Lamb of God so that the bitterness should leave their heart. When they had understood the Lamb of God and the meaning of his atoning sacrifice, then harps were given them by God (Revelation 15:2). Later on they sing in an extended choir the great Hallelujah together with all saints (Revelation 19:1). At the end they received together with the martyrs of the New Testament the authority to judge and rule with Christ (Revelation 5:10; 20:4). The Lord has many possibilities to help his faithful servants that they realize the fullness of his grace and to live according to it.

Waiting – How Long? The waiting souls from the Old Testament were told that they had to wait "a little longer" until the glory of the kingdom of God will break forth. What does "a little longer" mean? To God a thousand years are like one day (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). The time of God cannot be measured with days and hours. In heaven there is no time and no space. Such terms are terms of our being on earth. In the presence of God and his Lamb are different standards and dimensions.

God is patient with us and does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants all to turn away from their sins (2 Peter 3:9). The delay of his coming is grace. Jesus, too, said in his speech about the future on the mountain of Olives that the gospel of the kingdom of God must be proclaimed all over the world in spite of judgment and persecutions as a testimony to all peoples, tongues and nations (Matthew 24:14; 28:19).

Missionary work among non-Christians is not a minor matter, but essential for the coming of Jesus. The voice of the preacher in the wilderness is calling out to us even nowadays from the altar for burnt offerings in heaven: "Prepare the way of the Lord!" (Isaiah 40:3-5; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:22-23+29+35-37).

The Full Number of Martyrs: The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will also be prepared in that the number of martyrs of the Old and New Testament will become full. Thereby, two categories of martyrs are mentioned: first, the fellow servants of the martyrs of the Old Covenant who loved the Lord their God in obedience to the law with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their might. The other group is made up of brothers and sisters from the church of Jesus Christ, who had set them into the rights of sons through his atoning death. They have become his brothers and at the same time children of his Father in heaven.

Out of the limited number of Messianic Jews and the Christians doing missionary work anti-Christ and his hangmen want to deceive to every conceivable sin as many as possible through temptations and cunning. When they are not successful, then they try to muzzle active followers of Christ by means of political, moral or other suspicions and to have them convicted because of false witnesses. Christians doing missionary work are accused of intolerance and fanaticism as they are supposed to prevent as peace-breakers the impending convergence of religions.

In 1209 the Papal inquisition started with the persecution of the Waldensians. Likewise, the Huguenots were persecuted in 1562-1598, and the Salzburg emigrants in 1731. Quite a few belong to the full number of the martyrs for the Lamb of God. Among them are also the confessors of Jesus Christ who consecrated their lives in the concentration camps of Hitler and in the Gulag of Stalin as a whole burnt offering on the altar for burnt offerings of heaven to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

Not forgetting the converts from Islam who love Jesus above all things and suffer torture, contempt and expulsion, if they are not ostracized, killed from behind or locked up in a chamber as devout girls or women so that they must starve to death or die of thirst. The number of martyrs for Christ in Asia or Africa is increasing in our days. Their blood cries to the Father and his Son and pleads for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on their families, clans and peoples. And the Lord answers their crying.

The appearance of the personified anti-Christ and his false prophet will complete the number of martyrs from Israel and the nations in a bloody wave.

J. A. Bengel prayed as follows: The number of those who are to be killed for your name's sake is not yet complete. Help those who have still to go this way that they may overcome.

PRAYER: Glorious Savior, You revealed that the enemies of the cross would kill Your followers thinking that they serve God by killing them. However, they are living and will not die because eternal life in them is stronger than earthly death. Strengthen those who will die for You that they may love their enemies to the end.

QUESTION:

  1. Who are the martyrs of the Old Testament at the altar of incense in heaven? What is the obstacle in their doctrine?

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