Revelation 6:9-11
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 witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Last time, we read of Christ breaking seals 1-4. With each one, judgments were unleashed upon the earth, each by one of four horsemen. We noted last week that these riders are the same angelic riders described by the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah 1 we discover that God had used the nations to judge Israel. But, since they had taken great pleasure in tormenting Israel, God promised that He would “terrify” the nations that stood against His people. In Zechariah 6, these angelic riders are sent out to patrol the whole earth. There were four in order for them to patrol the four corners of the earth: N,S,E,W.
John now describes these riders as unleashing judgments upon the nations – warfare, revolution, famine and inflation, death by pestilence and wild beast. We noted that these are not simply future torments but those which mark the “last days” which Scripture teaches us began with the incarnation of Christ. His life, death and resurrection ushered in the final days, the last days, the final hour – all ways that the days from Jesus until His final return are described.
Jesus expected those alive in His day to see some of these things as He describes them in Matthew 24 as only the beginning of the “birth pains.” Any mother will tell you that the pains increase as the birth grows closer so, yes, we can look through the ages of history from Jesus until today and see terrible things. We look today and note the events of world history and, as bad as they are, we can expect it to get worse.
But in what way? The fifth seal gives us a clue.
The Scriptures are not concerned with wars between modern-day nations such as Russia versus the United States or Iran versus the nation of Israel. The focus is on the world coming against God’s people- against the church. The message of Revelation to the church is: persevere even unto death.
It is true that the overarching message of Revelation is one of encouragement as the church is told that Jesus is victorious and the gates of hell will not prevail. But that is only the overarching general message of the book. As we come to fifth seal, we begin to see a deeper message taking shape. In fact, we are getting a hint as to what the core message of the scroll whose seals are being opened is. Remember, the scroll is not opened yet. These seals are being systematically undone, leading up to the actual opening of the scroll in chapter 10, when we will learn of its contents and discover that the scroll is not simply about the victory of Christ, but it has to do with “how” the victory is won.
Leading up to chapter 10, we are reading of the 7 seals with the opening of the 7th seal leading to the blowing of the 7 trumpets. These are judgments unleashed upon an ungodly world that stands against God and His church. The judgments will remind of us of the plagues that were sent against Egypt when the people of Israel were enslaved there. When we read of that story in Exodus, we are amazed that Pharaoh is unmoved by the plagues and steadfastly refuses to let the people of God go. And so it is with these judgments. They are of such nature and severity that you would think that they should bring about the repentance of the nations. But we read in 9:20-21:
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
And so, the scroll is given to John and, like the prophet Ezekiel who was given a scroll to eat which was the prophetic Word of God, John is told to eat it. Though it is sweet like honey- as it is the Word of God- it makes John’s stomach bitter. Why? Because of the “bitterness” of the message of the scroll.
What is the message? It will be repeated in several forms in the pages that follow. And this is one of the keys to understanding Revelation. You cannot read it from beginning to end as a successive series of events that follow one after another in history. In places that is true, but the book as a whole, repeats a number of scenes from differing angles and perspectives.
The message of the scroll will be told several times, but it is told first in chapter 11 and it is given in a form of a parable- the parable of the two witnesses. Who are they? They are the “two olive trees” and “two lampstands.” Looking at Zechariah, Deuteronomy, 1 and 2 Kings, Exodus, will all inform us that they are not two individuals, but that they represent the church in its prophetic witness to the world. And we read in 11:7 that, “When they have finished their testimony the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and will kill them.” And so, we are reading of the martyrdom of the church, but it is this witness of God’s people, unto their deaths, that will lead to what the judgments of the seals and trumpets did not: the repentance of many unto salvation. Verse 13 tells us, “Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” In other words, “They (the church) have conquered him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb (meaning their following Christ in His suffering and self-sacrifice) and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even to death” (12:11). Thus, Revelation is (13:10) “A call for the endurance and faith of the saints.”
The battle is the Lord’s and we are called to be His army of 144,000 who will willingly suffer and die for His names’ sake. It is in that way, that we will take part in the mission and victory of Christ and that the Kingdom will come. That is a brief outline of a simplified form of the overarching message of Revelation. And it is sent to the church throughout the ages who, like the churches of John’s day, struggle with the temptations to give in, to deal with the pressures and persecutions that come at it from the world by compromising. The message to us is what we heard Christ say to the 7 churches in Asia: “to the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God;” “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death,” “The one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it;” “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as myself has received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star;” “The one who conquers will be clothed in white garments and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels;” “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name;” “The one who conquers I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on my throne.”
