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 Fifth Seal, Rev 6:8-11
9. This series of seven visions, like the other groups of seven throughout the book, is divided into two parts. We have seen (Rev 2:7; Rev 2:19) that the messages to the seven Churches were divided into a group of three and one of four: here the first four seals are marked off from the last three, and similarly with the four trumpets of chap. 8 from the three that follow in chaps. 9 11: perhaps also, though less clearly, with the vials of chap. 16.
under the altar ] Here first mentioned; it is a part of the arrangements of the heavenly Temple: see on Rev 4:6. Are we to understand that its position was that of the golden altar within the Holy Place (Exo 30:1 sqq.) or of the brazen altar in the open court before the Temple (Exo 27:1 sqq.)? i.e. is it an altar of incense or of burnt offering? In Rev 8:3 sqq. we find incense offered at a heavenly golden Altar, and it is not distinguished from this: yet it may be thought that the image here is more suitable to the altar of sacrifice. For at the foot of it the blood of the victims was poured out (Exo 29:12), and the blood, we are told repeatedly, is the life: then is it not meant that the lives or souls (the words are interchangeable, as Mat 16:25 sqq.) of the martyrs are poured out at the foot of the heavenly altar, when they sacrificed their lives to God? Probably it is meant: but we are not to assume without evidence that the altar here is different from that in chap. 8. Admitting that the Israelite tabernacle and Temple were copies of a really subsisting heavenly archetype, it is not certain that they were exact copies in all respects: they might have to be modified to suit material conditions. Just as it was impossible to have a real sea (see on Rev 4:6) in front of the earthly temple, so it may have been necessary to have on earth an inner and an outer Sanctuary, an altar before each, whereon to present the symbols of those things which in heaven are offered on one.
the souls ] There is undoubtedly a distinction throughout the N. T. between the words for “soul,” the mere principle of natural life and “spirit,” the immortal and heavenly part of man: see especially 1Co 15:44 sqq. Yet it is probably an overstatement of this distinction to say that these are mere lost lives, crying to God for vengeance like Abel’s blood (Gen 4:10), but different from the immortal souls, which have all their wants satisfied, and desire the salvation, not the punishment, of their murderers. They are the “lives” of the slain: their being under the altar is well illustrated by the ceremonial outpouring of the blood, and their cry for vengeance by that of the blood of Abel, but what follows in the next verse is surely addressed to the inmost souls of the saints, not to impersonal abstract “lives.”
of them that were slain ] As the four former verbs correspond to Mat 24:6-8, so this to ibid. 9. In Enoch xl. 5, a voice (that of “him who presides over every suffering and every wound of the sons of men, the holy Raphael,” ib. 9) is heard “blessing the elect One, and the elect who are crucified on account of the Lord of spirits.” There is a passage more like this in sense in the same book, xlvii. 2, “In that day shall the holy ones assemble who dwell above the heavens, and with united voice petition, supplicate, praise, laud, and bless the name of the Lord of spirits, on account of the blood of the righteous which has been shed, that the prayer of the righteous may not be intermitted before the Lord of spirits; that for them He would execute judgement, and that His patience may not endure for ever.”
for the word of God, and for the testimony ] Cf. Rev 1:9, Rev 20:4.
the testimony which they held ] For the construction cf. Rev 12:17 fin. The verb rendered “held” here and “have” there being the same. Some argue from the name of Jesus not being used here, as in the three places referred to, for describing their testimony, that there are Old Testament martyrs, like those in Hebrews 11 ad fin. But surely their blood was very amply avenged, and very speedily: of the three great persecutors, Jezebel and Antiochus perished miserably, and Manasseh suffered equal misery, though he repented in time to receive some alleviation of it. We have, however, a Jewish parallel to the thought of this passage in Enoch xxii. 5 sqq., where Enoch hears in heaven the accusing cry of the soul (not, as in Genesis, the blood) of Abel.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And when he had opened the fifth seal – notes at Rev 5:1; Rev 6:1.
I saw under the altar – The four living creatures are no longer heard as in the opening of the first four seals. No reason is given for the change in the manner of the representation; and none can be assigned, unless it be, that having represented each one of the four living creatures in their turn as calling attention to the remarkable events about to occur, there seemed to be no necessity or propriety in introducing them again. In itself considered, it cannot be supposed that they would be any less interested in the events about to be disclosed than they were in those which preceded. This seal pertains to martyrs – at the former successively did to a time of prosperity and triumph; to discord and bloodshed; to oppressive taxation; to war, famine, and pestilence. In the series of woes, it was natural and proper that there should be a vision of martyrs, if it was intended that the successive seals should refer to coming and important periods of the world; and accordingly we have here a striking representation of the martyrs crying to God to interpose in their behalf and to avenge their blood. The points which require elucidation are:
(a)Their position – under the altar;
(b)Their invocation – or their prayer that they might be avenged;
(c)The clothing of them with robes; and,
(d)The command to wait patiently a little time.
(1) The position of the martyrs – under the altar. There were in the temple at Jerusalem two altars – the altar of burnt sacrifices, and the altar of incense. The altar here referred to was probably the former. This stood in front of the temple, and it was on this that the daily sacrifice was made. Compare the notes on Mat 5:23-24. We are to remember, however, that the temple and the altar were both destroyed before the time when this book was written, and this should, therefore, be regarded merely as a vision. John saw these souls as if they were collected under the altar – the place where the sacrifice for sin was made – offering their supplications. Why they are represented as being there is not so apparent; but probably two suggestions will explain this:
- The altar was the place where sin was expiated, and it was natural to represent these redeemed martyrs as seeking refuge there; and
(b)It was usual to offer prayers and supplications at the altar, in connection with the sacrifice made for sin, and on the ground of that sacrifice.
The idea is, that they who were suffering persecution would naturally seek a refuge in the place where expiation was made for sin, and where prayer was appropriately offered. The language here is such as a Hebrew would naturally use; the idea is appropriate to anyone who believes in the atonement, and who supposes that that is the appropriate refuge for those who are in trouble. But while the language here is such as a Hebrew would use, and while the reference in the language is to the altar of Burnt sacrifice, the scene should be regarded as undoubtedly laid in heaven – the temple where God resides. The whole representation is that of fleeing to the atonement, and pleading with God in connection with the sacrifice for sin.
The souls of them that were slain – That had been put to death by persecution. This is one of the incidental proofs in the Bible that the soul does not cease to exist at death, and also that it does not cease to be conscious, or does not sleep until the resurrection. These souls of the martyrs are represented as still in existence; as remembering what had occurred on the earth; as interested in what was now taking place; as engaged in prayer; and as manifesting earnest desires for the divine interposition to avenge the wrongs which they had suffered.
For the word of God – On account of the word or truth of God. See the notes on Rev 1:9.
And for the testimony which they held – On account of their testimony to the truth, or being faithful witnesses of the truth of Jesus Christ. See the notes on Rev 1:9.
(2) The invocation of the martyrs, Rev 6:10; And they cried with a loud voice. That is, they pleaded that their blood might be avenged.
Saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true – They did not doubt that God would avenge them, but they inquired how long the vengeance would be delayed. It seemed to them that God was slow to interpose, and to check the persecuting power. They appeal therefore to him as a God of holiness and truth; that is, as one who could not look with approval on sin, and in whose sight the wrongs inflicted by the persecuting power must be infinitely offensive; as one who was true to his promises, and faithful to his people. On the ground of his own hatred of wrong, and of his plighted faithfulness to his church, they pleaded that he would interpose.
Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood – That is, dost thou forbear to judge and avenge us; or dost thou delay to punish those who have persecuted and slain us. They do not speak as if they had any doubt that it would be done, nor as if they were actuated by a spirit of revenge; but as if it would be proper that there should be an expression of the divine sense of the wrongs that had been done them. It is not right to desire vengeance or revenge; it is to desire that justice should be done, and that the government of God should be vindicated. The word judge here may either mean judge us, in the sense of vindicate us, or it may refer to their persecutors, meaning judge them. The more probable sense is the latter: How long dost thou forbear to execute judgment on our account on those that dwell on the earth? The word avenge – ekdikeo – means to do justice; to execute punishment.
On them that dwell on the earth – Those who are still on the earth. This shows that the scene here is laid in heaven, and that the souls of the martyrs are represented as there. We are not to suppose that this literally occurred, and that John actually saw the souls of the martyrs beneath the altars – for the whole representation is symbolical; nor are we to suppose that the injured and the wronged in heaven actually pray for vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the redeemed in heaven will continue to pray with reference to things on the earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will be as real a remembrance of the wrongs of the persecuted, the injured, and the oppressed, as if such prayer were offered there; and that the oppressor has as much to dread from the divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured should cry in heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes vengeance. The wrongs done to the children of God; to the orphan, the widow, the down-trodden; to the slave and the outcast, will be as certainly remembered in heaven as if they who are wronged should plead for vengeance there, for every act of injustice and oppression goes to heaven and pleads for vengeance. Every persecutor should dread the death of the persecuted as if he went to heaven to plead against him; every cruel master should dread the death of his slave that is crushed by wrongs; every seducer should dread the death and the cries of his victim; every one who does wrong in any way should remember that the sufferings of the injured cry to heaven with a martyrs pleadings, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?
(3) The robes that were given to the martyrs: And white robes were given unto every one of them. Emblems of purity or innocence. See the notes on Rev 3:5. Here the robes would be an emblem of their innocence as martyrs; of the divine approval of their testimony and lives, and a pledge of their future blessedness.
(4) The command to wait: And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season. That is, that they must wait for a little season before they could be avenged as they desired, Rev 6:10. They had pleaded that their cause might be at once vindicated, and had asked how long it would be before it should be done. The reply is, that the desired vindication would not at once occur, but that they must wait until other events were accomplished. Nothing definite is determined by the phrase a little season, or a short time. It is simply an intimation that this would not immediately occur, or was not soon to take place. Whether it refers to an existing persecution, and to the fact that they were to wait for the divine interposition until that was over, and those who were then suffering persecution should be put to death and join them; or whether to a series of persecutions stretching along in the history of the world, in such a sense that the promised vengeance would take place only when all those persecutions were passed, and the number of the martyrs completed, cannot be determined from the meaning of their words. Either of these suppositions would accord well with what the language naturally expresses.
Until their fellow-servants also – Those who were then suffering persecution, or those who should afterward suffer persecution, grouping all together.
And their brethren – Their brethren as Christians, and their brethren in trial: those then living, or those who would live afterward and pass through similar scenes.
Should be fulfilled – That is, until these persecutions were passed through, and the number of the martyrs was complete. The state of things represented here would seem to be, that there was then a persecution raging on the earth. Many had been put to death, and their souls had fled to heaven, where they pleaded that their cause might be vindicated, and that their oppressors and persecutors might be punished. To this the answer was, that they were now safe and happy – that God approved their course, and that in token of his approbation they should be clothed in white raiment; but that the invoked vindication could not at once occur. There were others who would yet be called to suffer as they had done, and they must wait until all that number was completed. Then, it is implied, God would interpose, and vindicate his name. The scene, therefore, is laid in a time of persecution, when many had already died, and when there were many more that were exposed to death; and a sufficient fulfillment of the passage, so far as the words are concerned, would be found in any persecution, where many might be represented as having already gone to heaven, and where there was a certainty that many more would follow.
We naturally, however, look for the fulfillment of it in some period succeeding those designated by the preceding symbols. There would be no difficulty, in the early history of the church, in finding events that would correspond with all that is represented by the symbol; but it is natural to look for it in a period succeeding that represented, under the fourth seal, by Death on the pale horse. If the previous seals have been correctly interpreted we shall not be much in danger of erring in supposing that this refers to the persecution under Diocletian; and perhaps we may find in one who never intended to write a word that could be construed as furnishing a proof of the fulfillment of the prophecies of the New Testament, what should be regarded as a complete verification of all that is represented here. The following particulars may justify this application:
(a) The place of that persecution in history, or the time when it occurred. As already remarked, if the previous seals have been rightly explained, and the fourth seal denotes the wars, the famine, and the pestilence, under the invasion of the Goths, and in the time of Valerian and Gallienus, then the last great persecution of the church under Diocletian would well accord with the period in history referred to. Valerian died in 260 a.d., being flayed alive by Sapor, king of Persia; Gallienus died in 268 a.d., being killed at Milan. Diocletian ascended the throne 284 a.d., and resigned the purple 304 a.d. It was during this period, and chiefly at the instigation of Galerius, that the tenth persecution of the Christians occurred – the last under the Roman power; for in 306 a.d. Constantine ascended the throne, and ultimately be, came the protector of the church.
(b) The magnitude of this persecution under Diocletian is as consonant to the representation here as its place in history. So important was it, that, in a general chapter on the persecutions of the Christians, Mr. Gibbon has seen fit, in his remarks on the nature, causes, extent, and character of the persecutions, to give a prominence to this which he has not assigned to any others, and to attach an importance to it which he has not to any other. See vol. i. pp. 317-322. The design of this persecution, as Mr. Gibbon expresses it (i. 318), was to set bounds to the progress of Christianity; or, as he elsewhere expresses it (on the same page), the destruction of Christianity. Diocletian, himself naturally averse from persecution, was excited to this by Galerius, who urged upon the emperor every argument by which he could persuade him to engage in it. Mr. Gibbon says in regard to this, Galerius at length extorted from him (Diocletian) the permission of summoning a council, composed of a few persons, the most distinguished in the civil and military departments of the state. It may be presumed that they insisted on every topic which might interest the pride, the piety, the fears of their sovereign in the destruction of Christianity, 1:318.
The purpose evidently in the persecution, was, to make a last and desperate effort, through the whole Roman empire, for the destruction of the Christian religion; for Mr. Gibbon (i. 320) says that the edict against the Christians was designed for a general law of the whole empire. Other efforts had failed. The religion still spread, notwithstanding the rage and fury of nine previous persecutions. It was resolved to make one more effort. This was designed by the persecutors to be the last, in the hope that then the Christian name would cease to be: in the providence of God it was the last – for then even these opposing powers became convinced that the religion could not be destroyed in this manner – and as this persecution was to establish this fact, it was an event of sufficient magnitude to be symbolized by the opening of one of the seals.
(c) The severity of this persecution accorded with the description here, and was such as to deserve a place in the series of important events which were to occur in the world. We have seen above, from the statement of Mr. Gibbon, that it was designed for the whole empire, and it in fact raged with fury throughout the empire. After detailing some of the events of local persecutions under Diocletian, Mr. Gibbon says, The resentment or the fears of Diocletian at length transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts the governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons destined for the vilest criminals were soon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, and exorcists. By a second edict the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity which might reclaim them from their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were exposed to a violent and general persecution.
Instead of those salutary restraints which had required the direct and solemn testimony of an accuser, it became the duty as well as the interest of the imperial officers to discover, to pursue, and to torment the most obnoxious among the faithful. Heavy penalties were denounced against all who should presume to save a proscribed sectary from the just indignation of the gods, and of the emperors, i. 322. The first decree against the Christians, at the instigation of Galerius, will show the general nature of this fiery trial of the church. That decree was to the following effect: All assembling of the Christians for the purposes of religious worship was forbidden; the Christian churches were to be demolished to their foundations; all manuscripts of the Bible should be burned; those who held places of honor or rank must either renounce their faith or be degraded; in judicial proceedings the torture might be used against all Christians, of whatever rank; those belonging to the lower walks of private life were to be divested of their rights as citizens and as freemen; Christian slaves were to be incapable of receiving their freedom, so long as they remained Christians (Neander, Hist. of the Church, Torreys Trans. i. 148).
This persecution was the last against the Christians by the Roman emperors; the last that was waged by that mighty pagan power. Diocletian soon resigned the purple, and after the persecution had continued to rage, with more or less severity, under his successors, for ten years, the peace of the church was established. Diocletian, says Mr. Gibbon (i. 322), had no sooner published his edicts against the Christians, than, as if he had been committing to other hands his work of persecution, he divested himself of the imperial purple. The character and situation of his colleagues and successors sometimes urged them to enforce, and sometimes to suspend, the execution of these rigorous laws; nor can we acquire a just and distinct idea of this important period of ecclesiastical history, unless we separately consider the state of Christianity in the different parts of the empire, during the space of ten years which elapsed between the first edicts of Diocletian and the final peace of the church.
For this detail consult Gibbon, i. 322-329, and the authorities there referred to; and Neander, History of the Church, i. 147-156. Respecting the details of the persecution, Mr. Gibbon remarks (i. 326), It would have been an easy task, from the history of Eusebius, from the declamations of Lactantius, and from the most ancient acts, to collect a long series of horrid and disgustful pictures, and to fill many pages with racks and scourges, with iron-hooks, and red-hot beds, and with the variety of tortures which fire and steel, savage beasts, and more savage executioners, could inflict on the human body. It is true that Mr. Gibbon professes to doubt the truth of these records, and attempts to show that the account of the number of the martyrs has been greatly exaggerated; yet no one, in reading his own account of this persecution, can doubt that it was the result of a determined effort to blot out the Christian religion, and that the whole of the imperial power was exerted to accomplish this end.
At length the last of the imperial persecutions ceased, and the great truth was demonstrated that Christianity could not be extinguished by power, and that the gates of hell could not prevail against it. In the year 311, says Neander (i. 156), the remarkable edict appeared which put an end to the last sanguinary conflict of the Christian church and the Roman empire. This decree was issued by the author and instigator of the persecution, Galerius, who, softened by a severe and painful disease, the consequence of his excesses, had been led to think that the God of the Christians might, after all, be a powerful being, whose anger punished him, and whose favor he must endeavor to conciliate. This man suspended the persecution, and gave the Christians permission once more to hold their assemblies, provided they did nothing contrary to the good order of the Roman state. Ita ut ne quid contra disciplinam agant (Neander, ibid.).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 6:9-11
I saw under the altar the souls.
Activity of the souls of the departed
I. St. John, we here read, was allowed to behold the souls of the martyrs, and they were living beneath the altar of the Lord. What, then, is the altar? In answer we say, that it is the place of a glorious and a happy security. It was to the altar that the murderer ran and clasped its horns, when the avenger of blood was in hot pursuit; it was to the altar, with all its beautiful accessories, the laver, the sacrifice, the shew-bread, and the golden candlesticks, that every mourner in Israel looked. Weary-hearted men, oppressed with the load of life, or weighed down by care, or burdened by sin, looked there and found an unfailing asylum. The martyrs are beneath the altar; they are under the security of its holy seal; they are hanging upon its strong horns; the persecutors arm cannot reach them; the avenger of blood dare not come near them; they are kept by the power of God. The dust and defilement of earth, the fierce heat of flame, the lions tooth, and the serpents strangling coil, are all past; there is heavens own calm; their souls are under Gods care, and under the seat and the seal of Christ.
