The Cry for Justice from Under the Altar Text: Revelation 6:9-11
Introduction: The Seed of the Church
The book of Revelation is not a crystal ball for predicting the headlines of the 21st century. It is a book about the vindication of Jesus Christ and His people, and the utter demolition of the old covenant order that had set itself against Him. Jesus had told His disciples that not one stone of the Temple would be left on another, and that this judgment would fall upon "this generation" (Matt. 24:34). The first four seals unleashed the four horsemen, bringing conquest, civil war, famine, and death upon the land of apostate Israel. This was the beginning of sorrows, the birth pangs of a new world.
But after the thunder of the horsemen, the scene shifts. The camera moves from the chaos on earth to a quiet, solemn, and potent scene in Heaven. We are taken into the very sanctuary of God, into the Holy Place, and we are shown the basis for the judgments that are unfolding. The reason for the turmoil on earth is found in a cry for justice in Heaven. The world believes that history is driven by impersonal forces, by economics, by politics, by the sheer will of powerful men. But Scripture reveals that the true engine of history is the prayer of the saints. And in this passage, we are given a glimpse of the most potent prayers of all: the prayers of the martyrs.
Tertullian famously said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. This is profoundly true. But it is not only seed for the growth of the church; it is also seed for the judgment of the church's persecutors. The world thinks it can kill the prophets and silence the witness of God. But in doing so, they are simply loading the cannons of Heaven. They are providing God with the very fuel for His righteous indignation. The fifth seal reveals that the persecution of the saints is not a sign of God's defeat, but rather the very predicate for His coming victory. It is the reason the trumpets will sound and the bowls will be poured out.
What we see here is the great theodicy. How can a good and powerful God allow His faithful servants to suffer and die so horribly? This passage is a central part of the answer. Their deaths are not forgotten. Their blood is not silent. It has a voice, and that voice reaches the throne of God. This is a scene of profound comfort for the persecuted and a scene of stark terror for the persecutor.
The Text
And when He opened 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 witness which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Master, holy and true? Will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And a white robe was given to each of them; and it was told to them that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
(Revelation 6:9-11 LSB)
The Location of the Martyrs (v. 9)
We begin with the opening of the seal and the location of the souls.
"And when He opened 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 witness which they had maintained;" (Revelation 6:9)
John's vision shifts from the earthly turmoil to the heavenly sanctuary. He sees an altar. This is the altar of sacrifice. In the Old Testament temple, the blood of the sacrificial animals was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering (Lev. 4:7). Here, John sees the souls of the martyrs in that very place. Their lives have been poured out as a drink offering (cf. Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6). Their deaths were not tragic accidents; they were sacrifices. They were acts of worship. This is a place of high honor. They are not lost or forgotten; they are precious to God, located at the very heart of His heavenly worship.
Notice what they are. They are "souls." This gives us a clear picture of the intermediate state. At death, the believer's soul is immediately in the presence of God, conscious, aware, and able to communicate. They are not sleeping in some state of suspended animation. They are alive and active before the throne.
And why are they there? They were "slain because of the word of God, and because of the witness which they had maintained." The Greek word for witness is marturia, from which we get our word martyr. Their crime was faithfulness. They believed the Word of God and they spoke it. The world hates the Word because the Word testifies against it. It exposes its sin, its rebellion, its false worship. And so the world does what it has always done: it tries to silence the testimony by killing the testator. From Abel to Zacharias, and from Stephen to the last martyr before the fall of Jerusalem, the story is the same. The apostate covenant community, "those who dwell on the earth," could not bear the testimony of a righteous life and a true word.
These are the saints who lived under the persecutions of men like Nero, who used Christians as human torches to light his garden parties. These are the saints who were stoned, sawn in two, and put to death with the sword. And their death, far from being a defeat, has placed them in the most strategic position in the universe: at the base of God's altar.
The Cry of the Martyrs (v. 10)
From this place of honor, the martyrs lift up their voices in a corporate cry for justice.