And the question is “How does one conquer?” The answer: The same way Jesus did. By giving up one’s life. “How does one conquer?” The way Jesus does, by the sword- but not a sword made of steel, but the sword that proceeds from His mouth. How does one conquer? To be willing to be Christ’s witness even unto death. And the day will come when that will be the fate of the church of God. The platitudes will be set aside, the respectability of faith no longer recognized, the tolerance for Christians will run out.
Right now, Satan is restrained that he might not deceive the nations as he did before Christ came. As Jesus walked among His disciples, He spoke of binding the strong man. He spoke of seeing Satan fall. In saying these things, He was describing the ushering in of the 1000 years of Revelation 20. And it is this binding of Satan that we are experiencing the benefits of. It is the only explanation as to why the world is not any worse than it already is. It should strike us as absolutely amazing that we still have “In God we Trust” written on our coinage even as our government proves otherwise. It should strike us as amazing that churches are still able to worship in a building with a steeple and a cross on top of it, proclaiming what is going on here, rather than hiding in secret.
But the day will come, when Satan will be given free reign to deceive the nations once again and they, collectively, will come against God’s people. And this brings us back to the fifth seal.
The scene is of those who have already been slain
“for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”
When will God avenge His martyrs? It will not be until all of those who will stand up in faith, in the face of Satan’s full-on onslaught, lose their lives. The witness of these martyrs, will be used to save the last of elect whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. When that book is complete, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s will rise up in judgment and will (Rev. 19:15) “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” casting Satan and his demons into the lake of fire along with all of those who do not repent because of the witness of God’s people and have shown that their names were not written in the Lamb’s book of life.
So what does the fifth seal say to the church today?
1) It calls on us to ask the very serious question: “Are you willing to join the ranks of the martyrs?” In the context of the message of Revelation it takes on a new seriousness and urgency, but it should come as no surprise as this question is asked repeatedly in the Word.
Acts 14:22 …through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
…If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it (Mark 8:34–35).
It is worth noting that in Revelation 21:7-8 we read: “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless…their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire.”
Not thinking of it as a sin, it strikes one as curious why “the cowardly” would be listed here until you realize it is put forth in contrast to the conqueror who has conquered by persevering in the face of persecution unto death. And that drives home the point, doesn’t it, that willingness to die for Christ is one of the marks of a true believer.
And this then forces us to face the question that, if I am afraid of being made fun of, how can I possibly be brave enough to die? This is a call for the endurance of the saints.
2) The second thing is that, when we look at the fifth seal in light of the entire book, we are reminded that the call to martyrdom, while it does demonstrate where you are in terms of your relationship to Christ, it isn’t a call to ‘prove’ yourself to Christ and it certainly isn’t a sign of God’s lack of compassion on those who face persecution. No, martyrdom is the means by which God is glorified and by which His love, for even those from whose hands the martyrdom comes, is made known in order that they might be saved. It is an instrument for the spread of and victory of the Kingdom. Paul recognized this when he wrote from the Philippian prison: “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
And how he was able to say in 2 Corinthians 4:18-18
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
And I’m going to promise you, as soon as you grasp that THIS is what Revelation is about, it will not only make sense to you, but other passages will suddenly take on a new depth and meaning.
And so, if our love is for Christ and His Kingdom then we should follow Him in His example when “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.”
3) None of this is theoretical. It is common to hear someone in the States say hypothetically what is the reality in many places around the world: “What would you do if someone were to threaten to imprison you, or worse, if you refused to deny Jesus?” The message contained in Revelation is that there is coming a day when that question will be faced, not simply in distant corners in the earth, but around the world. I read this on social media recently:
Yesterday, I was fired, for being a Christian.
A coworker found my social media and reported it.
I was told that I must delete my accounts and recant my views.
I refused.
I was asked, outright, my views on abortion, family and God.
I was honest.
I was handed my notice.
I suppose, in an abstract way, I understood the concept of being willing to lose it all for Christ.
I’ve dealt with ridicule and been ostracised for following Him.
But this is the first time I’ve lost something so tangible.
It was worth it.
I have no idea how I’m going to support myself.
All of my plans have gone up in flame. I’m probably going to be in debt, definitely going to have to struggle and I don’t know if things will get better.
But, it was worth it! Because I will never be ashamed of the Gospel.
I will never forsake God and His truth.
I will never forsake the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
I have counted the cost.
Praise Him.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” - Mark 8:36
4) For non-believers, it would not surprise any of us if you were to say…”All of this talk about death, dying, martyrdom…why in the world would you be willing to lose everything for religion?
We could answer that question any many ways and I hope that you will give us a chance to do just that. But at this juncture you need to understand that you will lose it all one day too. We all will. And followers of Christ are able to say exactly what we just read Paul say: “17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
What are you able to say? Revelation tells us what you will say as you call to the mountains and the rocks: “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
That doesn’t have to be the way it ends. Come to Christ, repent, be baptized, be washed clean through the blood of the Lamb, know what it is to be declared righteous and to know life forevermore.
