When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
We are coming down to the wire on January's word of the month, altar. What a month it has been. Altar. What a word! We have traced the inauguration of the altar from the days of Moses, through its appearance in Solomon's temple, and on to its use and misuse in the books of the prophets, through to the New Testament where we explored the idea that the Old Testament altar is a preparation for understanding the true altar, Jesus Christ. Things on earth are patterns of the reality that lives in heaven.
In today's verse we get a glimpse of that reality.
There is an altar in heaven, and under the altar we see the souls of martyrs. The Lamb (Jesus) was slain, and these martyrs have followed His example. The note for this verse in the Geneva Bible puts it this way:
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 (Rev. 6:10), and that God will comfort them in deed, sign and word.
I think about our easy cheesy lives and I wonder. What would we do if we were forced on pain of death to stand on the word of God and testify out loud, publicly, that Jesus alone is our Lord and Master?
Or, maybe I should put it this way. Would anyone be moved to kill you because of the way you live your life according to the word of God? Would anyone be moved to kill you because of your testimony?
Do you and I live according to the word of God? Then why are not more people offended at us?
The Bible says that all who want to live a holy life will be persecuted. (2 Tim 3:12) When the fifth seal is broken at the time of the end, I have to wonder how many modern day, first world Christians will be found under the altar?
Actual martyrs under an actual altar in heaven is one way to look at today's verse, but there is another way to see it that I only recently discovered. If the altar is Jesus, and if we have been united with Him based on His death on the cross, then you might be able to say that the souls under the altar in today's verse are all Christians who are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. We died in Him. It was a vicarious death. And when Jesus presented His blood on heaven's altar to pay for the sin of the world, all those who trusted in Him for salvation are reckoned dead to sin (Romans 6:11) yet are alive in Christ because of His sacrifice.
Martyr in this sense would mean witness. Souls who are slain and under the altar could be literally people who are killed for not recanting their faith in Jesus Christ. But, the souls who are slain could also be anyone who has reckoned himself dead to sin and is therefore under the altar, that is, under Jesus Christ and covered by His blood.
It is a good argument, propounded by people much smarter than me, but I don't buy it. The more I study God's word, the more I am convinced that most of it is meant to be taken quite literally. The fifth seal, when opened, I think will reveal actual people who were actually killed for their faith.
That means there will exist a body of end time believers who are committed to Jesus Christ and Him alone. They will not be interested in sports. They will not be interested in social media. They will not be interested in the gossip of Hollywood's stars. They will be interested in Jesus alone.
And they will look weird to the world, and will talk weird to the world, and the world will hate them for not entering into their entertainments.
And when pushed hard enough, the world will lash out in hatred. Martyrs are yet to be added to the souls under the altar.
When push comes to shove, which side will you be on?
Don't be too hasty with your answer. If you will be a martyr for Christ in that day, begin to practice your walk and talk today or you will stumble and fail in your testimony when faced with death.
Put aside your interest in the world and walk with God.
When the fifth seal opens, it will open without fanfare or warning. The four horsemen will have ridden, and then the fifth seal will be opened. Which side will you be on?
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