II. But what is their state of feeling? Are they in a state of passive rest, or earnest enjoyment, or tranquil or animated hope? They cried with a loud voice, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Is it possible that they desire vengeance? Did Jesus pray for His murderers? Did Stephen, the martyr, echo and repeat the prayer? And have not the rest of the glorious band of martyrs learned and used it? It cannot be that the martyrs should be under the altar of the Lamb, and yet have hearts for vengeance. It is the cry of their blood for vengeance, not of their hearts. Just as the blood of Abel cried from the ground against Cain, so does this blood cry for vengeance on that Cain-like satanic power which made them martyrs. But it may be objected that this destroys the very notion of the activity of their spirits. The picture before us is that of altar-covered souls asking for a certain consummation. And no doubt, for a consummation we may truly believe they do both wait and long. But that consummation will be with such vengeance as is here alluded to. And this shows us that while the sin of the persecutors, written in the blood of the martyrs, calls for vengeance, the cry of the martyrs may well be only for the day of Christ, and for the redemption of the bodies of the sons and saints of God. They long for the day of Christ, because it is the year of His redeemed. But then it may be also said, and history will bear us out, that there is a certain cry of sympathy in behalf of friends and fellow Christians trodden down and persecuted, which issues by a kind of necessity in a cry of vengeance upon their persecutors. In the persecution which preceded that of Diocletian, we read how St. Cyprian addressed the African proconsul in the following words: Be assured that whatever we suffer will not remain unrevenged; and the greater the injury of the persecution, the heavier and more just will be the vengeance. Nay, this very prophetic anticipation of vengeance upon the enemies of the Church of Christ is only a phase of that conformity of the mind of the saint with the will of God, which will form the very essence and perfection of the heavenly state. If God in His justice comes forth for vengeance upon sinners, every saint must give the hearty amen of an entire concurrence to the infliction. So it ought to be on earth, and so it must be in heaven.
III. The explanation which we have given of the longing of the blessed departed for the year of Christs redeemed shows us, at any rate, the activity of their souls. It tells us that being dead, they do not sleep, or even in a dream; nay, that they are well awake, and full of all that constitutes the life and activity of a living soul. They think of the past, for they refer to it; they refer to the blood that has been shed; it is past, but they have not forgotten it. They know something of the present; for it is because the great consummation lingers, because they know that it does so, because the world still drives on in its wickedness; it is because of all this present continuing iniquity that the souls of the martyrs cry out. Again, they look to the future; their question discovers this; they are conscious that the day of vengeance and the year of redemption must come, and they earnestly inquire when it shall arrive.
IV. Consider further the answer which they received.
1. First, white robes were given them; their dishonoured names are all enshrined in honour; they were dressed as in preparation for the marriage feast of the Lamb; and when thus arrayed, words of peace were spoken to them. They are told to rest, and we may well imagine them sitting in the tranquillity of a blissful hope. They were to walt fill their brethrens arrival, which was to be through the same stormy straits as they had passed.
2. But then, is it only the martyrs that are thus reserved? Is it only they that wear white, and in that white array await the consummation? Nay, for there is a daily dying, which in many instances is no less precious in the sight of God than the glorious setting of a martyrs sun. Our beloved friends that have died in faith are thus before Him, they are in His very presence, they have the sunbeams of His radiant countenance shining directly upon their beatified spirits.
3. And they too, like the martyred spirits, are looking forward. They, like them, remember the past, and muse upon the present, and look to the future. And if so, they remember what they did on earth, and more than this, they remember those whom they loved, and whom they have left here. Death and forgetfulness do not affect that which is innocent and sinless.
4. And this thought is a sweet and holy solace. (C. E. Kennnaway, M. A.)
The waiting of the invisible Church
We may gather with all certainty from this wonderful revelation of the inner mysteries of the heavenly court, first, that God has a fixed time for the end of the world. It is also here revealed to us that God has fixed that time according to the measures of the work which He has to finish; even as Christ had a work to finish on earth; so that we read, again and again, that His hour was not yet come. In like manner now in heaven, He has a definite foreseen scheme for the administration of His mediatorial kingdom; and according to the accomplishing of this work will be the time of His coming.
1. He has shadowed out to us the nature of the work that He has to do before the end comes; that is, to make up a certain number whom God has foreseen and predestinated to life eternal (Mal 3:17; Mat 24:31; Heb 11:13; Heb 11:40). Whether this secret number be measured by the fall of angels, as some of old were wont to believe; whether the companies of angelic ministers shall be filled up by the redeemed of mankind, we know not, but we know certainly that, until the foreseen number is completed, the course of this turbulent world shall still run on.
2. Again, in this gathering out of the mystical body of His Son, God is carrying on the probation of mankind. In the inscrutable secrets of His providential government, He is so ordering the strife of the seed of the woman with the seed of the serpent, of the Church with the world, as to fulfil the manifold purposes of love and of long-suffering.
(1) And, first, we see that this long-permitted strife is ordained for the perfecting of His saints. By it our patience, meekness, faith, perseverance, boldness and loyalty to Christ are ever tried; and by trial made perfect.
(2) And this mysterious work, as
2. has an aspect of love towards the saints, so it has an aspect of long-suffering towards sinners. It is thus that God gives them a full season for repentance. He gives all things for our salvation–warnings, blessings, chastisements, sorrows, sicknesses, words of fire, and sacraments of love; He stays His hand, and leaves the sinner without excuse, that at the winding up of this weary life, every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God.
3. And now, from all this, we see what ought to be the master-aim of our lives, that is, to make sure of our fellowship in that mystical number. (Archdeacon Manning.)
The cry of the world in oppression
The souls under the altar represent the whole company of the oppressed. The former troubles were general; all the world suffers, whether it knows it or not, from conflict and selfishness and want and mortality; and its suffering is expressed before the throne by the representatives of all the animate creation. Now it is the voice of one part which is heard, the voice of the oppressed. It is not the whole of human life which is involved, as in the opening of the first four seals. The altar is an altar of sacrifice, on which victims are offered. The appeal of the souls is not an articulate voice from blessed spirits in Paradise. It is just like that tremendous phrase in Genesis, The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto Me from the ground. It is certainly not a vision of the blessed saints cherishing a spirit of common revenge, but a cry to Christ, as in former cases, from the personified life of sufferers on account of right. It is a cry, in oppression, of the Christian world concerning the unchristian, of the believing world concerning the unbelieving. Christ proclaimed it years before: If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. And the unbelieving worlds weapons are very various. Because we have passed the times of persecution by the sword, at least in the civilised world, we cannot say that the force of this vision of St. John is spent. The world claims education. We need not put down the Faith by common violence, if we can destroy it at its foundation in the education children. Are we awakened rightly yet to the reality of this oppression? These are the two chief ways in which, at the moment, the principle of St. Johns vision is being worked out in Christendom. But there are many individual lives that can enter in a wonderful way into the meaning of it. A mans foes shall be they of his own household. Many a martyr-spirit is suffering to-day, so that none but God and the holy angels mark the suffering. The souls cry for vengeance to the Lamb is of the same order as Christs vengeance on St. Paul: that the spirit of the Lamb of God should take possession of the world, that the thoughts and desires of it may be brought, as St. Paul was, into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Avenge our blood with this glorious vengeance, O Thou Master, upon all them that dwell on the earth! There is, in this case, an immediate answer. And white robes were given, etc. (A. H. Simms, M. A.)
Departed martyrs
I. Thev live in sacred security. I saw under the altar the souls of them. The souls, not the bodies; the bodies had been destroyed, their ashes were left behind. Souls can exist apart from the body–a wonderful fact this.
II. They live in earnest consciousness. They remember the earth, remember the cruelties they received on the earth, and long, not maliciously, but benevolently, for justice being done to their persecutors. No doubt their desire was that God would strike such a moral conviction into their hearts on account of their wickedness that would lead them to repentance. Souls in heaven do not forget the past.
III. They live in holy grandeur White robes were given to them. Or, more properly, a white robe, emblem of purity and conquest. (Homilist.)
How long, O Lord?
Calvin had this speech always in his mouth, breathing out his holy desires in the behalf of the afflicted Churches, with whose sufferings he was more affected than with anything that befell himself. (J. Trapp.)
The life of faith in death
I. John, being in the spirit, could see spirits. Men, indeed, clad in flesh, can hardly imagine how a soul can have existence out of the flesh. Eagles can see that which owls cannot; so is that visible and credible to a spiritual man which to a natural is invisible, incredible. And yet even natures dim eyes have been clear enough to see this truth. The souls eternity is an inbred instinct in the souls of men.
II. Now if this much revived John to see the souls continuance after death, how much more to see their safety and rest under the altar; that is, under Christs protection and custody. The phrase alluding to the altar in the tabernacle, which gave the offerings grace and acceptation; and partly to the safety of such as fled from the avenger to the altar.
III. If John had seen souls at rest, though in poor and mean condition, yet were a corner of a house with peace to be preferred to a wide palace with disquiet. But behold, he sees not naked, beggarly, ragged souls, but adorned with white robes; that is, endowed now, and glorified with perfect righteousness, purity, clarity, dignity, and festivity, of all which white apparel hath ever been an emblem and symbol in Divine and human heraldry, a clothing of princes in their great solemnities of coronation, triumphs and ovations. The lilies, and Solomon, in all their royalties, not like unto the meanest of them.
IV. Were heaven nothing else but a haven of rest, we know how welcome the one is to a seasick weather-beaten traveller, and may by that guess how desirable the other should be to a soul that long hath been tossed in the waves of this world, sick of its own sinful imaginations, and tired with external temptations. (T. Adams.)
How long, O Lord, dost Thou not Judge?–
How long?
I. The words as from man to God. Looking up to God, man breathes the deep-drown sigh, How long? (Psa 6:3; Psa 13:1; Psa 35:17; Psa 74:10; Psa 79:5; Psa 89:46; Psa 90:13; Psa 94:4; Hab 1:2; Rev 6:10). These are the chief passages in which the expression occurs. Instead of dwelling on each in succession, let me thus sum up and classify their different meanings. It is the language–
1. Of complaint. The righteous man feels the burden and the sorrow and the evil that have so long prevailed in this present evil world, and he cries, How long? Have these not lasted long enough? Would that they were done! In this complaint there is weariness, and sometimes there is sadness–almost despair–when unbelief gets the upper hand. Creation groans. Iniquity overflows. Death reigns. The wicked triumph.
2. Submission. While impatience sometimes rises, yet the cry does not mean this. It is really a cry of submission to a wise and sovereign God. It is the cry of one putting all events, as well as all times and seasons, into His hands.
3. Inquiry. In all the passages there is an implied question. It is not merely, Oh that the time would come! but, When shall it come?
4. Expectation. It is the voice of faith, and hope, and longing desire. The present is dark, the future is bright; Gods Word is sure concerning the coming glory; and so we, looking for and hasting to that glory, and depressed with the evil here, cry out day by day, How long?
II. The words as from God to man. I note the following instances (Exo 10:3; Exo 16:28; Jos 18:3; 1Ki 18:21; Psa 82:2; Pro 1:22; Pro 6:9; Jer 4:14). Taking up these words of God as spoken to different classes, we would dwell on the following points:
1. Long-suffering. Jeremiahs words to Jerusalem are the words of a long-suffering God, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2. Expostulation. How long halt ye between two opinions? How long shall ye be of deciding? How long of trusting Me?
3. Entreaty. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? God beseeches man; He entreats him to give up his sin, to come and be saved. How long will ye refuse My love?
4. Earnestness. Gods words are all sincere. He means what He says, and says what He means. Ye will not come to Me! How often would I have gathered thy children! O that thou hadst known!
5. Sorrow. Every moments continuance in unbelief is vexing and grieving the Spirit.
6. Upbraiding. There is the land, the kingdom, why do ye not go in? The door is open; the way is clear.
7. Warning. How long will ye persist in your unrighteousness and unbelief? The day of grace is ending. The day of wrath is coming. Be warned. Flee from the wrath to come. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
The cry for vengeance from souls under the altar
First, the righteous are taken away, and no man regardeth it, as the prophet says (Isa 57:1). Their days are cut short by violence and cruelty, and yet their persecutors live and are mighty. What did the heathen say to this, who had good report for their moral conversation? Is there no justice in heaven? Yes, here is the best assurance that can be demanded, a scene, as it were, acted in heaven, wherein is represented that the wrongs of the saints are fresh in memory, and shall never be forgotten. The poor oppressed is more likely to obtain redress against his enemy when he is dead than when he was alive. His soul is then most precious to the Lord, his prayer most fragrant, he is so near to Christ that he is next to the altar; his understanding is so enlightened that he knows what to ask and never fail. Here you have a petition, then, put up to a mighty King by some persons that had sustained injury. First, Consider to whom the supplication is preferred, to one from whom there lies no appeal, the King of kings and Lord of lords. And the words are so laid together that the souls under the altar do beseech Him by His three mighty attributes. He is the Lord, therefore they implore Him by that power which can do all things. He is holy, therefore they solicit Him by that goodness which detests oppressions. He is truth, therefore they urge Him by those promises made, which He cannot but accomplish. It is the Lord, holy and true, into His hands they commend their petition. He that makes his address to God, let him begin with His praise, let him commemorate His excellent greatness, let him delight to rehearse His titles of Majesty. No man can speak of the King of heaven according to His due honour, but it will procreate devotion and reverence; no man doth advance the name of God in the preface of his prayer, but it is a tacit confession that he prefers the glory of his Maker before his own necessity. I come to the prayer itself: the souls under the altar cry out unto the Lord to judge and avenge their blood. This is a voice which came not from earth but from heaven, and therefore we must maintain it.
1. First of all, vengeance being not usurped by the hand of a private man, but prosecuted under the shelter of lawful authority, like usque quo Domine. In this place it is not unlawful. It is a stirring up of that part of justice which distributes punishments to them that deserve them, and to demand it in a regular way is in no wise rugged to the law of charity.
2. But it is a second conclusion that the spirits of good men departed may cry out to have judgment pass upon tyrants for the effusion of their blood, because they can ask nothing inordinately; they that are confirmed in grace and cannot sin, they cannot make a petition that is over-balanced with the least grain of rancour or partiality.
3. The third conclusion is so cautious to give no scandal, so circumspect not to open the least window to malice and hatred, that it resents the word revenge in this place to be of improper signification; and that which the souls departed sue for is not revenge, but deliverance. Deliverance? Of what? Not of themselves, who are out of harms way, but of their brethren tormented here beneath. As who should say, How long, O Lord, wilt Thou not deliver the blood of our brethren, the poor members of the militant Church, from them that rage upon the earth? So I leave this point with a probable assent, but no more, that the saints desire not the vengeance of the ungodly, but the deliverance of the righteous. The next point is almost of the same piece, and very conjunct with the petition itself, it is the manner of preferring it which, to the greater terror of them that live by wrong hostility, is done with all vehemency and importunity, with a loud voice, and a solicitous iteration. The heathen poets fancied that the souls in the Elysian fields did not utter their mind with audible and vocal sounds, but with a low whispering, as if reeds were shaken with the wind. Sometimes they would strive to speak out, but all in vain. This is fiction, and not philosophy; for separated souls speak not with corporeal organs, but with their wills and affections. Their words which they utter are their desires, which they send forth; and therefore David says, Thine ear hath heard the desire of their heart. Oppression and tyrannizing over the poor and helpless make the loudest clamours of any sins in the ears of God. Not the martyrs themselves, but the wrongs which they endured exclaim against their enemies. (Bp. Hackett.)
The recompense of martyrdom
I. The martyr-cry. It is the widows cry, Avenge me of mine adversary. How long, O Lord (or, O Master), holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth! This has been that long and bitter cry of the ages. It may seem narrow, or worse than narrow–it may be called bigotry, or worse than bigotry–to sympathise with such sentiments; but these words stand. Let modem sentimentalists tell us what they mean, or else boldly proclaim them false and cruel.
II. The martyr-honour. White robes were given them. What a contrast to the poverty of their raiment here, as they came out of prison; to the blood-stains and filth upon their earthly apparel!
III. The martyr-rest. They get immediate rest as well as honour. To you who are troubled, the apostle says, God will recompense rest with us (2Th 1:7). The fulness of the rest–the Sabbatism (Heb 4:9)–is a reserve for the Lords revelation from heaven; but rest, meanwhile, is theirs; rest, how sweet after the torture and toil of earth! It may be that there is peculiar rest for the martyr-band; and yet there is rest for all who are the Lords, even though they may not have passed to it through the flames.
IV. The martyr-hope. It is not expressly mentioned here. It is something which shall be given when the whole band is gathered; the whole martyr-band from the beginning. The seven epistles reveal that hope; and the three closing chapters of this book unfold it more fully. It is the hope of the first resurrection; of reigning with Christ; of entry into the celestial city; of the crown of life; of the inheritance of all things. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
The cry for vengeance
It is their blood that cries; it is the wrong done to them that demands reparation. In so far as they may be supposed to cry, they have in view, not their enemies as persons, but the evil that is in them, and that manifests itself through them. At first it may seem difficult to draw the distinction; but if we pause over the matter for a little, the difficulty will disappear. Never do we pity the sinner more, or feel for him with a keener sympathy, than when we are most indignant at sin and most earnest in prayer and effort for its destruction. The more anxious we are for the latter, the more must we compassionate the man who is enveloped in sins fatal toils. When we long, therefore, for the hour at which sin shall be overtaken by the just judgment of God, we long only for the establishment of that righteous and holy kingdom which is inseparably bound up with the glory of God and the happiness of the world. (W. Milligan, D. D.)
White robes were given unto every one of them.—
White robes
I. White robes remind us of innocence. It is a grand thing to be innocent; it is more glorious to be virtuous. Each part of yonder powerful locomotive and of that stupendous tubular bridge has been tried by great pressure, and stood the test. So a man who has been tried by the pressure of temptation, and has stood the test, is virtuous. Never blame any human bridge or broken human engine unless you have been tested with a similar pressure. But what a blessing to know that though a man has fallen, God does not lay him aside as useless! The glory of the gospel is that it offers the white robes of innocence to guilty men and women. The sinner is not only forgiven, but transformed. His second nature is of a higher kind than the first.
II. White robes also remind us of success. It is only the few who seem to succeed in this world. Carlyle speaks of men as being mostly fools, while another writer describes the world as being strewn with human wrecks. As a rule, a successful man possesses genius and enthusiasm. How seldom one sees a perfect man or a perfect work! How grand to be successful as a man, a father, a brother, a friend! Alas! how few are really successful! You set forth to be a pure and honourable man; as such, have you been a success? Are you a failure? Alas! it is true; the world is strewn with the wrecks of human resolves and aims. But the white robe of success is placed once more within your reach. The Lord will work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure, and you shall be successful as a Christian.
III. White robes also remind us of beauty. (W. Birch.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. The fifth seal] There is no animal nor any other being to introduce this seal, nor does there appear to be any new event predicted; but the whole is intended to comfort the followers of God under their persecutions, and to encourage them to bear up under their distresses.