Below are some excerpts from a work called “A Christian’s Reasonable Service” by Wilhelmus A Brakel, a minister in the Netherlands in the 1600’s. In those days, martyrdom at the hands of the Catholic church was a real threat (which is why the Reformers would refer to the Pope as the antichrist and the Vatican in Rome as being portrayed in Revelation). Brakel was writing to church members in the Netherlands to encourage them to stay strong in the face of persecution and to even be willing to face martyrdom.
He starts off by noting that our suffering today is nothing compared to the “eternal weight of glory” which will be ours. But then he challenges the reader to consider what benefit they would hope to gain by shrinking back from a clear confession, and how it will not turn out the way they expect.
Read this excerpt below and spend some time reflecting on it.
Compare your suffering for a moment with eternal glory. What do you have to lose? You will say: ―Honor, possession, father, mother, children, conveniences—yes, even life.
And what have you to suffer? You will say, ―Hunger, cold, nakedness, stinking prisons full of abominable vermin, heavy chains, bloody labor, merciless beatings, scarcely being able to lie down to get a little sleep—and then in the end to be abused, burned, hung on the gallows, and to be eaten of dogs.
Know, however, that all these are but light tribulations which will readily pass. Paul refers to them as such in 2 Cor 4:17. Will recantation yield you all those desirable things again, and will recantation enable you to flee all these miseries? You yourself know that such is not the case. If by recanting you would get that wish, and you then would have an unbearably turbulent conscience which would not give you rest day nor night; and the wrath of God filled your soul with terror and anxiety and your body with painful stones, with unbearable gout, with evil sores, with painful discomfort, exhausting you to the very bone so that you would then seek death without being able to find it; or your wretched soul, having been restored to all freedom, perhaps in all luxury, would depart with the sense of hellish agony some days after you had recanted, would you then have gained anything? Be assured that as soon as you would have recanted, you will regret it, and you will wish and seek to be in that state again.
By their fallen cheeks, their dejected countenance, and the pallor of death, it is to be perceived how the internal condition is of those who have denied Jesus and retained their possessions. They elevate your state a thousand times above theirs. You are now in this state and you cannot recover what has been lost.
Be assured—for experience teaches this daily—that the enemies do not believe your recantation. You would still be hated by them, for they seek after your life. Is it then not better to remain steadfast in your confession of Jesus, since you cannot gain anything by recantation? And if you could gain the whole world with it and would do injury to your soul, what would you give as a ransom for your soul? ―For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it‖ (Matt 16:25).
Brakel has the reader reflect on the promise of glory, the joy of being welcomed by the Son as a “conqueror” and says, “Place eternal glory over against all your suffering and the pleasures of the world, and you will come to the same conclusion as Paul did: ―For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us(Rom 8:18).”
Some possible questions to consider:
Have you ever felt compelled to say something to someone regarding the gospel but held back out of fear?
If so, what was it that you were afraid of?
What was it that you thought you would gain (by not saying something)?
Did you, in actuality, gain anything in the times you were silent?
How did you feel afterwards?
Have you ever asked God for more boldness? Have you afraid to ask for more boldness?
How can we conscientiously spur one another on to be better witnesses?
Brakel’s other points include the following. If you have time remaining, consider these briefly.
1) “Consider the examples of so many thousands of martyrs who, striving uprightly, have received the crown of glory and who are now triumphant in heaven. It is God‘s way throughout all ages to call some to be blood witnesses in order that the Lord Jesus may be glorified, the world be brought under conviction, and the church be strengthened.” After pointing readers to Hebrews 11:35-39, he calls them to respond to their persecutors as Daniel’s companions did Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:16-18.
2) “View the Lord Jesus from every perspective. He is so eminently glorious that it is our greatest glory to confess Him as our Lord and King...Would you then withdraw yourself from the opportunity to render Him glory? Would you, in response to all His love and goodness to glorify you, defame Him, be ashamed of Him, and deny Him? Far, far be it from anyone that this would arise in one‘s heart. Therefore, let the love of Christ constrain you, and let nothing be so precious to you that you would not be willing to set it aside for Him, thus to glorify Him by way of a bold profession.
3) “Acknowledge the grace which God has manifested toward you… Will not all this divine benevolence kindle your love, so that you will say, ―I shall cleave to the Lord; He is my portion and therefore I shall hope in Him. I surrender my body and soul to Him; let Him do with them as pleases Him. May He but give me faithfulness as I presently suffer for His Name‘s sake, and may He make me steadfast to valiantly endure all that is yet to come.”
