Revelation 6b
Notes
Transcript
9-11 12-17
9-11 12-17
9-11
9-11
Who the souls are.
The sixth seal marks a change in the judgement on the earth and its sin, the first four were forces sent to, or have been sent to, the earth for judgement. This is a spiritual event that is happening. One thing about this judgement to make clear is that it is not martyrdom being inflicted on the earth. God’s judgement is on the wicked and not the just. So what is this representing and who are the souls under the alter and what alter?
It comes as no shock that the alter has two interpretations. It could be the alter of burnt offerings where twice a day the sacrifices were burned and produced a pleasant aroma to the Lord and also at the bottom of this alter is where the blood of the sacrifices were poured out. Blood being often referred to as the life in the old testament.
The other interpretation is that this represents the alter of the incense because of the association of incense with prayer, and that is what he sees the souls doing, praying to God for judgement. The passage does not specifically say which alter this is but it is most likely picturing one of the alters in the temple.
Who these souls are is a little more unclear, all agree that they are just as the bible says, believers who have been martyred, but from what time frame and ethnicity is the debate.
The view of Gill is that this seal represents a very dark time in the church of God and the ministry of the word during the Roman Empire, more specifically the times of the Emperor Diocletian and the persecution that took place under his rule. The souls include not only all of the martyrs that were put to death in his reign but also all of those that were killed before.
Thomas Schreiner also believes that these are the souls of all that have been killed for their belief in Jesus Christ but includes no specified time frame. He does mention that since they are souls and do not have a resurrected body that the day of resurrection has not come yet. He also mentions that it is possible that this is describing the whole church and John is portraying the church as a martyr church to emphasize the contrast between the church and the world.
William Milligan says there is little doubt that the souls under the alter are Jewish martyrs who had lived and died in faith. He states that because they had been slain “for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” does not include “the testimony of Jesus” that they were not Christians but Jews looking forward to the coming of Christ. Also their cry of “How long, O Master, the holy and the true” better corresponds to the spirit of the Old Testament than the New, and in Acts and Jude Master applied to God as distinguished from Christ. I hesitated to even include that reason because while the passage in Acts, Acts 4:24 is referring to a Psalm from David, the quote includes “the Lord and against his Anointed” where His Anointed is pointing to Christ, and the passage in Jude, Jude 4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” To me Master is referring in Jude 4 is referring to Jesus. Last reason I will mention for his reasoning and his main argument is that since they are given a white robe by God shows that they did not yet have one, and a white robe belongs to every follower of Christ when they first believe. Frequently spoken of in the visions of Revelation are the white robe of the redeemed, the white robe is a symbol of the priesthood, and at their very entrance upon true spiritual life they are priests in Him. Because of these reasons he says that these are saints, not of Christianity, but of Judaism.
Lastly John MacArthur, who also had the different view of the alter, interprets these as martyrs killed during the time of all the judgments. In addition to divine judgments through the false peace, war, famine, and disease dominating the unbelieving world, there will be widespread persecution of believers led by Satan, his demons, and the final Antichrist. MacArthur mentions that this is the identical sequence of events as told by Jesus in Matthew 24:3-10 “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” MacArthur sees the fifth seal and Matthew 24:9 as the midpoint in the 7 years of tribulations setting up the “abomination of desolation” described beginning in Matthew 24:15 and continuing for 3 and a half years foretold in Daniel’s prophecy Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.” He says because their bodily resurrection has not yet taken place that these are the firstfruits of those who will be saved throughout the Tribulation. Some of them will be Jewish, foreshadowing the salvation of Israel as a whole at the end of the Tribulation. The living believers will be raptured before the time of the Tribulation and many will see the rapture and the signs of the false peace, war, famine, and death and come to Christ, these will be the ones whom are martyred for proclaiming Christ and his imminent return that are pictured here.
What they are saying
The souls are crying out, with a loud voice, not for vengeance, as all vengeance belongs to God, and not for revenge as this would be a sin, but are asking how long until the wicked are judged, not trying to tell God what to do but out of a holy desire to see Satan and those aligned with him destroyed and Christ reigning in glory on the earth. The phrase “How long” is a well-known cry of suffering of Israel, Psalm 13:1 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 35:17 “How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!”
Milligan has a different take on the cry that it is not the martyrs themselves that are crying for justice but their blood that cries out demanding reparations like in Genesis 4:10 “And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”
God’s reply
God hears their plea and gives them a white robe as was mentioned earlier, this is symbolizing the gift of eternal righteousness, blessedness, dignity, and honor. The glory that all the redeemed saints will enjoy in Heaven.
God then tells them that they should rest for a little while longer, not as a rebuke for impatience, as impatience is a sin and there is no sin in heaven, but as an invitation to enjoy the bliss of heavens rest until the time of God’s full wrath as arrived and the predetermined number of their fellow martyrs has been fulfilled. Fellow servants and brethren, imply two different groups, on that were alive and willing to die as martyrs like them, but they may not, and those that were going to be killed.
12-17
12-17
Milligan and Schreiner both see the events of the sixth seal as purely symbolism that has been in many passages in the Old and New Testaments, and is referring to the final judgement but no one event in particular.
Gill also does not think that these events are literal but symbolic, the earthquake is the shaking of both church and state by the man of sin