Revelation 6:9
9 And[kai] when[hote] he had opened[anoigo] the fifth[pemptos] seal,[sphragis] I saw[eido] under[hupokato] the altar[thusiasterion] the souls[psuche] of them that were slain[sphazo] for[dia] the word[logos] of God,[theos]
and[kai] for[dia] the testimony[marturia] which[hos] they held:[echo] KJV-Interlinear
9 And when He 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; NASB
And the fifth seal reveals many saints, many
believers who will die as a result of the terrible violence in the
Tribulation.And though the Tribulation
starts out with only unbelievers, through the course of time and the many trials
that will occur, many will remember Christ and believe
in Him and be saved.Many will take up
the evangelism role, and bring others to Christ.
And, there will even be some who will survive the
entire period of the Tribulation, grow up to spiritual maturity, and after
being rescued by Christ at the Second Advent, receive the blessing of being the
ones who will repopulate the world in the Millennium.
But, most of the believers will die, and all
unbelievers will die during the Tribulation.
In the beginning of human history, God made man in
His image.Man in return, made gods in
the images of their choice, rejecting God, Christ, and doctrine. And it is that rejection that will eventually
lead human history to these final seven years of brutal devastation.
Note one thing here. These verses continue from verse to verse,
without so much as a pause to reflect on what is happening.
The Old Testament had many disasters and judgments
recorded, and went into great detail over the tears and sorrow and repentance. Even the first few chapters of this book,
addressing the seven churches, had pauses for addressing flaws and warning of
penalties and promising blessings.That
was and is for our dispensation.
But here, the arrogance of humanity is so great,
that from the time of the Rapture, events will occur in rapid succession, with
no time for pause or consideration.And
though these past few verses give highlights of the events that will cover the
entire period of the Tribulation, there will be so much history crammed into
such a short timeframe, that there simply will not be enough time to think, so
to speak.
The scriptures teach that God is a loving and
patient God, but they also teach that God judges with a vengeance, those who
reject truth and pursue evil.And in
this final segment of history, man is so evil, that only extreme violence will shake
the arrogance out of those who will finally believe in Christ.
God placed every human being on this earth, for a
reason.And that reason is because you
are a value individual, to Him.It is
your thoughts and actions that cancel out that value, and make you worthless,
when you reject or disregard doctrine.
You have only yourself to blame.
Those killed, ‘sphazo,’ means
those slaughtered, or martyred, during this immediate timeframe of history. These do not refer to all of human history,
but only to the immediate phase (the Tribulation), since the hero (anti-christ) arrived onto the scene.
The word for souls is plural, implying huge
numbers, and growing numbers at that. Their total number is not complete and will
not be complete until the end of the Tribulation. Martyrdom will continue throughout the entire
seven year period. And God has an exact count on every single person and their
life and death, and destiny.
And, note one more thing. This description of being killed,
indicates extreme violence, slaughter, torture, horrible, horrible deaths that will
be the experience of those who go out in this manner.
This description is intended to frighten people
into faith, so that they will not be a part of this history. Remember, that believers in our dispensation
have the promise that they will be spared these horrors, and will not be a part
of these events.
For the ‘testimony,’ indicates their faith, and
therefore status as believers in Christ.
Some will be brave when they meet their death, probably most will be
terrified when these things occur.
Though they will die at
the hand of a violent world, they will go to be with the Lord, and will be
safely and securely protected by Christ, as the alter symbolizes.
The
alter symbolizes the work of Christ on the Cross,
and therefore they are saved people through their belief in Him. Their testimony is their faith for salvation.
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