The Fifth Seal
Why were these people slain? For the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. These are the saints awaiting the resurrection. Does this mean the rapture has taken place?
Opening of the Fifth Seal
By Irvin Baxter
Let’s look at the fifth seal in Revelation 6:9-10:
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Why were these people slain? For the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. These are the saints awaiting the resurrection. Does this mean the rapture has taken place? No. They don’t have their new bodies yet.
They are awaiting the rapture and the culmination of all things. They ask, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” These souls are no longer dwelling in human bodies, and are no longer bound by human sensibilities. They are starting to think as God thinks. He is a God of love, but He is also a God of judgment.
Revelation 6:11 says, “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” What are these souls doing under the altar? Paul says in II Corinthians 5:8 that, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Paul was teaching that when you are gone from your body, you are in the presence of the Lord. In Philippians 1:23-24 Paul said, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”
Although these saints have not yet received their resurrected bodies, nevertheless, they are in God’s presence. They will receive their new bodies in the first resurrection.
For more information on this topic and the rest of the seals, get our Revelation Commentary Manual.
Related Topics
Comments are closed.