I saw under the altar] A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar; and under it the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God-martyred for their attachment to Christianity, are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when he had opened the fifth seal: this and the next seals opening, is not prefaced with any living creature calling to John to
come and see. We must consider:
1. The number of the beasts was but four, who all had had their courses.
2. Some have thought that it is, because here is no mention of any new persecution, but a consequent of the former.
3. But this vision was so plain, it needed no expositor.
I saw under the altar; still he speaks in the dialect of the Old Testament, where in the temple was the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense; the allusion here is judged to be to the latter.
The souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held; from whence we may not conclude, that the souls of men and women when they die do sleep, as some dreamers have thought. These are said to be the souls of them that were slain
for the word of God, & c., for preaching the word, and their profession of the gospel, bearing a testimony to Christ and his truths. Mr. Mede thinks that under this seal is comprehended the ten bloody years of Dioclesians persecution, which of all others was most severe; paganism at that time (as dying things are wont) most struggling to keep itself alive. This tyrant is said, in the beginning of his reign, within thirty days to have slain seventeen thousand, and in Egypt alone, during his ten years, one hundred and forty-four thousand. He thinks that the souls of those which this wretch had slain throughout all his dominions, within his short period of ten years, were those principally which were showed John upon the opening of this seal.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. The three last seals relateto the invisible, as the first four to the visible world; the fifth,to the martyrs who have died as believers; the sixth, to those whohave died, or who shall be found at Christ’s coming, unbelievers,namely, “the kings . . . great men . . . bondman . . . freeman”;the seventh, to the silence in heaven. The scene changes from earthto heaven; so that interpretations which make these three lastconsecutive to the first four seals, are very doubtful.
I sawin spirit. Forsouls are not naturally visible.
under the altarAs theblood of sacrificial victims slain on the altar was poured at thebottom of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed forChrist’s testimony are symbolically represented as under thealtar, in heaven; for the life or animal soul is in theblood, and blood is often represented as crying for vengeance(Ge 4:10). The altar in heaven,antitypical to the altar of sacrifice, is Christ crucified. As it isthe altar that sanctifies the gift, so it is Christ alone who makesour obedience, and even our sacrifice of life for the truth,acceptable to God. The sacrificial altar was not in the sanctuary,but outside; so Christ’s literal sacrifice and the figurativesacrifice of the martyrs took place, not in the heavenly sanctuary,but outside, here on earth. The only altar in heaven is thatantitypical to the temple altar of incense. The blood of the martyrscries from the earth under Christ’s cross, whereon they may beconsidered virtually to have been sacrificed; their souls cry fromunder the altar of incense, which is Christ in heaven, by whom alonethe incense of praise is accepted before God. They are underChrist, in His immediate presence, shut up unto Him in joyful eagerexpectancy until He shall come to raise the sleeping dead. Comparethe language of 2 Maccabees 7:36 as indicating Jewish opinionon the subject. Our brethren who have now suffered a short pain aredead under (Greek) God’s covenant of everlastinglife.
testimony which theyheldthat is, which they bore, as committed to them to bear.Compare Re 12:17, “Have(same Greek as here) the testimony of Jesus.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when he had opened the fifth seal,…. Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire. This seal refers to the times of Dioclesian, and the persecution under him; and instead of the voice of one of the living creatures, John hears the voice of martyrs:
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain; these include not only all the martyrs that were put to death in the persecution of Dioclesian, but all those that suffered in all the persecutions preceding; for this, being the last, involves them all. “Souls”, being immaterial and incorporeal, are invisible to the bodily eye; these therefore were either clothed with corporeal forms, as angels sometimes are, or rather John saw them in a visionary way, as he saw the angels: and these were the souls of such as “were slain”; their bodies were dead, but their souls were alive; which shows the immortality of souls, and that they die not with their bodies, and that they live after them in a separate state: , “the souls of them that are slain”, is a phrase used by Jewish writers a, and who have a notion that the souls of those that are slain are kept in certain palaces, under the care of one appointed by God b: and these were seen “under the altar”; either this is said in allusion to the blood of the sacrifices, which was poured out at the bottom of the altar, Le 4:7, in which the life and soul of the creature is; or because that martyrdom is a sacrifice of men’s lives, and an offering of them in the cause of God and truth, Php 2:17; or with some reference to a common notion of the Jews, that the souls of the righteous are treasured up under the throne of glory c they have also a saying, everyone that is buried in the land of Israel is as if he was buried “under the altar” d; for they think that being buried there expiates their sins e; to which they add, that whoever is buried “under the altar”, is as if he was buried under the throne of glory f; yea, they talk of an altar above, upon which Michael the high priest causes the souls of the righteous to ascend g. Christ may be meant by the altar here, as he is in Heb 13:10, who is both altar, sacrifice, and priest, and is the altar that sanctifies the gift, and from off which every sacrifice of prayer and praise comes up with acceptance before God; and the souls of the martyrs being under this altar, denotes their being in the presence of Christ, and enjoying communion with him, and being in his hands, into whose hands they commit their souls at death, as Stephen did, and being under his care and protection until the resurrection morn, when they shall be reunited to their bodies which sleep in Jesus: and they were slain
for the word of God; both for the essential Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose faith they professed; and for the written word, they made the rule of their faith and practice, and which Dioclesian forbid the reading of, and sought utterly to destroy; and for the Gospel principally, which is contained in it:
and for the testimony which they held; the Syriac and Arabic versions read, “for the testimony of the Lamb”; and so the Complutensian edition; either for the Gospel, which is a testimony of the person, office, and grace of Christ, the Lamb, which they embraced, professed, and held fast; or for the witness they bore to him, and the profession which they made thereof, and in which they continued.
a Tosaphta in Zohar in Exod. fol. 79. 4. b Shaare Ora, fol. 31. 2. c T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 152. 2. Zohar in Numb. fol. 39. 4. Abot R. Nathan, c. 12. Raziel, fol. 39. 1. Caphtor, fol. 15. 2. & 112. 2. Nismat Chayim, fol. 16. 2. d T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 111. 1. e Maimon. Hilchot. Melacim, c. 5. sect. 11. f Abot R. Nathan, c. 26. g Tzeror Hammor, fol. 85. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Opening of the Seals. | A. D. 95. |
9 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: 10 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? 11 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. 12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
In the remaining part of this chapter we have the opening of the fifth and the sixth seals.
I. The fifth seal. Here is no mention made of any one who called the apostle to make his observation, probably because the decorum of the vision was to be observed, and each of the four living creatures had discharged its duty of a monitor before, or because the events here opened lay out of the sight, and beyond the time, of the present ministers of the church; or because it does not contain a new prophecy of any future events, but rather opens a spring of support and consolation to those who had been and still were under great tribulation for the sake of Christ and the gospel. Here observe,
1. The sight this apostle saw at the opening of the fifth seal; it was a very affecting sight (v. 9): I saw under the altar the souls of those that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. He saw the souls of the martyrs. Here observe, (1.) Where he saw them–under the altar; at the foot of the altar of incense, in the most holy place; he saw them in heaven, at the foot of Christ. 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. (2.) What was the cause in which they suffered–the word of God and the testimony which they held, for believing the word of God, and attesting or confessing the truth of it; this profession of their faith they held fast without wavering, even though they died for it. A noble cause, the best that any man can lay down his life for–faith in God’s word and a confession of that faith.
2. The cry he heard; it was a loud cry, and contained a humble expostulation about the long delay of avenging justice against their enemies: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? v. 10. Observe, (1.) Even the spirits of just men made perfect retain a proper resentment of the wrong they have sustained by their cruel enemies; and though they die in charity, praying, as Christ did, that God would forgive them, yet they are desirous that, for the honour of God, and Christ, and the gospel, and for the terror and conviction of others, God will take a just revenge upon the sin of persecution, even while he pardons and saves the persecutors. (2.) They commit their cause to him to whom vengeance belongeth, and leave it in his hand; they are not for avenging themselves, but leave all to God. (3.) There will be joy in heaven at the destruction of the implacable enemies of Christ and Christianity, as well as at the conversion of other sinners. When Babylon falls, it will be said, Rejoice over her, O thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her, ch. xviii. 20.
3. He observed the kind return that was made to this cry (v. 11), both what was given to them and what was said to them. (1.) What was given to them–white robes, the robes of victory and of honour; their present happiness was an abundant recompence of their past sufferings. (2.) What was said to them–that they should be satisfied, and easy in themselves, for it would not be long ere the number of their fellow-sufferers would be fulfilled. This is a language rather suited to the imperfect state of the saints in this world than to the perfection of their state in heaven; there is no impatience, no uneasiness, no need of admonition; but in this world there is great need of patience. Observe, [1.] There is a number of Christians, known to God, who are appointed as sheep for the slaughter, set apart to be God’s witnesses. [2.] As the measure of the sin of persecutors is filling up, so is the number of the persecuted martyred servants of Christ. [3.] When this number is fulfilled, God will take a just and glorious revenge upon their cruel persecutors; he will recompense tribulation to those who trouble them, and to those that are troubled full and uninterrupted rest.
II. We have here the sixth seal opened, v. 12. Some refer this to the great revolutions in the empire at Constantine’s time, the downfall of paganism; others, with great probability, to the destruction of Jerusalem, as an emblem of the general judgment, and destruction of the wicked, at the end of the world; and, indeed, the awful characters of this event are so much the same with those signs mentioned by our Saviour as foreboding the destruction of Jerusalem, as hardly to leave any room for doubting but that the same thing is meant in both places, though some think that event was past already. See Mat 24:29; Mat 24:30. Here observe,
1. The tremendous events that were hastening; and here are several occurrences that contribute to make that day and dispensation very dreadful:– (1.) There was a great earthquake. This may be taken in a political sense; the very foundations of the Jewish church and state would be terribly shaken, though they seemed to be as stable as the earth itself. (2.) The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, either naturally, by a total eclipse, or politically, by the fall of the chief rulers and governors of the land. (3.) The moon should become as blood; the inferior officers, or their military men, should be all wallowing in their own blood. (4.) The stars of heaven shall fall to the earth (v. 13), and that as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. The stars may signify all the men of note and influence among them, though in lower spheres of activity; there should be a general desolation. (5.) The heaven should depart as a scroll when it is rolled together. This may signify that their ecclesiastical state should perish and be laid aside for ever. (6.) Every mountain and island shall be moved out of its place. The destruction of the Jewish nation should affect and affright all the nations round about, those who were highest in honour and those who seemed to be best secured; it would be a judgment that should astonish all the world. This leads to,
2. The dread and terror that would seize upon all sorts of men in that great and awful day, v. 15. No authority, nor grandeur, nor riches, nor valour, nor strength, would be able to support men at that time; yea, the very poor slaves, who, one would think, had nothing to fear, because they had nothing to lose, would be all in amazement at that day. Here observe, (1.) The degree of their terror and astonishment: it should prevail so far as to make them, like distracted desperate men, call to the mountains to fall upon them, and to the hills to cover them; they would be glad to be no more seen; yea, to have no longer any being. (2.) The cause of their terror, namely, the angry countenance of him that sits on the throne, and the wrath of the Lamb. Observe, [1.] That which is matter of displeasure to Christ is so to God; they are so entirely one that what pleases or displeases the one pleases or displeases the other. [2.] Though God be invisible, he can make the inhabitants of this world sensible of his awful frowns. [3.] Though Christ be a lamb, yet he can be angry, even to wrath, and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful; for if the Redeemer, that appeases the wrath of God, himself be our wrathful enemy, where shall we have a friend to plead for us? Those perish without remedy who perish by the wrath of the Redeemer. [4.] As men have their day of opportunity, and their seasons of grace, so God has his day of righteous wrath; and, when that day shall come, the most stout-hearted sinners will not be able to stand before him: all these terrors actually fell upon the sinners in Judea and Jerusalem in the day of their destruction, and they will all, in the utmost degree, fall upon impenitent sinners, at the general judgment of the last day.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Under the altar ( ). “Under” (), for the blood of the sacrifices was poured at the bottom of the altar (Le 4:7). The altar of sacrifice (Exod 39:39; Exod 40:29), not of incense. The imagery, as in Hebrews, is from the tabernacle. For the word see Mt 5:23f., often in Rev. (Rev 8:3; Rev 8:5; Rev 9:13; Rev 11:1; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7). This altar in heaven is symbolic, of course, the antitype for the tabernacle altar (Heb 8:5). The Lamb was slain (Rev 5:6; Rev 5:9; Rev 5:12) and these martyrs have followed the example of their Lord.
The souls ( ). The lives, for the life is in the blood (Le 17:11), were given for Christ (Phil 2:17; 2Tim 4:6).
Of the slain ( ). See 5:6. Christians were slain during the Neronian persecution and now again under Domitian. A long line of martyrs has followed.
For the word of God ( ). As in 1:9, the confession of loyalty to Christ as opposed to emperor-worship.
And for the testimony which they held ( ). See also 1:9. Probably equals “even” here, explaining the preceding. The imperfect tense suits the repetition of the witness to Christ and the consequent death.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Altar [] . See on Act 17:23. The altar of sacrifice, as is indicated by slain; not the altar of incense. The imagery is from the tabernacle. Exo 39:39; Exo 40:29.
Souls [] . Or lives. See on 3Jo 1:2. He saw only blood, but blood and life were equivalent terms to the Hebrew.
Slain [] . See on chapter Rev 5:6. The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt – offering (Lev 4:7).
They held [] . Not held fast, but bore the testimony which was committed to them.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
(THE FIFTH SEAL OPENED) v. 9-11 The Martyred Remnant Cry
1) “And when he had opened the fifth seal,” (kai hote enoiksen ten pempten sphragida) “And when he (the Lamb) had opened or disclosed the fifth seal; Let it be remembered that five is the number of grace. So under the fifth of (Grace-Seal) may be expected a vision of the victory of grace, Joh 1:17; Rom 3:24.
2) “I saw under the Altar,” (eidon hupokato tou thusiasteriou) “I saw underneath the altar, the place of sacrifice; or place of petition, intercession. Note that John’s eyes turned from judgments on earth, under the first four seals, to heaven, before the heavenly alter, Rev 8:3.
3) “The souls of them that were slain,” (tas psuchas ton esphagmenon) “The souls of those that were having been slain; The souls of the redeemed of those having been slain are here beheld as under the safety or security or protection of the blood of the altar, where Christ with his own blood has entered for his own.
4) “For the Word of God,” (dia ton logon tou theou) “On account of the word of God,” the living Christ and his written word. These appear to be martyr saints of Israel, those who had stood and died for the word of God they were bearing, Heb 11:32-40; Act 7:52; Act 7:58-60; And martyred Saints of the church in this age, from Stephen, James, etc. until today, Act 7:60; Act 12:1.
5) “And for the testimony which they held,” (kai dia ten marturian hen eichon) “And on account of (because of) the martyr-testimony or witness which they had or held as redeemed martyr Saints of Israel’s program of worship and service under Israel’s covenant and Martyr Saints for the church of Jesus Christ in this age, and those martyr redeemed from Gentiles of all nations but never became saints or participants in either Israel or the church’s covenant worship, Rev 7:9-17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 16
Text Rev. 6:9-11
9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.
Initial Questions Rev. 6:9-11
1.
Where were the souls of the slain found Rev. 6:9?
2.
Why were they slain Rev. 6:9?
3.
Does Rev. 6:10 relate the cry of those impatient for justice? (Note Habakkuks cry in the Old Testament.)
4.
What does the white robes of Rev. 6:11 signify? Who received them?
Rev. 6:9
The fifth and sixth seals go together. When the fifth seal is opened, the martyrs are standing under Gods altar, crying for vengeance. They are told that they must wait for Gods appointed time. The altar imagery is taken directly from the tabernacle (Exo. 39:39; Exo. 40:29). This is the altar of sacrifice (thusiastriou). This is the term used in Act. 17:23 (an altar to an unknown god). We must not lose sight of the imagery that the souls were underneath or covered over by the place where the sacrifice for sin was made. John saw the souls of the ones having been slain (esphagmenn passive perfect participle the term has a sacrificial significance, and implies violence) because of (or on account of dia with the accusative has causal force) the Word of God, and because of (same structure as previous phrase) the witness which they had. The reasons for their being slain were the same for John being banded to Patmos.
Rev. 6:10
The martyrs cried for vengeance! The O.T. prophet Habakkuk asked God the same thing regarding the apparent victory and prosperity of the wickedHow long? Abraham asked the Lord of Heaven will not the judge of the whole earth be righteous (or do righteously?) Why do the martyred saints cry for vengeance? How does this passage fit in with the contemporary resurgence of the heresy of universalism (that everyone is going to be saved ultimately)? With great volume they cried saying: until when (how long), master, the holy and true, judgest thou not and avengest blood on them dwelling on the earth? The word translated master here is despots. The word despots is used in Jud. 1:4 : and 2Pe. 2:11 referring to Christ. In our language the word despot carries a bad connotation. Why did the Spirit choose this term? A despot is one who controls everything (note this term in Act. 4:24 in times of persecution). There is not much hope left, unless God is all powerful, and that His will and purpose will ultimately prevail.
Rev. 6:11
(Note how often the passive voice was given is used in this section of scripture. This means that God allows certain things to occur but He is still in command of the reigns of the universe. The martyrs received a white robe. A stol (robe) was a long festive dress. It was for special occasions only. And it was said to them in order that (hina clause for the purpose that) they should rest (stop drying and also rest in spiritual peace) yet a little season until should be fulfilled also the fellow slaves of them and the brothers of them the ones being about (mellontes about to occur) to be killed as also they. God told the saints to rest, because others would also be martyred for their faith in Christ. Things will grow worse on the earth, not better and better in every way.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) I saw under the altar . . .Read, when He opened, and, instead of were slain, &c., had been slain because of the Word of God, and (because of) the testimony which they held. The seal indicates that the mission of the Christian Church can only be carried out in suffering. An altar is seen, and at its foot tokens of the martyrs who had laid down their lives upon it. The word souls is to be taken as the equivalent of lives; the vision tells that their lives had been sacrificed. The blood of the victims was in the temple service poured out at the foot of the altar. St. Paul makes use of the same imageryI am now ready to be poured out (offered in English version). In union with Christ Christians are called upon to suffer with Him, even to carry on to its great end the work of Christ in the world, and so fill up that which is lacking of the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:24). The word souls has been made a resting-place for an argument respecting the intermediate state. There is no ground for this: it is quite beside the object of the seal, which simply exhibits the sufferings of Christs people as the necessary accompaniment of the progress of the gospel. These sufferings are because of the Word of God and the testimony which they held. It was because of the Word of God and the testimony that the sacred seer himself suffered (Rev. 1:9). The words here remind us that the same issue which St. John fought, the suffering ones of after ages would be fighting. Their witness and his was the God-man; to this testimony they clung. They were not ashamed of Christ, or of His words, and they suffered for their courage and fidelity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(9-11) The fifth seal differs from the four earlier seals. It is not introduced by the voice of the living beings, and the cry Come. The voice which is now heard is not the cry of the groaning world, but of the oppressed and troubled Church. In the fourth seal the climax of world-sorrow seemed to be reached in the accumulation of war, famine, pestilence, and noisome beasts. It declared to the evangelist that there were evils which would continue and even increase in the world. Ye shall hear of wars; nation shall rise against nation. Social troubles, war, poverty, and privation would still exist; religious troubles, evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse. Worldly policy, selfishness, and the untamed passions of mankind would still trouble humanity. Then if such troubles and disorders remain, what has the Church been doing? Where is the promise of that early vision of victory? The answer is given in the fifth seal. The Church has been following her Lord. As the vision of Bethlehem and the angel-song of peace on earth passed, and made way for the agony of Gethsemane, the cross of Calvary, and the cry My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? so the glowing dream of a quick conquest over all evil passes away, and the picture of an agonising, persecuted Church takes its place, and the voice of its anguish is heard, How long, O Lord! The Church has her Bethlehem, her Nazareth, her Gethsemane, her Calvary, her Easter morn; for Christ said, Where I am there shall also My servant be (Joh. 12:26). The seals, then, are not merely visions of war, famine, &c., they are the tokens that the victory of Christs Church must, like her Lords, be a victory through apparent failure and certain death. The four seals proclaim her apparent failure; she has not brought peace and social and political harmony to the world. The fifth seal shows her suffering, the witness of the servants of Christ has been rejected; in the world they have tribulation (Joh. 16:33).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Three Spiritual Seals, Rev 6:9 to Rev 8:6.
