How Long, O Lord?
“And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:9-10
The Apostle John had been given a vision of the last days, the tribulation period, and the judgment to come. When Jesus, standing by God’s throne, was given the scroll with the seven seals, John watched anxiously as each seal was broken and the contents of the scroll revealed. Last year, during the summer of the COVID pandemic, I wrote blogs covering the first four seals which reveal the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first seal revealed the white horse upon which a future world ruler would ride. The second seal revealed the red horse which will bring war and destruction upon the world. The third seal revealed the black horse, a sign of famine and misery, while the fourth seal revealed the pale horse, a sign of death and hell. The pandemic of which we have been suffering has caused a lot of folks to think about the end times.
As the vision of the four horses faded from John’s view, the fifth seal was broken by Jesus revealing something quite different from what John had already witnessed. As John looked at the scroll, he saw an altar. There were two altars in the Jewish temple with their corresponding altars of the New Testament gospel: the altar of burnt sacrifices which became the earth under Christ’s cross and the altar of incense, an altar of praise, which is now represented by Christ in heaven as the Redeemer for mankind. Underneath the altar that John saw were the souls of people who had been martyred for preaching about and witnessing for Christ. We are not told exactly who these souls were, but scripture tells us of many prophets and followers of Christ who were slain because of their testimonies. Today Christians are still being martyred particularly in the Middle East, China, and Africa.
Some souls have been waiting for thousands of years for justice to be carried out for the millions of God haters. These souls do not seek revenge, but they are zealous for Christ to be honored and justice to be served. We wonder and fret sometimes why it seems like God takes a really long time to answer our prayers. We can wait a lifetime never to realize an answer. Our human minds run on an earthly timetable. We are so used to everything happening instantly that if we have to wait more than a minute or two, we get impatient. However, God’s timetable is different. He doesn’t look at time like we do in measured increments of minutes, hours, and days. He was here in the beginning and will continue throughout eternity. He is not limited by space or time. While we creatures on earth can be impatient, we are not alone in that respect. Those who were slain for their testimony are still waiting for justice to be done. The psalmist of Psalm 119:84 was lamenting his long wait for retribution against his enemies. He cried out to God, “…when will You execute judgment on them that persecute me?” Justice will come at just the right time. As one of my former pastors said, “No one has gotten away with anything, yet”.
It is interesting to note that these souls that had been killed for their testimony were not some sleeping spirits but rather, in expressing their desire for wrongs to be righted, they manifested the ability to have thoughts, emotions, consciousness, memories, awareness, and a boldness to confidently express their concerns to God, the Father. We have another example of the life of the soul after death in Matthew 17:3 when Moses and Elijah both appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration before Peter, James, and John. The two Old Testament prophets not only conversed with Jesus, but they were recognized by the three disciples. The ultimate proof of life after death is the resurrection of Jesus Christ which was witnessed by hundreds of people and recorded for our benefit.
The martyrs who cried out for justice from under God’s altar were given white robes which represented purity. The martyrs were pure because they had been washed clean by the blood of Christ. The fact that they were given robes to wear indicates that these souls had some sort of body in heaven and were not just some invisible spirit. Their desire for retribution did not go unnoticed, but since that time had not yet come, they were instructed to “rest” for a little while longer because there were others who would suffer the same kind of persecution and death as they did. The fact that others would be martyred for their faith indicates that there will be those who will come to faith in Christ during the seven year period of tribulation. They will be killed for their testimony just as the former saints and will join the souls of those under the altar to await God’s final judgment when all evil is done away with and lasting peace will ensue. While the book of Revelation is one of the more difficult books of scripture to understand because of all of its symbolism and its mystery, Jesus said that those who read and/or hear the words of this prophecy and keep them within their hearts are blessed. He also said that “the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3).