"and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Master, holy and true? Will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'" (Revelation 6:10)
This is an imprecatory prayer. This is a prayer for vengeance. And because it is being prayed by glorified saints in Heaven, we know that it is a righteous and holy prayer. This should settle forever the question of whether it is ever appropriate for God's people to pray for judgment upon the wicked. Our modern, sentimentalized version of Christianity is often embarrassed by such prayers. We have been taught a mushy, effeminate caricature of love that cannot countenance divine wrath. But the saints in Heaven have no such qualms. They have seen the holiness of God and the wickedness of man, and their cry is for God to act in justice.
Notice how they address God. They call Him "Master," or Despotes in the Greek. This is the word for an absolute sovereign, one who has total authority. They are acknowledging His right to govern all things. They also call Him "holy and true." They are appealing to His character. Because He is holy, He cannot abide sin. Because He is true, He must keep His promises to judge the wicked and vindicate His people. Their prayer is not a petty cry for personal revenge. It is a plea for God to be God. It is a prayer for the public vindication of His name and His righteousness.
Their question, "How long?" is the ancient cry of God's suffering people throughout the ages (cf. Psalm 13:1; Hab. 1:2). It is not a question of doubt, but of eager expectation. They know judgment is coming. They are simply asking for the timeline. And who is the target of this judgment? "Those who dwell on the earth." In the context of Revelation, this is a technical term. It does not refer to all humanity, but specifically to the land of Israel, the apostate Jewish nation that had rejected its Messiah and was persecuting His church. They had become earthly-minded, clinging to their earthly temple and their earthly city, and had rejected the heavenly kingdom. The judgment they are calling for is the judgment that Jesus predicted would fall on Jerusalem.
The Comfort of the Martyrs (v. 11)
The Lord's answer to their cry comes in two parts: a provision and a promise.
"And a white robe was given to each of them; and it was told to them that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also." (Revelation 6:11)
First, each one is given a white robe. White robes in Revelation are a symbol of purity, vindication, and victory. Though they were condemned as criminals on earth, in Heaven they are declared righteous. Their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). This is their present status. They are justified. They are honored. Their accusers have been overruled by the supreme court of Heaven.
Second, they are given a command and a promise. They are told to "rest for a little while longer." Their work of witness is done. Their suffering is over. They are to enter into God's rest. But the rest is temporary. It is not the final rest. They are waiting for something. They are told to wait until the full number of their fellow servants and brothers is "completed."
This is a staggering statement. It tells us that God, in His meticulous sovereignty, has ordained the exact number of martyrs that must be gathered in before He unleashes the final judgment on that generation. History is not a series of random, unfortunate events. God is not wringing His hands in Heaven, surprised by the wickedness of men. He has a plan, and that plan includes the suffering and death of His saints. Their martyrdoms are not pointless; each one is a necessary part of completing a divine quota. When the last martyr of that period fell, the cup of Jerusalem's iniquity would be full, and the conditions for judgment would be met. This is not fatalism; it is the deepest comfort. It means that not one drop of a martyr's blood is ever wasted. Each one serves to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, the church (Col. 1:24).
Conclusion: The Vindicated Saints
The fifth seal, then, is the theological justification for the seals, trumpets, and bowls that follow. The great tribulation that fell upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was a direct answer to the prayers of these martyred saints. When the Roman armies surrounded the city, it was God avenging the blood of His prophets. When the temple was destroyed, it was God vindicating the sacrifice of His Son and the sacrifices of His people.
This provides us with a paradigm for understanding God's work in all of history. The world rages, and the church often suffers. But the suffering of the saints is never the last word. Every act of faithful witness, every drop of blood shed for the sake of the gospel, is recorded in Heaven. It is treasured by God. And in His perfect time, He will answer. He will arise and vindicate His people.
This is why we can be of good cheer. Our postmillennial hope is not a naive optimism that believes the world is getting better and better on its own. It is a rugged confidence in the sovereignty of God, who uses the very wrath of man to praise Him. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, and the prayers of the martyrs are the engine of God's historical judgments. The world thinks it is winning when it persecutes the church. But it is only hastening its own demise and guaranteeing the church's ultimate victory. The martyrs are told to rest for a little while. That "little while" for them is long over. The judgment they prayed for came. And now they reign with Christ, and we are called to the same faithfulness, knowing that our labor, and even our suffering, is never in vain in the Lord.