Fifth seal Cry from souls under the altar =PERSECUTION, Rev 6:9-11.
The four creational seals are past. We have henceforward no Come of the beasts, no symbolic horses, no further secular and earthly troubles. We now rise into a more spiritual region. And the vision represents its meaning less by symbol and more by definite picture. The martyrs, the dissolution of the probationary system, and the passage to the next series of revelation, are revealed by the remaining three seals.
9. Under the altar The altar of the temple in Rev 11:1, namely, of the scenic earthly Jerusalem. Note Rev 4:11. It is not the altar of incense, but the grand altar of sacrifice. The law was, The whole blood of the bullock shall be poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:7. And as the blood is the animal soul or life, so symbolically the souls of those who had been sacrificed for their faith are represented as lying below the altar, and crying to God for retribution. Not that the blood symbolizes souls, but the souls themselves are seen, shadowy forms, by the seer’s spiritual eye. Hengstenberg maintains that souls here means, not the disembodied spirits of the martyrs, but their blood, which cries for vengeance, poetically, like the blood of Abel. But how could blood speak of avenging our blood? Hengstenberg’s evasion, that it is the slain who thus speak, is inadmissible. Where were the slain, as seen by John, crying, if they were not the souls? Alford and Elliott both interpret this of really disembodied souls whose condition symbolizes the repression of the cause of Christ under power of antichrist. And yet, in Rev 20:4, where these same souls reappear to reign, as symbol of the triumph of Christ over antichrist, these interpreters maintain the souls of the beheaded martyrs to be their bodies!
The Opening of the Fifth Seal ( Rev 6:9-11 ).
‘And when he opened the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Oh Master (despotes), the holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth?” And to each one was given a white robe, and they were told that they should rest yet for a little time until their fellow-servants also, and their brothers, who would be killed even as they were, should be fulfilled.’
After Jesus spoke of the coming Messiahs, the coming wars, the coming famines, the coming plagues and earthquakes, He spoke of those who would be delivered up to tribulation and would be killed for His sake (Mat 24:9-14; Mar 13:9-13; Luk 21:12-19). Indeed, as Luke tells us, He says this will happen first, for they will happen ‘before all these things’ (Luk 21:12). And, as we know, they did happen from the very beginning.
That is why we see here, not a description of persecution following the riding of the four horsemen, but the results of previous persecution. Even before the horsemen have ridden the people of God have been attacked and persecuted, and have suffered tribulation and death right from the beginning in Acts and onwards. And this has been because they held to the word of God, and because they believed in it and fearlessly witnessed to it. In view of Rev 19:13 we must see a double meaning in the Word of God. Not only do they suffer for the truth He brought them and their belief in God’s word, they also suffer for Him Who is the Word of God.
They are described as being ‘underneath the altar’. Underneath the altar was where the ashes and remains of sacrifices and offerings went, including the drink offerings. So these martyrs are seen as sacrifices and offerings, not propitiatory, for only Christ’s sacrifice was that, but offerings to God in praise and thanksgiving (Php 2:17; 2Ti 4:6 compare Rom 12:1 and see Col 1:24), for their deaths have brought great glory to God (compare the sufferings of Job in the book of Job, where Satan is discomforted by Job’s faithfulness and God is glorified).
The idea behind it is that their deaths have been worthwhile, and pleasing to Him because of the faith they demonstrated. So being underneath the altar is a special and privileged position. Yet we must also see in their sacrifice that ‘something extra’. Like Paul they have ‘filled up that which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ’ (Col 1:24). Christ’s sufferings lacked nothing in their efficacy and sufficiency for atonement and forgiveness, but in the purpose of God the suffering of His people was also to be a part of the cost of bringing men to Himself. These martyrs are a part of that purpose.
Their description as ‘souls’ may not be especially significant for ‘souls’ often means ‘persons’ and they are depicted as speaking and receiving white clothes. On the other hand the resurrection of the dead has not yet taken place so they are clearly in that intermediate state about which the Bible tells us very little. They do not yet have their resurrection bodies. Compare here on Rev 20:4. This does tend to confirm, along with Php 1:23, that that state is not one of total unconsciousness.
‘And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Oh Master –?’. We must remember this is a symbolic vision conveying an idea. It is not suggesting that martyrs are full of desires for vengeance for themselves. They are not so much concerned about revenge as about the seeming delay in the purposes of God. They are concerned about the time that has passed since their martyrdom, with the purposes of God not seeming to come to fulfilment.
They knew that Jesus had promised that they would be speedily avenged (Luk 18:8). Then why the delay? How much longer must the people of God have to wait? When is coming the judgment of which Jesus spoke? When will come the day when God calls men to account? These questions were of some concern to the early church too, as 2Pe 3:9 tells us, and this episode assures the living that God has not forgotten them. Their cry is probably intended to parallel the cry of Abel’s blood from the ground for God to act in justice (Gen 4:10 compare Heb 12:24).
‘Oh Master’. The word is ‘despotes’ and is used of Jesus in 2Pe 2:1 when describing men as ‘denying the Master who bought them’ and in Jud 1:4 of those who deny ‘our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ’. (It is used of God in Act 4:24, and is sometimes used to translate ‘lord’ (adonai) in the Old Testament). It describes the Master of the world, not ‘the Master’ (‘teacher’ – didaskolos – a different word) of believers. So there is the thought here that those on whom the vengeance is to come have denied their Master, the One Who has rights over them, the Lord of Creation. It is a more austere word for Master than didaskolos.
‘The holy and true’. It is Jesus Christ Who has been called the holy and true in Rev 3:7, which confirms He is in mind here. As holy He would not stand by when injustice was done. As true He would not forget His servants.
‘Do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’. When Abel’s blood cried from the ground for judgment it came almost immediately. Why then does the Master of the world now delay? The vengeance they speak of is God’s vengeance not theirs, a constant theme in the Old Testament descriptions of the last days. Compare also Paul who speaks of, ‘the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, in flaming fire rendering vengeance to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus’ (2Th 1:7-8).
The fact that it is primarily God’s vengeance that is in mind and not theirs is shown by the fact that ‘judge’ comes first. These people are seeking for the great day of judgment to come so that God’s righteous will might be done. (Compare Psa 7:6-10). They are concerned for justice, not personal vengeance. Like many on earth at the time they cannot understand why there has been such a long delay and nothing has happened. The language also has in mind Deu 32:43 where it is promised that He will avenge the blood of His servants and will render vengeance on His adversaries.
‘Those who dwell on the earth’ appears regularly in Revelation of those who are not on the side of God (Rev 3:10; Rev 11:10; Rev 13:8; Rev 13:12; Rev 13:14; Rev 14:6; Rev 17:8). It is similar to the use of ‘the world’ in the Gospels, they dwell in the world, they do not dwell in the Kingdom. They are not ‘strangers and pilgrims on the earth’ (Heb 11:13) looking for what is to come, but permanent residents with all their hopes pinned on the world.
‘And a white robe was given to each one’. The white robe is a symbol of heavenly beings (Mat 28:3; Mar 16:5; Joh 20:12; Act 1:10; Rev 4:4; Rev 15:6; Rev 19:14). Thus this gift is a promise to them that ‘soon’ they will become ‘those who dwell in Heaven’ with the angels of God. This is why white robes were promised to overcomers (Rev 3:4-5; Rev 3:18).
‘And it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little while until their fellow-servants also and their brothers who would be killed even as they were, should be fulfilled’. God has not overlooked His promises, but there is yet more to be endured, more to be accomplished. Thus they must enjoy their rest and wait patiently, for the resurrection and judgment will come in God’s good time.
‘A little while’ warns that God’s purposes have not yet reached the ultimate, further persecution is still to come and will come soon, more martyrs will be offered up until their number is complete. But when God says ‘a little while’ it can have large perspectives. A few thousand years is nothing to Him.
For this ‘rest’ compare Dan 12:13 – ‘go your way until the end be, for you will rest and stand in your lot at the end of the days’. Paul also in 2Th 1:7 connects the Christian’s coming ‘rest’ with the expectation of vengeance.
‘Until –’. This is hugely significant. It is what this whole passage has been leading up to. It is a warning to the people of God. It stresses the persecution yet to come. Many more will yet be called on to die for the name of Christ. But when it comes they must look on it as a fulfilment, and recognise it is within the purposes of God. It is not something to be feared but to be triumphed in. And God has told them beforehand that it will happen. Let them then be ready!
More details of the persecution to come will be given shortly. The truth is that the next two or three centuries would see persecution of the most awful kind, when periods of calm for the church would be followed by periods of intense persecution and tribulation, but it was to this book could they look for strength and courage in those times. Furthermore such persecution has been the lot of God’s people through the ages. We who live in countries where it rarely happens should not overlook the fact that in some countries it is a continual and dreadful reality.
‘Should be fulfilled’ or possibly, ‘should be filled up’ (the textual authorities are divided). There may be here the idea that there is a kind of roll of martyrs which has to be completed (similar to the book of life). It reminds us that the number of martyrs is not yet complete, and we too should be ready to suffer for Christ. God’s purposes are accomplished through suffering. Job did not understand it, we may not understand it, but as we remember the sufferings of Christ we know it is so. When churches through the ages have suffered persecution they could look to these words for comfort and encouragement. God even controls the number of martyrs.
Everything described above did occur in the first century AD. They were truly things that would ‘shortly come about’, and some of the coming dreadful persecution being described was only years away. But they have continued on through following centuries, for in God’s longsuffering He has given men time to respond to Him (2Pe 3:9), and man’s own sinful nature makes them inevitable. That the final days of this age will also see their continuation is thus to be expected, for these things will continue to the end, ‘even to the end will be war, desolations are determined’ (Dan 9:26).
The Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs – In Rev 6:9-11 we read about the opening of the fifth seal. All four spirits released by these four horsemen are against the children of God. They persecute the Church as well as the Jews. As each of these spirits gain strongholds in peoples and nations, the persecution of the Church increases. This fifth seal reveals the multitude of martyrs that have been slain throughout the centuries for their faith and testimony in Christ.
Rev 6:9 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:
Rev 6:9 Rev 1:2, “Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ , and of all things that he saw.”
Rev 1:9, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ .”
Rev 6:10 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?
Rev 6:10 Rev 6:11 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.
Rev 6:9-11. When he had opened the fifth seal, &c. This and the following seals have nothing extrinsical, like the proclamation of the living creatures, to determine from what quarter we should expect their completion; but they are sufficiently distinguished by their internal marks and characters. The fifth seal or period is remarkable for a dreadful persecution of Christians, who are represented, Rev 6:9 lying under the altar (for the scene is still in the tabernacle or temple) as sacrifices newly slain, and offered unto God. The word of God and the testimony which they held, is a description of faithful Christians, who persevered unto death in the Christian faith and worship, notwithstanding all the difficulties of persecution. See ch. Rev 20:4. They cry aloud Rev 6:10 for the Lord to judge and avenge their cause; that is, the cruelties exercised upon them were of so barbarous and atrocious a nature as to deserve and provoke the vengeance of the Lord. White robes are given to every one of them, Rev 6:11 as a token of the triumph which they had gained over death and all its terrors; and they are exhorted to rest for a season, till the number of martyrs should be completed, when they shall receive their full reward. This representation is a strong proof, among a multitude of others, of the immediate happiness of departed saints, and cannot consist with the dangerous, as well as uncomfortable opinion, of the insensible state of departed souls till after the resurrection. There were other persecutions before, but this was by far the most considerable; the tenth and last general persecution, which was begun by Dioclesian, and continued by others, and lasted longer, and extended farther, and was sharper and more bloody than all the preceding; and therefore this was particularly predicted: so that this became a memorable aera to the Christians under the name of “The aera of Dioclesian;” or, as it is otherwise called, “The aera of martyrs.”
Under thy altar, &c. This bears an allusion (as we said in the preceding note) to the temple service. In the temple was the altar for victims, at the foot of which was poured the blood of the sacrifices, which blood, being deposited within sight of the sanctuary, was supposed to put God, as it were, in mind of the sacrifice offered to him. Much more did the souls, that is, the spirits of the martyrs, placed in the sight of Christ promote the same great end; and as the blood of Abel called for vengeance, so did the spirits or souls of the martyrs.
Rev 6:9-11 . We might expect that also the fifth seal would bring a vision of the same kind as the three preceding seals and the one succeeding; viz., a representation of such dispensations of God as proclaimed and prepared the final coming of the Lord. Those expositors who, in all the individual members of the Apoc., find only individual prophecies of definite events in the history of the world and the Church, have interpreted the contents of the fifth seal also accordingly. If, e.g., according to Vitr., the fourth seal has introduced us to the appearance of the Saracens, the fifth seal speaks of the times of the Waldenses, and extends to the century of the Reformation. The martyrs who cry for vengeance are the Waldenses, Albigenses, etc. The white robes given them designate their vindication by the Reformation, even though, ere the final judgment come, this, too, must deliver up its martyrs (Rev 6:11 ). Bengel knew how to find the same reference, even by a computation; for if in the year A.D. 97 or 98, in which John received his revelation, the martyrs who were slain by heathen Rome cried for vengeance, and it was told them that they must wait yet “a chronus,” i.e., a space of 1, 1111/9) years, their fellow-servants who were afterwards to become martyrs (through Papal Rome) are the Waldenses of the year 1208 (i.e., 97 + 1111).
The meaning of the fifth seal-vision in connection with that preceding and following, and corresponding with the idea of the entire book, does not lie in the fact that any special future event is prophesied, whereof the preceding seals treat as little as those which follow; but in that both the cry of the souls of the martyrs for vengeance on account of the shedding of their blood, and also the answer given them, stand in most definite relation to what is even in the seal-visions the invariable goal of Apocalyptic prophecy, viz., the prophetic announcement that the Lord cometh. Already the circumstance, that, to the gazing prophet, the martyrs whose blood has been shed show themselves, contains a sign of the coming of the Lord. [2096] But if the martyrs cry for vengeance, there is in this a certainty that a day of judgment is impending, which their unbelieving persecutors have called forth by their ungodly deeds. Finally, the divine answer (Rev 6:11 ) contains the certain assurance of the future final judgment; it is only added thereto, that all they who, like those already offered, are to endure the martyr’s death, must first be slain, and, consequently, the sign of the final judgment already fulfilled on those crying for vengeance be fulfilled also on these. In its more immediate relation to the preceding seal-visions, the present mentions, that, after the fulfilment of what is announced in Rev 6:8 , the final judgment will not immediately follow; but the meaning of the fifth seal is stated too narrowly, and regarded too unimportant, if thereby we only find something expressed which is self-evident already from the preceding visions. [2097]
[2096] Mat 24:9 ; cf. Rev 6:7 , whose contents we have found in the second, third, and fourth seals.
[2097] Against Hengstenb., Ebrard.
, . . . The question, how John could have seen the souls, is asked only when it is forgotten that it is not a seeing of sense, but of a vision, which is here treated; the explanation that the souls had a body [2098] is not only false, but also entirely unnecessary.
That the altar under which [2099] John sees the souls of those slain is to be regarded after the manner of an earthly burnt-offering, [2100] is indicated especially by the , the uniform word for the slaying of animals for sacrifice, and the , Rev 6:10 , as it is accordingly also the expression of the whole, affording what is simplest, and, in every respect, most applicable. As the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled at the foot of the altar of burnt-offerings, [2101] so also those souls who have offered themselves to the Lord [2102] are under the altar, upon which they can be represented as offered in a way very similar to that in which, in Rev 8:3 sq., the prayers of saints on earth appear as a heavenly offering of incense. But it is incorrect, when De Wette fully explains this passage from Rev 8:3 sqq., by regarding the altar in this place as an incense-altar, “beneath which the souls of the martyrs lie, because they are awaiting the hearing of the prayers which are offered in the incense.” The latter reference of the . ., in itself strange, is, besides, in no way based upon Rev 8:3 . The occasion because of which the souls are regarded under the altar is given by the fact that the blood of sacrifices, to which the martyrs are regarded as belonging, was shed under the altar. But hence it does not follow, that by the expression . . ., nothing else properly is designated than blood, the bearer of physical life, and that the entire representation is only a dramatizing of the thought: Their blood demands vengeance, according to Gen 4:10 ; [2103] the souls are here, without doubt, as Rev 20:4 , the spirits of those whose bodies have been slain upon earth. [2104]
Without any support are the allegorizing interpretations of . ., as “in the communion of Christ.” [2105] It is also utterly contrary to the meaning of the entire vision, if any dogmatic result be derived concerning the abode of souls after death, in connection with which the . . . is, with complete arbitrariness, variously interpreted: “in the solitary place of eternal praise;” [2106] “reserved as to their bodies until the day of judgment, in the most holy place.” [2107] What has been cited in this respect from rabbinical writings, [2108] corresponds not even as to the form of the conception.
. Already it has been noted on Rev 1:9 , that as . belongs to . , [2109] just so the placed there and in Rev 12:17 , Rev 19:10 , Rev 20:4 , with . , is not an objective but a subjective gen. Accordingly the in this passage is not to be understood as a testimony borne by the martyrs and sealed with their blood, [2110] but as one given them. [2111] This is required, even apart from the parallelism of the preceding . . . ., by the addition , whereby the idea is presupposed that the martyrs have first received [2112] the “which they had .” [2113] [See Note L., p. 235.] Cf. the similar , Rev 12:17 ; Joh 14:21 . The ( ) is here identical, therefore, with that of Rev 1:9 , and throughout the entire Apoc. it remains generally unchanged; but in this passage the . and the addition entirely change the force of the from what the same word has in Rev 1:9 , because of an entirely different connection.
