We looked at the scroll. We know that the scroll holds the future of our world. We know that Jesus is the only one with the power to manage the scroll. Starting today, Jesus is breaking the seals found within the scroll. Over this seven-part series, we are looking at what the different seals represent and how we can be interpreting these seals in our world today. This series will be called “Sealed No Longer.” Again, my goal is to look deeper into what the seals represent and how we can be mindful of how to interpret those events in our world today. The fifth seal is in Revelation 6:9-11:

Revelation 6:9-11

9             When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.

10          They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done for us?”

11          Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brother and sisters – their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred – had joined them.

Let’s talk about what it means to be martyred. Martyred is the Greek word sphazó (sfad’-zo). It refers to being killed within sacrificial or violent manners. It can focus on persecution and martyrdom. It would have brought to mind the old animal sacrificial system from the Book of Leviticus. This turned from the ancient Jewish followers of God performing animal sacrifices, to unfortunately being the sacrifice at the hands of spreading the Gospel. The authoritarian leaders at the time saw Christianity and the Jesus’ movement as a threat to their government so the military and judicial system were ready to kill followers of Christ, no matter the cost.

This is even still happening in some parts of the world with harsh authorities dominating their country and community. Not in the United States, but in countries were Christianity is often represented as the lesser religious perspective or a lesser authoritarian viewpoint. The people who died spreading the message of Jesus, have been told be God in this passage, to wait. For what though, we don’t know. God does. God is not waiting for a certain amount to be killed in his name before Jesus returns. God recognizes, acknowledges, and notices those who had to suffer and die for the work they did in spreading the Gospel. Those people will be singled out by God for a special honor.

While we wait for what the next steps of humanity are and wait if they will happen in our lifetime or not, we must remember this: be patient. Patience has been described biblically to me as an intentionally longsuffering. It’s sitting through discomfort, chaos, pain, anxiety, and more in order to see the order side of an issue. It’s not fun. It’s not easy. It’s not what any of us want. However, it was a part of the life that Jesus told us about when it came to following him. It’s not easy. We may be met with difficulties, arguments, lost relationships because of our relationship with God, and those things are parts of life that we must deal with and wrestle with. God will give the answers we need when we need them, and justice will always prevail.

The altar mentioned stands for the altar of sacrifices in the Temple, where animals were sacrificed to atone for the sins of the people. Instead of the animals’ blood at the base of the altar, where the blood was sprinkled typically, he saw the souls of those who were martyred. The martyred were told that more would join them in their fight, often shown in the face of war, famine, persecution, and death. Christians are called to stand firmly on what they believe, which has both good and bad implications for us today. Let me explain. Yes, we should hold tight to the beliefs we have in God as taught through the Bible and through our studies. However, we have been taught with presuppositions based on how we were taught in church, the denomination we were brought up, and the community we surround ourselves. These presuppositions make it difficult for us to allow for any false teachings that are deep within us to be both removed and unlearned. We do need to hold firm into our teachings of God, but we need to make space for those things that we learn are wrong and harmful later in our lives.

The martyrs asked a question that we often ask: “How long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done for us?” Okay, we might not ask this question exactly, but I’m sure most of us have asked: “Why is this happening to us? Why are bad things happening to good/innocent people? How much longer will it be before God comes gets us?” These questions are constantly circulating, and happening more and more as time goes on. As we see our world being ravaged by evil: violence, war, and oppression of marginalized communities, and more. We get so worn down and defeated by conflict and lack of compromise. It’s hard to find the motivation, hope, and courage to continue fighting a fight that doesn’t seem to end. It may sound cliché what I’m going to say, but I have experience where this comes to reality: trust his plan and timing. Trust him to know what is best and remember that God’s justice and judgment is coming. It’s hard to do this, because we want to be active and respond to our pain, but the best plan is to sit in that pain and allow God to use it for his plan for you. Thank God for accepting the forgiveness of your sins and use the time we have on earth to share how God’s forgiveness affected us and how it can change them.

Associated Scripture

Revelation 6:9             Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7; Revelation 20:4

Revelation 6:10          Psalm 79:10; Zechariah 1:12; Luke 18:7; Revelation 3:7, 3:10, 19:2

Revelation 6:11          Hebrews 11:40; Revelation 3:4

Check out the next part here: The Eternal Seal || Sealed No Longer || Part 6