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.[1]
First,
this text tells the church that, while it goes out conquering, and to conquer,[2]this
conquering will include the price paid in human lives. The history of world
wars is told with the account of who won; it is also told with the
clarification of lives lost. So it will be with God’s people. There is no doubt
as to the ultimate victory of the Church that Jesus is building.[3]
However, we are not to imagine that living in this foreign land will be an easy
task. After all, we are seeking to establish a church that glorifies Jesus Christ
in a world under the dominion of the red dragon.[4]
Satan hates Jesus, and anyone who serves the Son of God. Winning the war
includes losing some who lay down their very lives in the process.[5]
Second,
life is not over for those who give up their life for the cause of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The reason there is a war to fight is because this world is not all
there is. There is a better kingdom. There is a city whose builder and maker is
God.[6]
There is a heavenly paradise waiting for the Redeemed of the Lord. We are not
fighting to make the world a better place, but to save people out of a world
that is quickly going from bad to worse, and is destined for the fire as surely
as it was once deluged by the flood. Jesus is building a church that will be
his forever. Dying in Christ is temporary. Living with Christ is eternal.
Third,
through this Scripture, God invites us to bring our cries for justice into his
presence. As the martyrs are described as crying out with a loud voice, so God
wants us to know that our cry for justice, and vengeance, are heard by God. If
we become a martyr for our faith in Jesus Christ, our lives continue to cry out
to God for justice. Loved ones who grieved the martyrdom of family members are
comforted by the picture of God hearing the cry of their beloved who are now
resting beneath his altar. God never stops hearing the needs of his children.
Fourth,
God is the comfort of those who die in the Lord. They are given a white robe,
the righteousness they have longed for, and fought for, and told that they can
rest. It will only be a while longer before justice is meted out against the
nations that have put God’s children to death. Vengeance is the Lord’s, and it
will soon be fulfilled. They can rest. Their loved ones can rest knowing they
are resting.
Fifth,
while it is the world that carries out the injustice of killing God’s children,
it is not the world that determines how long such things will carry on. When
God says “a little longer”, we can
rest in the fact that this is all he will allow. When God says there is a
complete number of martyrs, and that he knows that number, and will exact
justice as soon as that number is complete, the church is given great comfort
that the times and seasons are set by our Father, and established by his own
authority.[7] There
is no authority in the world that will do more than what God has determined to
allow.
Sixth,
God is the “Sovereign Lord,” which
means he is above every other rule and authority, so those who cry out to him
about the injustice against the martyrs can be sure that God will do what is
right and no one can stop him. God is “holy
and true,” so he will only do what is right, and good. He will not be
dissuaded from fulfilling his plans and purposes. He will not do wrong to his
children. He will not be false, nor will he break a promise. Our cry for
justice is to him who will do what he says he will do, and is fully able to do
so.
Seventh,
the fact that there are martyrs of the cross does not nullify the nature of the
church as “more than conquerors through
him who loved us.”[8]
The one who loved us laid down his life for the flock, and some of the sheep
will be required to follow in his steps. Through Jesus’ death, he brought the
victory, conquering sin, death, hell, and the grave. Through the martyrs, the
church will be victorious. Jesus sends the church out like a rider on a white
horse, conquering, and to conquer.[9]
The death of his children are not a hindrance to the establishing of the
church, but a glorious testimony to the worthiness of Jesus Christ as his sheep
follow him wherever he leads,[10]
even when the valley of the shadow of death leads us to death itself.[11]
While
I have many more days to meditate on this passage, this preliminary
consideration gives both seriousness and comfort. It is serious because the
world is still putting God’s children to death for their faith in Jesus Christ.
It is comforting because God has full attention and care of all those who die
in the Lord, and comforts both those who have been put to death, and those who
are left to bear the loss.
So,
in death, and in the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for
the Lord Jesus Christ is with us as Shepherd of our souls in this life and the
next. Let us do everything for his glory, for therein is our ultimate good.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
[1] Revelation 6:9-11
[2] See the first seal in
6:1-2
[3] Matthew 16:18
[4] Ephesians 2:1-3
[5] This, of course, is a
temporary loss, for all those who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead
at his coming (I Thessalonians 4:13-18
[6] Hebrews 11:10
[7] Acts 1:7
[8] Romans 8:37
[9] Revelation 6:1-2
[10] John 10
[11] Cf Psalm 23
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