. That it is not precisely the ., [2114] but, according to a very easy mode of presentation, rather , which is regarded as subject, [2115] follows not necessarily from the masc. , [2116] but indeed from the entire mode of expression, Rev 6:10-11 . [2117]
. For this, of course, Hengstenb.’s false interpretation of . , Rev 6:9 , affords no aid.
, cf. Rev 1:10 .
. , 1Sa 16:1 ; cf. Hab 1:2 ; Psa 13:2 ; Psa 79:5 . Every attempt to supply [2118] breaks the immediate connection with , . . .
. On the voc. use of the nom., see Winer, p. 172. The correlate to the expression only here in the Apoc. is . [2119] All belonging to the Lord are his servants; [2120] hence the future martyrs are called . Cf. also Rev 19:10 . The one meant as “Lord” is not Christ, [2121] but God. “The martyrs cry to God as their owner.” [2122] But because he is this, there can be no doubt that the punishment here expected [2123] has begun; only the question , . . . , proceeds from the longing of the martyrs for that judgment. And the martyrs may the more confidently expect that judgment from their Lord, as he is and . His holiness [2124] is the essential ground from which the [2125] energetically proceed. But it is improper to refer the , which is exchanged with , to God’s truthfulness or fidelity to his promises, [2126] while, on the other hand, God is called . , because he is the Lord who in truth deserves this name, the “true Lord,” [2127] who, therefore, will also doubtless do in every respect as is fitting for such a Lord to do to his faithful servants. [See Note LI., p. 236.] , . . . Concerning the following , [2128] cf. Rev 18:20 , Rev 19:2 ; Psa 43:1 ; 1Sa 24:13 . [2129]
The dwellers “on the earth” [2130] are here, by virtue of the connection, [2131] according to the generic view, “all nations,” [2132] in contrast with the servants of God. [2133]
Concerning the ethical estimation of the expressed longing of the martyrs, which contains neither censurable impatience nor a vindictive feeling, Beda already remarked: “These things they did not pray from hatred towards enemies for whom in this world they entreated, but from love of justice with which they agree as those placed near the Judge himself.” [2134] Especially in accordance with the text, Beng. says, “They have to do with the glory of the holiness and truth of their Lord.” What the martyrs express as their longing, is in reality pledged by the fact that their is ; the and are the infallible attestation of his nature, which has been just before praised. But the longing which the martyrs express in their way is, in its foundation, nothing else than that which belongs to the entire Church. [2135]
. The singular . , which even with the mere would not be irregular, [2136] is immediately afterwards made necessary by the expressly individualized .
The opinion that by the offering of the white robe, [2137] something peculiar is to be communicated to the souls of martyrs, besides the blessedness which is self-evident, [2138] is not only in itself indefinite, for, what is this special reward to be? but is also contrary to the context; not because this giving of white garments, as also the entire scene Rev 6:9-11 , is nothing more than “a poetic fiction,” [2139] for the fifth seal-vision is this no more than are the rest, but, because the giving occurs within the vision, it is an integrant part of the vision, and not an objective, real fact. The consideration that the souls of martyrs are already blessed, and, therefore, as all the blessed, they wear already white garments, [2140] is therefore entirely out of place, because dependent upon a . [2141]
As the gift of the white robe designates the already present blessedness and glorification of those who have been offered for the sake of Christ, so also the fulfilment of their prayer is promised them in the final revelation of the Lord’s judgment which is to be awaited, but, of course, in such a way that they are to wait for it in their blessed repose until the end which is no longer distant (Rev 6:11 ).
, . . . Concerning the , cf. Winer, p. 314 sqq.
designates not the mere cessation from the cry (Rev 6:10 ), [2142] but has the more complete sense of the blessed rest, as Rev 14:19 , [2143] which, as also the white robe indicates, has been imparted to the martyrs, after having struggled in their earthly life, even unto death, and overcome. [2144]
. Bengel’s reckoning concerning the length of the “chronus” is thwarted already by the correct reading, . , [2145] whose meaning corresponds with the entire view of the Apoc. [2146]
, . . . A definition of the “little season” from its actual contents, and at the same time in accord with the preceding question , . . . , Rev 6:10 . The relation according to the context of comprises the words . ., . . . : “ should be fulfilled ,” viz., as to their number, [2147] must be only those who are still to suffer a martyr’s death, just as the number of those who in Rev 6:10 have called is already full. The completeness is therefore not to be understood of that sum and these martyrs, [2148] but to be limited to the future martyrs. Thus this explanation of . is simpler and more significant than that preferred by De Wette, according to whom [2149] means either only “to finish life,” or at the same time is to have the secondary sense of a moral fulfilling. [2150] Hengstenb adopts the easier reading . [2151]
. Beng., incorrectly: “The first martyrs were mostly of Israel; their fellow-servants were, in following times, from the heathen, their brethren outside of Israel.” The future martyrs are rather fellow-servants of those mentioned in Rev 6:9 sqq., because of their identical relation to the (Rev 6:10 ), than brethren because of the fellowship of all believers with one another. [2152] The before . marks the fate impending also over the fellow-servants; the succeeding serves as a simple connective of a still further designation. [2153]
[2098] “Invested with a subtile body,” Eich.
[2099] . Beng. incorrectly, “Beside the altar, and beneath its ground,” for the type of Lev 4:7 cannot change the meaning of the expression in this passage.
[2100] Grot., Vitr., Beng., Ew., Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2101] , Lev 4:7 . LXX.: , . ., Rev 5:9 .
[2102] Cf. Php 2:17 ; 2Ti 4:6 . Ignat., Ep. ad Rom. , II. iv.: one who goes to meet a martyr’s death will become a .
[2103] Zll., Hengstenb.
[2104] Mat 10:28 .
[2105] Vitr., Calov., Boss., etc.
[2106] Beda.
[2107] Zeger.
[2108] Debarim, R. xi.: “God said to the soul of Moses, ‘I will place thee under the throne of my glory .’ ”
[2109] Cf. Rev 12:17 : . .
[2110] = . . Cf. Act 22:18 . So the older expositors; also Ew. i., De Wette, Bleek.
[2111] Viz., of the Lord Jesus, who himself has testified to them. Cf. Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2112] Viz., of the Lord Jesus, who himself has testified to them. Cf. Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2113] Ewald, incorrectly “which they firmly held.”
[2114] Ebrard.
[2115] Hengstenb.
[2116] Cf. Rev 4:8 .
[2117] .
.
. . . . .
[2118] N. de Lyra: quies .
[2119] Cf. Luk 2:29 ; 1Ti 6:1 ; 1Pe 2:18 .
[2120] Cf. Rev 1:1 .
[2121] Vitr.; Grot., who, besides, with utter inappropriateness remarks, “All this dispensation of patience and severity in regard to the Jews has been delivered to Christ.”
[2122] Beng.; cf. Ew., etc.
[2123] And celebrated in its fulfilment, in Rev 19:2 .
[2124] “Because he cannot endure crimes,” Vitr., Ew.
[2125] Cf. Rev 19:2 .
[2126] Vitr., Beng., Ew., De “Wette, Hengstenb.
[2127] Cf. Rev 3:14 .
[2128] = . Cf. Ew., Gr. d. hebr. Spr., 519.
[2129] Luk 18:3 : , as the var. of this passage.
[2130] Grot., incorrectly: “in Juda.”
[2131] Cf. Rev 13:8 ; Rev 13:14 .
[2132] Mat 24:9 .
[2133] Cf. Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2134] “Cf. N. de Lyra, C. a Lap., Calov., Beng., Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2135] Cf. Rev 22:17 ; Rev 22:20 .
[2136] Winer, p. 164.
[2137] Cf. Rev 3:5 .
[2138] Beng.
[2139] Hengstenb.
[2140] Cf. Rev 7:13 sqq.
[2141] “Transition to another class.”
[2142] Beng., De Wette.
[2143] Cf. also Mar 6:21 ; Mar 14:41 .
[2144] Cf. Hengstenb.
[2145] See Critical Notes.
[2146] Cf., especially, Rev 1:1-3 .
[2147] Wolf, Ebrard.
[2148] Against De Wette’s objection.
[2149] Cf. Zec 4:13 : .
[2150] Cf. Heb 11:40 ; Heb 12:23 : . Cf. also Vitr.
[2151] Sc. , Act 20:24 ; 2Ti 4:7 .
[2152] De Wette, Hengstenb., etc.
[2153] De Wette, etc.
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
L. Rev 6:9 .
The interpretation of our author is thus criticised by Lange: “There is an exegetical obscureness here. The testimony is a specific term. The gospel which a man receives from Christ is not, in itself, a specific testimony or witness. It becomes testimony by faithful confession; and then, doubtless, Christ confesses himself to the man by whom he is confessed. Here, however, the holding fast of confessors to their confession is denoted.” So Alford: “The testimony is one borne by them, as most commentators; not one borne to them by the faithful Witness, as Dterdieck and Ebrard most unnaturally; for how could the testimony borne to them before the Father, by Christ, be the cause of their being put to death on earth?”
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
LI. Rev 6:10 .
Liddell and Scott give, as the ordinary meaning of this word in classical Greek, when applied to persons, “truthful, trusty.” So, in Cremer, the second and very frequent meaning: “That which does not deceive, which bears testing.” “Here it is too evidently intended of subjective truthfulness, for the other meaning even to be brought into question; and it is wonderful that Dst should have insisted on it.”
(9) 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: (10) 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? (11) And white robes were given unto everyone 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 opening of this fifth seal by Christ, opens with one of the most interesting subjects our minds, under the influence of grace, can possibly conceive. I shall beg the Reader’s indulgence, to be somewhat particular upon it.
And first: the cry of those that had been slain for the testimony of Jesus, is beautifully represented, as under the Altar. Now this proves to us, that on, the departure of the faithful from this world they enter among the spirits of just men made perfect. They are under the Altar.
Secondly. They are not unacquainted with the circumstances here below, but take part in all that concerns the Church. Hence their cry, for judging, and avenging Christ’s cause, what an animating thought to the Church of God upon earth! Reader! think of the multitude of martyrs, who are looking over the battlements of heaven, beholding the exercises of the Lord’s people here below, Surely, with the eye of faith we may behold them! Yea, with the ear of faith hear them calling upon us, to be faithful unto death, and God will give us also a crown of glory that fadeth not away! Be ye followers of us, who now through faith and patience, inherit the promises.
Thirdly. While we regard what is here said, of their cry to God, for avenging their blood; and the assurance they here received, that all should be fully done, in due season; let us learn, the highest lesson we can learn below, in the assurance, how much more the blood of Christ, yea, Christ in Person, having carried up his own blood before the throne, must plead for his redeemed, and the destruction of all his enemies. Oh! how safe and sure, how eternally safe and sure, are all the interests of the Church! How unalterably determined, is the everlasting ruin of all the enemies of our God, and his Christ!
When the Reader hath duly pondered these things, let him attend to the gracious answers the Lord gave to the cry of those souls, and the blessedness shown them.
First. Their souls were clothed with white robes, yea, everyone of them, had his own separate and distinct robe, as each soul hath his separate and distinct mansion. Jesus’s garment of salvation, each redeemed soul must appear in. It is his justifying dress. It is his coronation, his wedding robe. By this Jesus owns his Church, in every individual instance of his people. So the Lord had said to John, of the few names he had in Sardis. And here we find it confirmed. They shall walk with me in white, saith the Lord, for they are worthy, Rev 3:4 .
Secondly. The Lord assigns a reason, for suspending the judgments they called for on their murderers. There were other, their fellow servants, to have the crown of martyrdom. And, therefore, until those men, ordained of old to this condemnation, had filled in the measure of their iniquity, and the Lord’s people were ripened for glory, they must rest for a little season. Oh! what subjects of endless meditation and delight, arise out of this one view of the Lord’s regard to his people. Did the ungodly but know wherefore they are spared, or did the Lord’s people but call to mind, in ten thousand instances, the causes of suspension, in all the numberless cases they hear of, or meet with in the world; how would the one tremble, and the other in patience possess their souls?
Thirdly. Ponder well the Lord’s answer, in another point of view, for the suspension of the destruction of their enemies; in that thousands yet unborn, of the Lord’s people, were to arise, to whom those enemies were to be persecutors, and whose happiness was to be increased from such evils. What a subject is here unfolded, and which no man can fill in, of the unborn, the uncalled, the unawakened, of the Lord’s hidden ones, all of which are given to Jesus, and which also he must bring. Even down to our times, and so on to the end of the world, there are Jesus’s lambs of his fold, which must arise and be worried by wolves, as the Lord told the Jews. Some of them shall ye kill and crucify, and some of them scourge in jour synagogue, and persecute them from city to city, Mat 23:34 . know, therefore, they which are gone before must rest under the altar, until that their fellow servants and their brethren be brought home. Yea, it is on their account, that the world itself standeth!
Fourthly. Let not the Reader overlook that beautiful feature in this representation. The souls under the altar in, heaven, are fellow servants and brethren. So the Lord himself hath here called them; and it is our mercy to know it, and to keep it in remembrance, Neither are they dearer though in heaven, to our glorious Head, than we are, though here below on earth. All alike the Father’s gift, and the Saviour’s purchase, and the subjects of God the Spirit’s regenerating grace. Oh! how ought the consciousness of this to endear Jesus to our hearts! Our Lord will not fully answer, the cries of his redeemed in heaven, though martyrs to his cause, until that he hath secured his redeemed upon earth, and brought them also home to glory. Reader! think of these things, and bless the Lord for such tokens of his love.
9 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:
Ver. 9. Under the altar ] i.e. Under Christ, Heb 13:10 , under his custody and safeguard; or, under the altar, that is, lying at the bottom of the altar, as beasts newly slain for sacrifice. See Phi 2:17 ; 2Ti 4:6 . The ten persecutions and (after them) the invasions of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and Herula, heaped on massacres of martyrs.
Which they had ] Gr. , which they had, and would not be drawn by any terrors or tortures to part with. They may take away my life, said one, but not my faith; my head, but not my crown.
9 11 .] OPENING OF THE FIFTH SEAL. We may at once observe, that the whole character of the vision is altered. The four living-beings have uttered each his cry of , and are now silent. No more horses and riders go forth upon the earth. The scene is changed to the heavenly altar, and the cry is from thence. Any interpretation which makes this vision of the same kind with and consecutive to the four preceding, must so far be wrong. In one point only is the character of the former vision sustained. It is the who are objects of the judgment invoked: as it was the earth, and its inhabitants, and its produce, which were the objects of the former judgments. See again below on the sixth seal.
9 .] And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar (it is an altar of sacrifice which is here meant; , which follows, seems plainly to imply this: see below) the souls (i. e. departed spirits. It is manifestly idle to enquire, seeing that the Apostle was in a state of spiritual and supernatural vision, how these disembodied spirits became visible to him. That they were not, as Eichhorn, clothed with bodies, is manifest) of those that have been slain on account of the word of God and on account of the testimony which they had (i. e. which was committed to them to bear, and which they bore: see reff., especially ch. Rev 12:17 . The testimony is one borne by them , as most Commentators: not one borne to them by the faithful Witness, as Dsterd. and Ebrard, most unnaturally: for how could the testimony borne to them before the Father by Christ (so Ebr.) be the cause of their being put to death on earth?
Much has been said about the souls of the martyrs not being their departed spirits, which must be conceived of as being in bliss with Christ (cf. Hengstb.), and in consequence it has been imagined that these were only their animal lives, resident in the blood and shed forth with it. But no such difficulty really exists. We know, whatever be the bliss of the departed martyrs and confessors, that they are waiting for the coming of the Lord, without which they are not perfect: and in the holy fire of their purified zeal, they look forward to that day as one of righteous judgment on the ungodly world. The representation here, in which they are seen under the altar , is simply symbolical, carrying out the likening of them to victims slain on an altar. Even as the blood of these victims was poured under the altar and the life was in the blood, so their souls are represented as under the symbolical altar in heaven, crying for vengeance, as blood is often said to do. After this, it hardly need be said that no inference can be drawn from this vision respecting the intermediate state between the death of the saints and the coming of the Lord): and they cried with a great voice, saying (viz. , which are identified in the sentence with the persons themselves: not, as Ebr. and Dsterd. the as distinguished from the ) Until when (i. e. how long: see reff.), thou Master ( is the correlative of , cf. below, Rev 6:11 , and see ch. Rev 1:1 ; Luk 2:29 ; 1Ti 6:1 . It is God who is here addressed; with Him rests the time when to avenge His elect, cf. Luk 18:7-8 ) holy and true (see on ch. Rev 3:7 , for the sense of in such connexion: here it is too evidently intended of subjective truthfulness for the other meaning even to be brought into question: and it is wonderful that Dsterd. should have insisted on it, “ der Herr welcher in Wahrheit diesen Namen verdient .” For the voc. expressed by the nom. with the art., see reff., and Winer, edn. 6, 29. 2), dost thou not judge (give decision in the matter of; with , see reff.) and exact vengeance for our blood from (reff.: is found in Luk 18:3 ) them that dwell upon the earth (i. e. the ungodly world, as distinguished from the church of God) ?
As hitherto, so here again, the analogy and order of our Lord’s great prophecy in Mat 24:11 is closely followed. “The signs of His coming, and of the end of the world” were there announced by Himself as war, famine, and pestilence, Rev 6:6-7 . And when He had declared that these were but the beginning of sorrows ( ), He next, Rev 6:9 f., announces the persecution and martyrdom of His people. Similarly here, after the judgments already announced, we have the prayer for vengeance on the part of the martyrs, and the announcement of more such martyrdoms to come. And as our Lord’s prophecies received a partial fulfilment in the events preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, and may have done so again and again since, but await their great and final fulfilment when the day of His coming approaches, so it is with these. The cry of the martyrs’ blood has been ever going up before God since Stephen fell: ever and anon, at some great time of persecution, it has waxed louder: and so on through the ages it shall accumulate and gather strength, till the great issue of the parable Luk 18:1 ff. is accomplished. And there was given to them [ each ] a white robe (there will be no real difficulty in understanding this, if we are careful to mark its real place and interpret it accordingly. The white robe, in this book, is the vestment of acknowledged and glorified righteousness in which the saints walk and reign with Christ: cf. ch. Rev 3:4 ; Rev 7:13 ff., al. This was given to the martyrs: but their prayer for vengeance was not yet granted. The Seer saw in vision that this was so. The white robe was not actually bestowed as some additional boon, but seemed in vision to be thus bestowed, because in that vision one side only of the martyrs’ intermediate state had been presented, viz. the fact of their slaughter and their collective cry for vengeance. Now, as over against that, the other more glorious side is presented, viz. that though the collective cry for vengeance is not yet answered, yet individually they are blessed in glory with Christ, and waiting for their fellows to be fully complete), and it was said to them that they should rest (not merely, abstain from their cry for vengeance, be quiet (so De W., al.): but rest in blessedness , see ch. Rev 14:13 , and ref. Daniel) yet a little while until (construction, see reff.) their fellow-servants (see above on ) also and their brethren (the . may be taken as “ both and ,” in which case two different sets of persons are indicated by the and the , which distinction it would not be easy to give an account of. So that I prefer regarding the first as “also,” “as well as themselves,” and the two substantives as describing (notwithstanding the repetition of the before ) the same persons; those who are and : the former term reminding them of the necessity of completeness as far as the service of their one Master is concerned: the latter, as far as they belong to one and the same great family) shall have accomplished (scil. “ their course .” Considering that this absolute use of without an object following is an , it is strange that Ebr. and Dsterd. should designate as an explanatory reading for . If this latter be read, then we must render, shall have been completed (in number); a meaning found Luk 21:24 ; Act 7:23 ; Act 7:30 ; Act 9:23 ; Act 24:27 ; cf. also Col 2:10 , which suggests another reason for altering to – ), who are about to be slain as also they were .
Rev 6:9-11 . The fifth seal opened.
Rev 6:9 . The scene changes from earth to heaven, which appears as a replica of the earthly temple with its altar of burnt offering. As the blood of sacrifices flowed at the base of the altar (Rev 16:7 ), the blood representing the life, the symbolism is obvious. It was mediated by rabbinic ideas of the souls of the just ( e.g. , of Moses) resting under the divine throne of glory; cf. R. Akiba’s saying, “quicumque sepelitur in terra Israel, perinde est ac si sepeliretur sub altari: quicumque autem sepelitur sub altari, perinde est ac si sepeliretur sub throno gloriae” ( Pirke Aboth , 26). The omission of after . may suggest that the phrase is intended to include not so much the heroic Jews who fell in the defence of their temple against Rome (Weyland) as pre-Christian Jewish martyrs ( cf. Heb 11:39-40 ) who are raised to the level of the Christian church, and also those Jews who had been martyred for refusing to worship the emperor ( cf. Rev 7:9 , Rev 17:6 , and Jos. B. J. vii. 10, 1). But the primary thought of the Christian prophet is for Rome’s latest victims in the Neronic persecution and the recent enforcement of the cultus under Domitian. The general idea is derived from Zec 1:12 , Psa 79:10 , and En. xxii. 5 (“and I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice penetrated to the heaven and complained,” from the first division of Sheol).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 6:9-11
9When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
Rev 6:9 “I saw underneath the altar” There has been much discussion as to which altar this refers. The term “altar” is used quite often in Revelation (cf. Rev 8:3; Rev 8:5; Rev 9:13; Rev 11:1; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7). Some believe that this refers to the sacrificial altar mentioned in Lev 4:7 and by Paul in Php 2:17, while others believe that it is the altar of incense in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (cf. Rev 8:3-5) or temple of Rev 11:1. It is probably the altar of sacrifice because
1. the rabbis saw this as a place of great honor
2. it is referring to death (i.e., blood) of the martyrs
One might ask, “Why do martyrs assemble under the altar?” Remember that in the OT “blood” was the symbol of life (cf. Gen 9:4; Lev 17:11; Lev 17:14). In the sacrificial system of Israel the blood was not placed on the horns of the sacrificial altar, but poured out at the base (i.e., Exo 29:12; Lev 4:7; Lev 4:18; Lev 4:25; Lev 8:15; Lev 9:9). Therefore, the life (i.e., souls) of the slain martyrs was at the base of the altar.
“the souls of those who had been slain” These souls are the disembodied (between death and resurrection) martyred believers (cf. Rev 13:15; Rev 18:24; Rev 20:4). This is surprising because it is more a Greek thought than a Hebrew concept. All Christians are called to be martyrs if the situation demands (cf. Rev 2:10; Rev 2:13; Mat 10:38-39; Mat 16:24).
There seems to be no connection between those killed by the four horsemen of Rev 6:1-8 and these martyrs!
NASB”because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained”
NKJV”for the word of God and for the testimony which they held”
NRSV”for the word of God and for the testimony they had given”
TEV”because they had proclaimed God’s word and had been faithful in their witnessing”
NJB”on account of the Word of God, for witnessing to it”
This phrase is a recurrent theme in Revelation (cf. Rev 1:9; Rev 12:11; Rev 12:17; Rev 19:10; Rev 20:4). It is very similar in meaning to the phrase “to him who overcomes” (cf. Rev 2:6; Rev 2:11; Rev 2:17; Rev 2:26; Rev 3:5; Rev 3:12; Rev 3:21). These were killed because they were active Christians.
Rev 6:10 “How long. . .will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood” Many commentators view this as being sub-Christian. This is probably because these commentators have never been in severe persecution from unbelievers themselves. These people are not asking for vengeance, but for justice! This may be an allusion to Deu 32:43 (cf. Rev 19:2). This request follows Paul’s admonition in Rom 12:19.
“O Lord” This term “Lord” (despots) describes total authority. We get the English term “despot” from this Greek word. It is used of YHWH in Luk 2:29 and Act 4:24 and of Jesus in 2Pe 2:1 and Jud 1:4.
“those who dwell on the earth” This is a very common phrase in Revelation; it always refers to unbelievers (cf. Rev 3:10; Rev 8:13; Rev 11:10; Rev 13:8; Rev 13:12; Rev 13:14; Rev 17:2; Rev 17:8).
Rev 6:11 “there was given to each of them a white robe” This is a metaphor for “rest,” “blessedness,” or “victory.” For some the theological problem involved here is how a disembodied soul could wear a piece of clothing. Be careful of hyper literalism, especially when interpreting an apocalyptic drama! The fact that commentators even discuss this shows how much they misunderstand the genre of the book! Do not push the details in Revelation!
“until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also” One of the major truths of this book is that God is in control of all things (cf. Rev 6:8), 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. For a good discussion of the problem of evil see John W. Wenham’s The Goodness of God.
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; Rom 11:25) which refers to God’s knowledge of all the Gentiles who would be saved.
altar. Greek. thusiasterion. First of eight occurances.
souls. See App-110and App-170Compare App-13.
were = had been.
word. App-121.
God. App-98.
testimony. See Joh 1:7.
9-11.] OPENING OF THE FIFTH SEAL. We may at once observe, that the whole character of the vision is altered. The four living-beings have uttered each his cry of , and are now silent. No more horses and riders go forth upon the earth. The scene is changed to the heavenly altar, and the cry is from thence. Any interpretation which makes this vision of the same kind with and consecutive to the four preceding, must so far be wrong. In one point only is the character of the former vision sustained. It is the who are objects of the judgment invoked: as it was the earth, and its inhabitants, and its produce, which were the objects of the former judgments. See again below on the sixth seal.
Rev 6:9. , and) The fifth, the sixth, and the seventh seals relate to invisible things; the fifth, to those who have died well, namely, martyrs; the sixth, to those who have died badly, kings, etc.; comp. Eze 32:18, and following verses; the seventh, to angels, especially those illustrious ones, to whom the trumpets are given.-) With this agrees that which the seventh of the brothers says, 2Ma 7:36, : for which the Latin translator, For my brothers, having now sustained moderate pain, have been brought [effecti sunt] under the covenant of everlasting life. Not only the Church fighting under Christ, as the world does under Satan, but even the Church in its consummated state, and the kingdom of darkness, are described in this book. Moreover, the actions of the forces of the good and wicked alike on the earth, and their removals from it to a happier or more wretched state, succeeding one another at different times, distinguished by various degrees, celebrated by various applaudings, and the increments of the expectation itself and of the rejoicing in heaven, and of the terror itself and punishment in hell, are at the same time shown. See ch. 4. 5. 6. 7. 14. 19. and following, and the notes.
Rev 6:9-11
SECTION TWO
OPENING OF THE FIFTH AND SIXTH SEALS
Rev 6:9-17
1. THE FIFTH SEALOPENED
Rev 6:9-11
Preliminary Note: The central idea of the first four visions was war. The first was victorious and the second disastrous for the Roman Empire. The third and fourth picture various calamities that came as a result of internal strife and enemy invasion. But all these refer primarily to the Romans. Since the church was mainly in Roman provinces, it was affected by whatever befell the empire. While the Christians suffered in some measure, along with others, the calamities that came to provinces, yet during these two centuries the government was so much concerned with political and economic conditions that the church enjoyed religious liberty more than would otherwise have been possible. Naturally this resulted in a marvelous growth of Christianity. The persecutions they endured doubtless strengthened their faith and courage. So the first four seals bear strongly, but indirectly, upon the spread of the church. Following a Savior who had been crucified made them willing to suffer for the truth.
With the fifth seal the scene changes and the horses and riders disappear. The experience of the church now is the primary thing, and the fifth vision presents the martyred saints. But, as the Roman Empire is the persecutor, no exposition can be correct that does not include it. The history of the persecuted involves that of the persecutor.
9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:–We should continually remember that John saw these visions in heaven, and that we are not to confuse them with the things they represent.
John did not see saints in the body, but their “souls”; for they had already been slain. Their souls were in the Hadean state, but the picture John saw was in heaven. In the temple service the animal sacrifices were made at the brazen altar in the court. (Lev 4:7.) As they had been slain because of their faithfulness to God’s word, it was appropriate that they appear under the altar as if they had been sacrificed and blood poured at its base. As they suffered martyrdom because they held to the testimony concerning Christ, it was consistent that they ask that their blood be avenged. The altar which represented that suffering was an appropriate place for their cry to be made.
10 and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?–These words show that the soul or spirit of man does exist in a conscious state after it leaves the body. Their referring to those that “dwell on the earth” shows that they were in the spirit abode –Hades. Those souls knew that vengeance belongeth unto God (Heb 10:30), and that only just and righteous punishment would be administered. This is evident from the fact that they called the Master “holy and true.” They were, therefore, not crying for revenge upon their persecutors, but rather that justice be done, and their lives vindicated. Their cry was not so much an asking for God’s vengeance to be meted out as to know how long they must wait; for they did not doubt that it would be done.
11 And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.–White robes were given them as an emblem of their innocence, purity, and victory over sin. This is the significance of white robes in other places in this book. (Rev 3:4; Rev 3:9; Rev 3:13.) They had sealed their testimony with their blood and were entitled to such an emblem of victory. Giving to each a robe, which John saw in the picture in heaven, was to signify that the martyrs in the Hadean world were approved and in a state of joy. (See Luk 16:20-23.) To “judge and avenge” means that the martyrs in some way were to be approved and vindicated. How that would be done is not stated here. It might have meant the truth preached by the martyrs would so prevail that the Roman Empire would accept or endorse it. If so, this vindication occurred in the reign of Constantine about A.D. 325. With this view of the seal, the martyrs seen in it would probably refer to those who suffered before the reign of Diocletian, which began about A.D. 303, and their fellow servants and brethren who were yet to suffer would mean those who suffered in his reign. But if those John saw represented those who were to be slain during his reign, then the fellow servants would have to mean a class of martyrs that later suffered under papal Rome–the “man of sin.” With this view the time of vindicating the martyrs would have to be when their murderers will be punished at the judgment. This would require that the expression “a little time” would have to be understood as God sees time, not as we do. According to the former view they were to rest–patiently wait–a little time for their vindication to take place according to the latter they were to remain in the rest of Hades till all martyrs for the truth had been slain, and at the judgment they would enter upon the full measure of their reward. All things considered, the first view seems more probable. In either case the persecution in the reign of Diocletian fits the main point in the vision.
Historians and commentators generally agree that in the last few years of Diocletian’s reign occurred one of the bitterest persecutions known in the history of the church. At first he was disposed to show kindness to the Christians; but, later under the influence of others, he began in A.D. 303 a series of edicts that subjected multitudes to the most inhuman kinds of torture and death. The passage from Gibbon which is usually quoted to prove this is the following
“The resentment, or the fears, of Diocletian at length transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts, the governors of the provinces were directed toapprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, were soon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and exorcists. By a second edict, the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity, which might reclaim them from their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was extended by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were exposed to a violent and general persecution.” (Decline and Fall, Vol. II, p. 69.)
What John saw in the vision, this skeptical historian shows to have actually transpired in this reign. No other occasion known fits the symbol better. The glorious promises here made to those who had been faithful “unto death” were as strong incentives as could be offered for fidelity to Christ, even though it cost martyrdom. It also shows that the death of the body does not end the soul’s existence; consciousness between death and the resurrection must be a fact. Such passages are a deathblow to the “soul-sleeping” doctrine of materialism.
Commentary on Rev 6:9-11 by Foy E. Wallace
Souls under the altar (fifth seal)-Rev 6:9-11.
The scene: Here is the first glimpse of the martyrdom pageant which was reopened in the twentieth chapter with the grand finale of victory. It is the tribulation of Matthew twenty-four in extended form, an enlargement of Mat 24:9 and Luk 21:16; depicting the supreme sufferings of those who were companions in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, during the apostolic age, in the wake of the war on Jerusalem and the persecutions of Christians.
The altar: The material altar was a structure appropriated exclusively to the offering of sacrifices. (Gen 8:20) Spiritually it is applied to Christ as the Christians altar upon which spiritual offerings are made. (Heb 13:10)
The souls of slain: In this martyr-scene the victims were sacrificed on the altar of the cause of Christ for which they were offered or slain. The word slain is connected with the offering of victims (Act 7:42); and is descriptive of Christ (Heb 13:1-25); and of the Lamb in chapter 5, verses 6, 9, and 12 of this vision. John saw souls of the slain. In the Old Testament the blood, which was the life (Gen 9:4), was poured at the base of, or under, the altar (Lev 4:7); and it stood for the offering of life which is in the blood ( Lev 17:11). The souls of this altar scene are represented as the sacrifices of life in the aggregate slain for the word of God as the victims of the testimony which they held.
The souls under the altar: As the figurative altar of this vision signifies martyrdom, the phrase under the altar describes the scene of defeat. The cause for which they were offered was represented as being despised and defeated. But it was temporary, because the same souls were removed from beneath the altar of chapter 6, and elevated to the thrones in chapter 20, signifying the resurrection of the cause for which they had died, by the victory of the white horse and its rider over all the portents of the seven seals.
They cried with great voice: It was the voice of righteous blood rising up to heaven, to be heard throughout the whole earth, as the blood of Abel cried to God from the ground (Gen 4:10) , and representative of all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of Abel, to include the blood of all the slain and martyred victims of the impending persecutions, all of which was predicted in Mat 23:35; Mat 24:9, and here depicted in the fifth seal of Rev 6:9-11.
Howlong, 0 Lord how long: The word lord is variously applied to kings, (Dan 1:10; Act 25:26); to rulers with authority (Dan 2:10); to princes and nobles (Dan 5:1; Mar 6:21); to tyrants (Isa 26:13); to a husband (Gen 18:12); to masters (Joh 15:15); to Jesus Christ, as Lord of all (Psa 110:1, Act 10:36); and to God, who is over all (Psa 100:3). It is used in this scene as a master, the ownership of a servant; and refers to God. This prayer of the martyrs is addressed to God for judgment against persecutors, asking here for what they received in the scene of Rev 20:4.
Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood: This was not a vindictive outcry, but a judicial petition, calling on the Judge of all the earth, whose prerogative it is to exercise avenging judgment (Rom 12:19), and who surely will avenge his own who cry unto him. (Luk 18:7-8)
On them that dwell on the earth: The earth of these visions is the place or location of nations; it is not a reference here to the people of the earth, upon whom no vengeance was asked, but specifically those persecuting nations personified in their rulers. Compare Zec 12:9; Mat 24:29-31 and Luk 21:25-28, in specific reference to the post-destruction period of Jerusalem–the redemption and the retribution of history presents a convincing parallel on the period of the Revelation visions.
The white robes were an assurance of victory–chapter 9:7; 13:7. The word rest means to wait in patience and hope– Luk 21:19; Luk 21:28. The expression little season (time) limits the period, and compares with Mat 24:22, “except those days should be shortened; also Luk 21:22 on the days of vengeance. The time was extended to include that part of their fellow servants and brethren that should be killed in the later successive events. There could be no premature act of divine interposition. It should be fulfilled according to seals–that is the events of the vision completed. Again, the apocalypse is parallel with Mat 24:34 : This generation shail not pass till all these things be fulfilled; and Mat 23:36 : All these things shall come upon this generation; and Luk 21:22 : For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
The identity of the period of the seals of Rev 6:1-17 with the events of Mat 24:1-51 is unmistakable, as referring to, symbolic of, and fulfilled in, the destruction of Jerusalem.
Commentary on Rev 6:9-11 by Walter Scott
THE FIFTH SEAL.
DIVISION OF THE SEALS.
Rev 6:9-11. – And when He opened the fifth Seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Sovereign Ruler, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth? And there was given to them, to each one, a white robe; and it was said to them that they should rest yet a little while until both their fellow-bondmen and their brethren, who were about to be killed as they, should be fulfilled. The first four Seals are broadly marked off from the remaining three, as in most of the septenary divisions. Each of the four is characterized by a living creature (* No doubt there is a moral correspondence between the characteristics of the living ones (Rev 4:7-8) and the respective Seals with which they are severally connected. The first living creature and the first Seal, the lion and the imperial conqueror, is a correspondence easily seen. So between the fourth living one and the fourth Seal the eagle (see Mat 24:28. judgment) and the march of Death, is a striking resemblance.) and a horse, both of which disappear in the Seals to follow. The living creatures are connected with the providential government of the world; they are the unseen powers behind the human actors and instruments. But in the Seals to follow the scene darkens, and the public intervention of God in the affairs of men is more marked. A similar break in the septenary series of Trumpet and Vial judgments occurs (for the former see Rev 8:13; for the latter see Rev 16:10). The last three Vials give the full expression of Gods wrath on guilty Christendom.
THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF THE MARTYRED BAND.
Rev 6:9. – I saw under the altar the souls of them that had been slain. How changed the scene! Believers now are the salt of the earth (Mat 5:13). Their presence in it preserves these lands meanwhile from apostasy, corruption, and consequent judgment. But they are also the light of the world (Mat 5:14). Their testimony to the grace of God, however defective in fulness and character, is yet the worlds best and highest blessing. But when the term of Gods patience is run out, and the salt and light removed, then corruption and moral darkness shall characterize the scene given up in retributive righteousness to judgment (Isa 60:2). The opening page of judgment is before us in the first four Seals.
When the home of the Spirit on earth, the Church (1Co 3:16), is broken up (for it has to be presented by Christ to Himself in glory, Eph 5:27), the Spirit will work from Heaven on earth, quickening souls by His divine power. Those first converted and saved, by no known human agency,(*This first company of witnesses on earth after the translation will go through the Roman world preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. The result of their labors is stated in Mat 25:31-46. We gather that these first preachers will be chiefly converted Jews. These my brethren, are the Lords Jewish brethren according to the flesh (v. 40).) will incur the active and cruel hostility of the christless populations of the earth. It is possible, as under the early pagan persecutions, that the future witnessing company of believers will be regarded as the cause of the national calamities, and hence the fierce blast of bitter and cruel persecution. Here, however, the true and real reason of their martyrdom is named, Slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. The Word of God when faithfully declared in its incisive claims on mans conscience ever stirs into action the hostility of the world, and its most faithful exponents in life and public testimony must seal that witness with their blood. The Lord at present, by the power of the Holy Spirit on earth, bridles the passions of men, but let the presence and power of the Spirit be withdrawn, and the worlds enmity to Christ and to those who are His shall burst out in fierce and bitter persecution even unto death. The testimony which they held is not to the grace of God as now, but to the righteous claims of God in establishing His kingdom on earth. The answer to these claims is the sword of power in the hands of the then apostate, persecuting power. Judgment is let loose on these holy sufferers. The kingdom rights of Christ (Mat 24:14), then the subject of testimony, will be trampled under foot and the witnesses cruelly slain. The sacrificial word slain is used in keeping with the special character of these, probably Jewish, witnesses. The later company under the Beast (Rev 13:7) are said to be killed (v. 11), a more general word than the former. The altar of burnt offering which stood both in the court of the tabernacle and of the temple is here referred to. This altar of brass typifying the endurance of divine judgment is also noticed in Rev 11:1; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7. The golden altar of intercession twice comes into view in these apocalyptic scenes (Rev 8:1-13, latter part of verse 3; and Rev 9:13). The altar in Rev 8:3; Rev 8:5 refers to the brazen altar.
Under the altar, on which they had been sacrificed by the ruthless hand of the persecutor, their souls cry aloud for vengeance on their enemies. The imagery is cast in Jewish mould, but is none the less easily read. The cry does not breathe the accents of divine grace, but of righteous judgment. The appeal of the future Jewish remnant to the God of judgment is as much in accord with the divine mind as the touching words of the Lord on the cross: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luk 23:34), or the prayer of the first Christian martyr: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge (Act 7:60). The change of the dispensation alters the character of Gods dealings with the world. Law was the principle on which God dealt in Old Testament times. Grace is the platform of His present acts and ways. Judgment, in dealing with evil and evil workers, characterises the future brief crisis before glory dawns upon the earth. The cry, therefore, of the slain under the altar is quite in keeping with Psa 94:1-23 : O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show Thyself. Lift up Thyself, Thou Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? (vv. 1-3). The judgment of sin on the cross is the foundation on which securely reposes our glory in Heaven. The judgment of sin on the wicked on earth is needful to clear it from evil and fit it as a dwelling place for Gods earthly people.
Their souls are seen in vision underneath the altar. On the altar would express the holocaust being offered, but underneath it, where the blood of the sin offering was poured out (Lev 4:7), signifies the completion of the sacrifice. The martyrdom of the saints was not taking place. The scene was over. There are no details furnished. The cruelty of the oppressor and the sigh of the steadfast witness for Jesus and His royal rights are alike unrecorded. The martyrs are not here seen in life, nor as risen, but in the separate state, the souls of them that had been slain.
With a loud voice they cry How long? the well-known cry of the suffering Jew in the coming hour of unparalleled sorrow. Anguish and faith are expressed in the cry (Psa 74:9-10; Psa 79:5; Psa 89:46; Psa 94:3-4). The appeal is to God as Sovereign Ruler. This is a title implying supreme authority, and is found nowhere else in the Apocalypse. The epithets holy and true are added. The cry is to One Who has right and power to avenge the blood so wantonly shed; Who is holy in His nature and true to His Word and promise. The circumstances contemplated under this Seal are similar to those noted in Psa 79:1-13, only the Psalmist witnesses to a later moment and to a more circumscribed area. Vengeance is invoked on them that dwell upon the earth. A moral class is here indicated, for in Rev 11:9 the inhabitants of earth are referred to under the well-known enumeration, people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations; then in the next verse a moral class, the guiltiest of all, are spoken of as those that dwell upon the earth. The significance of this term is found in Php 3:19. The cry for vengeance is heard, but the answer is deferred. In the meantime the Lord gives a token of special approval. Each one of the martyred band is singled out for honor and vindication. There was given to them, to each one, a white robe.(Not Robes, as in the Authorised Version. See Revised.)
If this verse stood alone it would itself render untenable the historical school of interpretation. Christians are in connection with the Father, not the Sovereign Ruler; they pray for those who despitefully use them; they do not invoke vengeance upon them. To a Christian such an invocation is impossible. To one who had been a martyred Jew this legal call for vengeance was absolutely consistent with the law under which he had lived, and his own Scriptures, and the Lord by giving each one a white robe stamps His approval on their utterance.
How good and gracious of our Lord thus to express with His ready approval the righteous attitude assumed by His martyred saints. But the sword of the Lord was not yet to be drawn. The iniquity of man awaited a fuller development of evil ere the righteous and holy wrath of the Lord bursts forth in its fury on the ungodly. The time of vengeance was measured by a little while. Another company here termed fellow-bondmen and brethren were to swell the ranks of the noble army of martyrs. Two separate companies of martyred saints are evidently referred to in these verses, the earlier company slain under the fifth Seal;(See Mat 24:9, which synchronizes with the time and events here referred to.) the later killed at a subsequent period, here called a little while. There can be no full answer to the cry underneath the altar till this second contingent of the martyred band is complete.
It must be distinctly borne in mind that neither the Old Testament martyrs from Abel, nor the Christian martyrs from Stephen, are referred to here. The two companies are those who seal their testimony with their blood after the translation of the saints of past and present ages to Heaven. The coming brief crisis will witness in its earlier and later stage fierce outbursts of cruel persecution against those then witnessing for God.
Commentary on Rev 6:9-11 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 6:9. This verse brings to the fifth seal but nothing is said by either of the four creatures. Evidently by this time John’s interest had been so centered on the drama being enacted before him that it was not necessary to call his attention. He was shown an altar because this is a book of symbols that are used to denote some literal facts. The present symbol is drawn from the temple of the Jews in which the altar was the center of their worship. At the bottom of the altar the blood of the sacrifices was poured, the bodies having been laid on the altar to be burned. (See Lev 4:7.) From this imagery it was fitting to represent the Christians as victims that had been sacrificed to the cruelty of their persecutors, and also to picture their souls as being poured out at the foot of the altar. It is interesting to note that the bodies only had been put on the altar which left the souls still alive and able to speak intelligently. (See Mat 10:28.) The word for is used twice which is from the Greek word DIA. The Englishman’s Greek New Testament renders this word “because of.” The point is that these Christians had been killed “because of” their defense of the word of God. It is the same word that is used in chapter 1:9 where John was banished to the isle of Patmos “for” (because of) the word of God. Hence both John and these Christians who had been slain were martyrs, because the word means one who is faithful to the word of God regardless of threatened consequences.
Rev 6:10. The witnesses whose souls John saw (he was able to see a soul because he himself was “in the Spirit” –chapter 1:10) were calling for vengeance to be put on the ones who had caused their mistreatment.
Rev 6:11. Before replying to their cry with the explanation of the stitua-tion, they were given present consolation in the form of white robes. That indicated their standing of favor with God for chapter 3:4 shows white as a symbol of worthiness in His sight. It was then told them that they would be avenged after a while, namely, when some of their brethren should be killed. As they were means they would be killed “for” (because of) the word of God. This was fulfilled as reported in chapter 20:4 which will be commented upon when we come to that passage.
Commentary on Rev 6:9-11 by Burton Coffman
Rev 6:9
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
The opening of this seal intimately concerns the fortunes of God’s church, showing that, “God is not unmindful of the death of the martyrs.”[34] “John is still in heaven, therefore the altar represents the altar of incense in heaven”;[35] but, to be sure, there is no actual altar in heaven; the thing being symbolized is that of the saints being, in some sense, in the presence of God, despite their having been slain on earth. Here is a powerful intimation of life after death.
Who are these deceased martyrs? We cannot agree that only the ancient saints of Judaism[36] are meant, nor that those alone who “perished in the persecution under Nero,”[37] are intended. This is a dispensational picture, and all of the saints who ever perished for the word of God are they of whom John spoke; especially those who are Christians were meant. Stephen, the first martyr, was surely among them, and James the apostle, and all who had suffered for the testimony which they held.
[34] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 1079.
[35] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 644.
[36] Charles H. Roberson, op. cit., p. 43.
[37] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 524.
Rev 6:10
and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Moffatt found what he called something “inferior” in this cry for “blood-revenge.”[38] Scott likewise said, “To a Christian such an invocation is impossible,”[39] from this concluding that the martyrs here were Old Testament Jews. Such views miss the mark. “This is not the language of private revenge but of public justice.”[40] One grows a little weary of commentators who fancy that they are in possession of such a faith that a prayer of this kind must be repudiated as non-Christian; but let those who were martyred for their testimony speak; they are entitled to be heard. Furthermore, their invocation is in full harmony with what the Son of God himself said:
Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you he will vindicate them speedily (Luk 18:7).
“The vindication of the righteous is a recurring note throughout the Scriptures.”[41] Did not God say to Cain, “Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Gen 4:10). Wrongs in the final analysis must be made right. The justice of the holy and righteous God can be accepted only in the light of the solemn fact that “vengeance belongs to him,” and that it will be executed upon the wicked. It cannot be that the prayers of the martyred, for God to exercise that prerogative are in any sense whatever, either inconsistent with true faith in Christ, or reprehensible in any degree. For Christians, upon their own behalf, to engage in acts of vengeance is indeed sinful, but for them to pray for God’s vengeance to fall upon their enemies is right, a proposition that is proved by the verse we are studying.
The fact that only martyrs are mentioned here should not obscure the fact that all of the righteous dead are with the Lord and that all receive the same blessings implied by the white robes in the next verse.
[38] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 392
[39] Walter Scott, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), p. 156.
[40] G. B. Caird. op. cit.. p. 85.
[41] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 13.
Rev 6:11
And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.
The prayers of martyred saints for God’s vengeance to be executed upon the wicked could not be answered at once, but in God’s own time. In the meanwhile, the bestowal of white robes upon the deceased saints symbolized their absolute assurance of eternal life with God.
That they should rest for a little while … This is a very interesting clause, for it gives a glimpse of John’s use of time references. What is “this little while”? It is all the time between the First and Second Advents of Jesus Christ; but with God this is only a little while. Later, John would call this same expanse of time “a thousand years.”
Their fellow servants also … is an extension of the meaning to include others than those actually martyred.
And their brethren who should be killed … In the times during which Revelation was written, and throughout history, there were to be many more martyrs who would take their place along with those already slain, and all would be rewarded together “on that day” (2Ti 4:8).
Should have fulfilled their course … The alternative reading of this clause in the ASV is, “should be fulfilled in number,” a thought that harmonizes with sentiments expressed a number of times in the New Testament. The historical church has taken note of these, and as Barclay noted, “The Anglican Prayer Book has this in the burial prayer, “That it may please Thee shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect.'”[41] Back of such a conception is the view that God will keep on saving people until the total number of the redeemed, predetermined by the will of God, shall have been accomplished. An exposition of this thought has been attempted by this writer in The Mystery of Redemption. Hendriksen stated the proposition thus:
“For a little time” means until every elect has been brought into the fold … God knows the exact number. It has been fixed from eternity in his decree. Until that number has been realized on earth the day of final judgment cannot come.[42]
They shall rest … Russell cautioned that:
Care should be taken not to reason from this passage, that all shall sleep unconsciously in an intermediate world. Sleep is a symbol of rest, but it belongs to life (2Th 1:7; Heb 4:3; Rev 14:13).[43]
Hinds also pointed out in this connection that:
This passage shows that the death of the body does not end the soul’s existence; consciousness between death and the resurrection must be a fact. Such passages are a deathblow to the soul-sleeping doctrine of materialism.[44]
[42] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 129.
[43] James William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 630.
[44] John T. Hinds, A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1962), p. 104.
Commentary on Rev 6:9-11 by Manly Luscombe
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. The fifth seal – Under the altar are souls. We know some things about these souls. Souls – not bodies. Before the throne – they are in the presence of God in heaven (Rev 8:3). Killed – martyrs for the Word of God . Faithful – the held the testimony in time of persecution. Aware – knew how they died, knew that others were suffering.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? How long – is a question of pain. It is also a question of faith that God is in control. God, how long before you intervene on behalf of the faithful? There is an expression of understanding that God is the avenger of evil. I will repay, says the Lord. Coffman wrote, For Christians, upon their own behalf, to engage in acts of vengeance is indeed sinful; but for them to pray for Gods vengeance to fall upon their enemies is right, a proposition that is proved by the verse we are studying.
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow sethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. They are given white robes and told to wait. God does not work in our time frame. They were told to wait for a little time. Others will also face hardships. Others will also suffer persecution. Others will also die in war. NOTE: We do NOT get white robes when we get to heaven. We get white robes when we obey the gospel. (Rev 3:4) The white robes are the symbol of the righteousness of the saints. White robes were given to these martyrs to identify them as Christians. God will avenge the blood of the saints. But He will do it in His time, not ours. God does not keep us from persecutions and hardships, but the evil will be punished at judgment.
The Wrath of the Lamb
Rev 6:9-17
This imagery is very majestic; but we cannot really think that the holy martyrs desire to be revenged, except in love and grace. That their persecutors should be forgiven in Pentecosts of revival must be the highest conception of vengeance that they permit themselves to have. The striking command that they should rest, each enclothed in a white robe of acceptance and purity, until the full roll of martyrs is complete, suggests that every age must yield its tale of those who love not their lives unto the death, because they love the Master so much more. We, too, have our daily martyrdoms, for it may be harder to live for Jesus always against continued opposition and scorn than to die once for Him.
Rev 9:1-21; Rev 10:1-11 answer to Mat 24:6-7. Rev 12:1-17; Rev 17:1-18 to Mat 24:29-30. Probably the words here refer, not to the final judgment, but to those revolutionary changes which always accompany the closing of one era and the opening of another; Heb 12:26-27.
I saw: Rev 8:3, Rev 9:13, Rev 14:18, Lev 4:7, Joh 16:2,*Gr: Phi 2:17, 2Ti 4:6
the souls: Rev 20:4, 2Co 5:8, Phi 1:23
slain: Rev 1:9, Rev 2:13, Rev 11:3-7, Rev 12:11-17, Rev 19:10, 2Ti 1:8
Reciprocal: 2Ki 9:7 – I may avenge 2Ch 24:22 – The Lord Psa 9:12 – When Psa 44:24 – forgettest Psa 72:14 – precious Isa 26:21 – also Isa 47:3 – I will take Isa 63:4 – General Jer 11:20 – let Jer 26:19 – Thus Dan 7:25 – shall wear out Dan 11:33 – yet Mat 10:18 – for a Mat 21:35 – General Mat 24:9 – shall they Mar 9:42 – it Mar 13:9 – take Luk 21:16 – and some Rom 9:22 – endured 1Co 1:6 – the 1Co 4:9 – as Heb 12:4 – General Heb 13:7 – word Rev 1:2 – bare Rev 7:14 – came Rev 8:1 – And Rev 12:17 – and have Rev 16:7 – out Rev 17:6 – the martyrs
THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that thy should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Rev 6:9-11
Our Church, while refusing to give an opinion on matters not revealed in the Bible, leaves a very wide margin for the belief of individual members. All that is stipulated for is that we should honestly believe all that Holy Scripture tells us, and not make anything a matter of faith which, however probable it may be in itself, is not found therein. This leaves us a very wide margin for belief; and such margins should not be narrowed, provided that these two restrictions be observed.
(1) That we believe and accept all that Holy Scripture reveals to us of the state of the blessed dead, which of course means that we hold nothing inconsistent with what is revealed; and
(2) That whatever our private and lawful beliefs beyond this may be, we are not to force them upon others, or make them a cause of difference with others who think differently. This is the old Church rule: In necessary matters, unity; in doubtful and uncertain questions, liberty; in all things, charity.
With regard to the state of the blessed dead, they are blessed, for they are in the presence of the Lord; they are at rest, for their warfare is past and their final happiness secure.
Do we know anything more? I think so.
I. The blessed dead are in an intermediate and imperfect state, waiting for their final consummation and bliss.
II. The blessed dead have at least some knowledge of what goes on on earth.
III. The blessed dead are living the life of intercessory prayerprayer for all Gods family in heaven and earth, and specially for those who are still in their trial state.
Rev 6:9. This verse brings to the fifth seal but nothing is said by either of the four creatures. Evidently by this time John’s interest had been so centered on the drama being enacted before him that it was not necessary to call his attention. He was shown an altar because this is a book of symbols that are used to denote some literal facts. The present symbol is drawn from the temple of the Jews in which the altar was the center of their worship. At the bottom of the altar the blood of the sacrifices was poured, the bodies having been laid on the altar to be burned. (See Lev 4:7.) From this imagery it was fitting to represent the Christians as victims that had been sacrificed to the cruelty of their persecutors, and also to picture their souls as being poured out at the foot of the altar. It is interesting to note that the bodies only had been put on the altar which left the souls still alive and able to speak intelligently. (See Mat 10:28.) The word for is used twice which is from the Greek word DIA. The Englishman’s Greek New Testament renders this word “because of.” The point is that these Christians had been killed “because of” their defense of the word of God. It is the same word that is used in chapter 1:9 where John was banished to the isle of Patmos “for” (because of) the word of God. Hence both John and these Christians who had been slain were martyrs, because the word means one who is faithful to the word of God regardless of threatened consequences.
Rev 6:10. The witnesses whose souls John saw (he was able to see a soul because he himself was “in the Spirit” –chapter 1:10) were calling for vengeance to be put on the ones who had caused their mistreatment.
Rev 6:11. Before replying to their cry with the explanation of the stitua-tion, they were given present consolation in the form of white robes. That indicated their standing of favor with God for chapter 3:4 shows white as a symbol of worthiness in His sight. It was then told them that they would be avenged after a while, namely, when some of their brethren should be killed. As they were means they would be killed “for” (because of) the word of God. This was fulfilled as reported in chapter 20:4 which will be commented upon when we come to that passage.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 9-11.
Souls under the altar (fifth seal)–Rev 6:9-11.
The scene: Here is the first glimpse of the martyrdom pageant which was reopened in the twentieth chapter with the grand finale of victory. It is the tribulation of Matthew twenty-four in extended form, an enlargement of Mat 24:9 and Luk 21:16; depicting the supreme sufferings of those who were companions “in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,” during the apostolic age, in the wake of the war on Jerusalem and the persecutions of Christians.
The altar: The material altar was a structure appropriated exclusively to the offering of sacrifices. (Gen 8:20) Spiritually it is applied to Christ as the Christian’s altar upon which spiritual offerings are made. (Heb 13:10)
The souls of slain: In this martyr-scene the victims were sacrificed on the altar of the cause of Christ for which they were offered or slain. The word slain is connected with the offering of victims (Act 7:42); and is descriptive of Christ (Heb 13:1-25); and of the Lamb in Rev 5:6 Rev 5:9 Rev 5:12 of this vision. John saw souls of the slain. In the Old Testament the blood, which was the life (Gen 9:4), was poured at the base of, or under, the altar (Lev 4:7); and it stood for the offering of life which is in the blood ( Lev 17:11). The souls of this altar scene are represented as the sacrifices of life in the aggregate slain for the word of God as the victims of the testimony which they held.
The souls under the altar: As the figurative altar of this vision signifies martyrdom, the phrase under the altar describes the scene of defeat. The cause for which they were offered was represented as being despised and defeated. But it was temporary, because the same souls were removed from beneath the altar of chapter 6, and elevated to the thrones in chapter 20, signifying the resurrection of the cause for which they had died, by the victory of the white horse and its rider over all the portents of the seven seals.
They cried with great voice: It was the voice of righteous blood rising up to heaven, to be heard throughout the whole earth, as the blood of Abel cried to God “from the ground” (Gen 4:10) , and representative of “all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of Abel,” to include the blood of all the slain and martyred victims of the impending persecutions, all of which was predicted in Mat 23:35; Mat 24:9, and here depicted in the fifth seal of Rev 6:9-11.
How long, 0 Lord how long: The word “lord is variously applied to kings, (Dan 1:10; Act 25:26); to rulers with authority (Dan 2:10); to princes and nobles (Dan 5:1; Mar 6:21); to tyrants (Isa 26:13); to a husband (Gen 18:12); to masters (Joh 15:15); to Jesus Christ, as Lord of all (Psa 110:1, Act 10:36); and to God, who is over all (Psa 100:3). It is used in this scene as a master, the ownership of a servant; and refers to God. This prayer of the martyrs is addressed to God for judgment against persecutors, asking here for what they received in the scene of Rev 20:4.
Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood: This was not a vindictive outcry, but a judicial petition, calling on the Judge of all the earth, whose prerogative it is to exercise avenging judgment (Rom 12:19), and who surely will “avenge his own who cry unto him.” (Luk 18:7-8)
On them that dwell on the earth: The earth of these visions is the place or location of nations; it is not a reference here to the people of the earth, upon whom no vengeance was asked, but specifically those persecuting nations personified in their rulers. Compare Zec 12:9; Mat 24:29-31 and Luk 21:25-28, in specific reference to the post-destruction period of Jerusalem–the redemption and the retribution of history presents a convincing parallel on the period of the Revelation visions.
The white robes were an assurance of victory–Rev 9:7 Rev 13:7. The word rest means to wait in patience and hope– Luk 21:19; Luk 21:28. The expression little season (time) limits the period, and compares with Mat 24:22, “except those days should be shortened”; also Luk 21:22 on the “days of vengeance.” The time was extended to include that part of their fellow servants and brethren that should be killed in the later successive events. There could be no premature act of divine interposition. It should be fulfilled according to seals–that is the events of the vision completed. Again, the apocalypse is parallel with Mat 24:34 : “This generation shail not pass till all these things be fulfilled”; and Mat 23:36 : “All these things shall come upon this generation”; and Luk 21:22 : “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”
The identity of the period of the seals of Rev 6:1-17 with the events of Mat 24:1-51 is unmistakable, as referring to, symbolic of, and fulfilled in, the destruction of Jerusalem.
Rev 6:9. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slaughtered because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they held. With the opening of the fifth seal we pass into scenes of a kind in many respects distinguished from those of the first four. No voice of one of the living creatures now cries Come: there are no horses and their riders: we make a transition from what is of earth to what is not of earth.
The Seer beholds first the altar. We have already seen that the whole imagery of the heavenly abode is taken from the structure of the Tabernacle, afterwards copied in the Temple. The only question, therefore, is whether we have here the altar of incense which stood in the holy place, or the great brazen altar of burnt-offering which stood in the outer court. One answer is given to this question by all the most eminent commentators, and it would seem as if one only could be given. It is the latter of the two; and if any difficulty be found in accepting this owing to the fact that we might expect the souls of the saints to be preserved in the inner rather than in the outer sanctuary, the answer will be found in the first consideration to be immediately submitted when we inquire who the saints are. But whether that answer be correct or not, there can be little doubt that we have here a vision of the brazen altar. What is seen under it is the blood (see below) of those slaughtered in sacrifice. Nothing of this kind found a place at the altar of incense, while the command of the law was that the blood of animals sacrificed should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is before the tabernacle of the congregation (Lev 4:7). Those here referred to had been sacrificed. The word used, the same as that applied to the Lamb in chap. Rev 5:6, leaves no doubt upon the point. They had been sacrificed in the same manner as their Lord; their blood had been shed as His was, and their bodies had been laid upon Gods altar to be consumed as an offering acceptable to Him. It corresponds with this that what St. John sees under the altar is in all probability blood. He speak indeed of souls, or rather lives; but to the Hebrew blood and life were equivalent terms; the life of the flesh, he said, is in the blood (Lev 17:11). No shadowy spectres, therefore, were beheld by the Seer. He beheld only blood, but he knew that that blood was the souls or lives of men.
Two important questions demanding consideration meet us. First, What is the period to which these martyred saints belong? Secondly, Are they martyrs in the sense in which that word is usually employed, or do they include a larger number? In reply to the first of these questions, we have to urge that these saints belong neither to the period of the Neronic persecution, nor to any longer period of Romes history, nor to the whole Christian era from its beginning to its close. We must agree with those who think that they are saints of the Old Testament Dispensation. (1) Mark where the blood lies. It is under the brazen altar in the Court. The way into the Holiest of all had not yet been manifested. (2) Observe the manner in which their testimony is described. The word used for testimony occurs nine times in the Apocalypse, and in every case (including even chap. Rev 12:11), except the present and chap. Rev 11:7 which may be in some respects similar, it is associated in one form or another with the name of Jesus. The absence of any such addition in the words before us can hardly be thought of otherwise than as designed; and, if so, a distinction would seem to be drawn between the testimony here alluded to and the full testimony of Jesus. (3) The word Master, not Lord, of Rev 6:10 is remarkable. It can hardly be referred directly to Christ: it is rather an epithet of God Himself, to whom it breathes the feeling of Old Testament rather than New Testament relation (comp. Act 4:24; Jud 1:4, Revised New Testament margin). (4) The parallelism of thought between Rev 6:10 and Rev 6:11 of this chapter and Heb 11:39-40 is very marked, and confirms what has been said. (5) A powerful argument tending towards the same conclusion is that the saints of the New Testament receive during their lift on earth that very white robe which is here given to the souls under the altar. Thus in chap. Rev 7:14, after they have been described as standing before the throne and before the Lamb, it is said of them, in the Elders inquiry, Who they are and whence they came, that they had washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, words evidently implying that the cleansing and whitening referred to had taken place during the period of their mortal pilgrimage. In Rev 3:4, they who are described as the few names must have been already clothed in the white garments which they had not defiled. In chap. Rev 19:8 the Lambs bride is made ready for the marriage which has not yet taken place, by its being given her to array herself in fine linen, bright and pure; and in the 14th verse of the same chapter, at a time when the Churchs victory has not yet been completed, the Rider on the white horse is followed by the armies of heaven clothed in fine linen, white and pure. To the same effect is the counsel addressed to the Church of Laodicea in chap. Rev 3:18, that she shall buy of her Lord white garments, as well as the description in chap. Rev 19:8 of what fine linen means, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It is true that in chaps, Rev 7:9; Rev 7:13 and Rev 4:4, these white robes are also those of glory in heaven, but it is unnecessary to dwell upon the fact that the believer appears there in the same perfect righteousness as that in which he is accepted here. The white robe of the present passage, therefore, is a more complete justification than that which was enjoyed under the old covenant. It is that referred to by St. Paul when, speaking to the Jews at Antioch of Pisidia, he said, By Him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (Act 13:39). It is that robe of righteousness which had been promised in Isa 61:10 and Zec 3:4, that complete reward for which David longed (Psalms 51), and to which both Jeremiah (Jer 31:34) and Ezekiel (Eze 36:25) had pointed as the great gift of Gospel times. The promise of the Old Testament, which the saints of God who then lived did not receive, was not simply that of a better country, but of the day of Christ, with all the blessings that should accompany it. In that hope they exulted, and at length they saw it and rejoiced (comp. note on Joh 8:56). Not until Christ came were even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their faithful seed perfected. At death they passed into a place of holy waiting until the great work of redemption should be finished; and then only did they receive what is now bestowed upon the follower of Jesus even during his earthly life. Only under the Christian Dispensation have they been made equal to us; and at this moment they wait, as we wait, for the making up of the full number of the redeemed, and for the open acknowledgment and acquittal which shall yet be granted them. (6) Finally, it ought to be noticed that in the verse before us the saints referred to are not said to have been killed under the fifth seal which, like all the others, starts from a point of time contemporaneous with the beginning of the Christian age. It is rather distinctly implied that they had been killed before. The moment the seal is broken their blood is seen.
These souls underneath the altar, therefore, are the saints of the Old Testament waiting for the completion of their happiness by having added to them their fellow-servants of New Testament times.
The second question is not less important than the first. We cannot enter upon it fully, and it will meet us again. In the meantime it is enough to say that the analogy of other passages of the Apocalypse leads to the conclusion that the persons alluded to are not confined to those who had actually been killed in the service of God. It includes all who had remained faithful unto death, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the long line of those who, whether known or unknown, had died in faith. All were offerings. All had a life of struggle. All shared the reproach of Christ (Heb 11:26); and all had an interest in crying, Lord, how long? If, therefore, martyrs in the ordinary sense of the term are to be first thought of, it seems to be only as the type and emblem of the whole company of those who had lived and died in faith.
Here we have the fifth seal opened; under which Christ represents to St. John the condition of those precious souls of the holy martyrs who died for the testimony of Christ, by the bloody hands of tyrants; the design whereof is to support and encourage all that were to come after in the same bloody path.
Observe here, 1. The vision which St. John saw, namely, the souls of the martyrs.
But how could they be seen?
Ans. Not by the external senses, being immaterial substances, but in spirit they were seen by him; he had a spiritual representation of them made to his mind.
Observe, 2. The place where he saw them, under the altar; that is, lying at the foot of the altar, as sacrifices slain, and presented unto God.
Where note, That however men look upon the death of the martyrs, yet in God’s account they die as sacrifices: and their blood is no other than a drink-offering poured out to God, which he highly prizeth, and graciously accepteth.
Observe, 3. The cause of their sufferings and death described, it was for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held; as one of the martyrs in the Marian days held up his Bible at the stake, saying, “This is that hath brought me hither.”
They die not as malefactors, but as martyrs, giving a threefold testimony of the truth, a lip-testimony, a life-testimony, and a death or blood-testimony: they held the profession of their faith faster than they held their own lives.
Observe, 4. What St. John heard, a loud cry, saying, How long?
Note, 1. That souls can speak audibly, to the ears of men;
Note, 2. That they have sense of sufferings when they are in glory: it doth not imply that souls there are in a restless state, or that they want true satisfaction and repose when they are out of the body; much less,
3. doth this cry suppose that they carried with them to heaven any angry resentments, or revengeful dispositions, towards their murderers: but this cry supposes in them a vehement zeal for the glory of God, a flagrant desire that God would clear their innocency, and make known his justice among men, that he would abolish the kingdom of Satan, and consummate the kingdom of Christ, making all his enemies to become his footstool; so that they pray for what Christ waits in glory, Heb 10:13 all the revenge here desired was only a vindication of God’s holiness and truth, which he himself had promised.
Observe, 5. The gracious answer which God gave to the cry of these gracious souls, in which he speaks satisfaction to them these two ways,
1. By somewhat given them for the present,
2. By somewhat promised them hereafter.
First, white robes were given at present to every one of them, that is, large measures of heavenly glory, as the reward of their sufferings and services, beyond other saints; as if God had said, “Though the time be not yet come to satisfy your desires in the final ruin of Satan’s kingdom, yet it shall by well with you in the mean time, you shall walk with me in white, and enjoy my glory in heaven.”
Secondly, That is not all, but the very things they cry for shall be given them after a little season, for God had more to call unto sufferings besides them, and they having conquered shall be crowned together; as if God had said, “You my faithful witnesses, wait a little while until your brethren be got through the Red sea of suffering as well as you, and then you shall see the feet of Christ upon the necks of all his enemies, and justice shall fully avenge the precious innocent blood of all the saints, which in all ages has been shed for the testimony of the gospel, from Abel the martyr to the last sufferer: Rest, for a little season, until your fellow-servants also, and your brethren, shall be killed as you were.”
Now from the whole learn these lessons of instruction.
Learn, 1. That the souls of men perish not with their bodies, but do certainly outlive them, and subsist in a state of separation from them; the bodies of these martyrs were destroyed by divers sorts of torments, but their souls were out of the reach of danger, they were in safety under the altar, and in glory, clothed with their white robes, when their bodies were either turned to ashes, or torn to pieces by wild beasts; we shall not cease to be, when we cease to breathe; our souls do not vanish with our breath.
Learn, 2. That as the soul is alive in a state of separation from the body, so it is awake also, and doth not sleep with the body.
Mark, These souls cried with a loud voice; then they were not asleep, though their bodies were alseep in the dust; the opinion of the soul’s sleeping with the body, until the resurrection, is a wicked dream; it is granted that the organical acts of the soul, that is, such acts as do depend upon the members of the body, must cease when the body ceases; but we find when we are asleep, that our soul can act of itself, without the assistance of the body; the soul grieves and rejoices, hopes and fears, chooses and refuses, therefore the soul is not only alive, but awake also, in its state of separation from the body.
Learn, 3. That there are not only praises, but prayers in heaven, and that for justice to be inflicted upon persecutors here on earth. O the miserable condition of bloody persecutors! when heaven and earth both pray against them.
Learn, 4. That there is no sin committed upon earth, which doth more loudly call for vengeance from God in heaven, and which he will more certainly and severely punish, than persecuting and wronging of his saints and servants.
Learn, 5. That one reason why the suffering servants of God are not presently delivered from their persecutions, is this, because more of their brethren must suffer besides them, before their persecutions are ripe and ready for signal vengeance.
Learn lastly, That the souls of God’s martyrs shall by under the altar in heaven clothed in white, enjoying divine glory, before the fatal day of final vengeance come upon the persecuting world; for though the patience of God suffers long, yet the holiness of God cannot permit that innocency should always suffer, and violence with persecution go unpunished, but in the mean time they shall put on their crown and their robes.
Man is a living soul. ( Gen 2:7 ; 1Co 15:44-45 ) Man also has a spiritual soul which will not die. ( Mat 10:28 ) McCord indicates the word “destroy” is elsewhere translated “lost.” ( Mat 10:6 ; Luk 15:32 ; Luk 19:10 )
Since life is in the blood and the blood of sacrificed animals was poured out at the base of the altar ( Lev 17:11 ; Lev 4:7 ), we conclude the souls here mentioned are the lives offered in sacrifice to the Lord. The word “slain” here is the same as was used in Rev 5:6 . Their blood does not cry out for revenge but the wrath of justice. ( Gen 4:10 ) They had been sacrificed because the faithful kept God’s word and testified as to its truthfulness. How reassuring to know their sacrifice did not go unnoticed in heaven. Their enemies may have thought they won by sending them to their deaths, but they are actually given white robes of purity and assured of ultimate victory. They must wait for a “little time” until those who served with them and others who would be martyred should join them. This “little time” is the same wording as is used by Jesus in Joh 7:33 ; Joh 12:35 . It seems to this writer that this time of waiting for God’s avenging judgment would come when God destroyed the persecutors.
Rev 6:9-10. The following seals have nothing extrinsical, like the proclamation of the living creatures, but they are sufficiently distinguished by their internal marks and characters. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under, or at the foot of, the altar Which was presented to my view; not the golden altar of incense, mentioned Rev 9:13, but the altar of burnt-offering, spoken of also Rev 8:5; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7; the souls of them that were slain Namely, newly slain as sacrifices, and offered to God; for the word of God For believing and professing faith in it; and for the testimony To the truth of the gospel; which they held That is, courageously retained in the midst of all opposition. A proper description this of true Christians, who persevered in the faith and practice of the gospel, notwithstanding all the difficulties and sufferings of persecution. And they cried with a loud voice As making an appeal to the injured justice of God. This cry did not begin now, but under the first Roman persecution. The Romans themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on the whole nation; saying, How long They knew their blood would be avenged, but not immediately, as is now shown them; O Lord The word properly signifies the master of a family; it is therefore beautifully used by these, who were peculiarly of the household of God. Holy and true Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and vengeance; dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them Who, without remorse, have poured it out as water. This desire of theirs is pure, and suitable to the will of God. These martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master, of his holiness and truth. And the praise is given him, Rev 19:2, where the prayer of the martyrs is changed into a thanksgiving. But this sentence, How long, &c., is intended, not so much to express the desire of the martyrs that their cause should be vindicated, and their persecutors punished, as to signify that the cruelties exercised upon them were of so barbarous and atrocious a nature as to deserve and provoke the vengeance of God.
Verse 9
Under the altar; no altar is mentioned before. Emblematical visions like these are not to be expected to be coherent and consistent in their details.–The souls; the disembodied spirits.
6:9 {7} 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:
(7) The sixth sign is that the holy martyrs who are under the altar, by which they are sanctified, that is, received into the trust and teaching of Christ (into whose hands they are committed) shall cry out for the justice of God, in a holy zeal to advance his kingdom, and not from any private disturbance of the mind, in this and the next verse, and that God will comfort them in deed, sign and word; Rev 6:10 .
5. The fifth seal 6:9-11
What happened next evidently took place in heaven.
The altar John saw was evidently in heaven (cf. Rev 8:3; Rev 8:5; Rev 14:18). Earlier John had seen a throne-room in heaven (chs. 4-5), but now he saw a temple. Probably the concepts of palace and temple communicate aspects of God’s magnificent dwelling-place in heaven (cf. Psa 11:4; Psa 18:6; Psa 29:9-10; Isa 6:1: Hab 2:20). This altar was evidently an altar of sacrifice rather than an incense altar (cf. Rev 5:8; Rev 8:3-5; Rev 14:17-18). Under this altar were the souls (Gr. psyche, lives) of people who had died for their faith in God and their faithfulness to Him during the period just described (Rev 6:3-8; i.e., in the Tribulation so far). Some amillennialists believe these martyrs are all Christians who die for their faith during the entire church age, which according to their view, is all believers who die from Christ’s ascension to His second coming. [Note: E.g., ibid., p. 396.] Preterists view these people as Christians who died in the first century of the church’s history. [Note: E.g., Swete, p. 92.] Perhaps the idea is that the lives of these martyrs were sacrifices to God (cf. Php 2:17; 2Ti 4:6). The "and" (Gr. kai) is again probably ascensive (cf. Rev 1:2; Rev 1:9) meaning the word of God "even" the testimony they maintained.
These people must be those who died after the Rapture since all Christians living at the time of the Rapture will experience bodily resurrection and go directly into Jesus Christ’s presence then (1Th 4:16-17). Consequently the people John described in this verse are evidently those who come to faith in Christ after the Rapture (cf. Mat 24:9; Luk 21:12). They became believers during the first half of the Tribulation and then suffered martyrdom for their faith. John did not see their resurrected bodies because God had not resurrected them yet. The resurrection of Tribulation saints will not occur until the end of that seven-year period (cf. Rev 20:4).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)