Revelation 6:9-17

A few weeks ago we saw Christ open the first four seals. John is watching the meek and lowly Christ he once knew now walk in the fullness and authority of who he is — the King of kings. After the four horsemen, I pointed out that the emphasis for the believer is less on the riders coming out and more on the One releasing them: Jesus is in control; Jesus has the authority and power. Now let's observe the fifth and sixth seals.¶

The fifth seal — the martyrs¶

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. 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?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer...

Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV)¶

The fifth seal is not another horse but the voices of martyrs under the altar in heaven. I believe these are the souls of all the martyrs since the church began — because they are told to wait a little while longer. The Lord comforts them, gives them white robes, and lets them know his vengeance will soon be accomplished.¶

First, although these martyrs rightly desire justice, we can take comfort that God is patient and slow to anger (Psalm 103:8) — which is convicting to me as a father. God does not rush to punish. He waits for repentance, and he waits for iniquity to be "complete" (Genesis 15:12-16). He did not eradicate Egypt immediately after 400 years; he sent a messenger to warn them, and gave not one or two chances but ten. And recall his patience with Adam and Eve: "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" — yet when they ate, an animal died as a substitute, and its skin covered them. This is who God is (2 Peter 3:9).¶

Second, the Lord is our avenger. We often feel unable to stop or avenge ourselves against the injustices we see — but Psalm 94 describes the God we serve. We do not need to worry about justice being served; we just need to be faithful to the word of God and our witness for Christ (Matthew 10:26-31). It is good that we have not yet seen the day of the Lord, because that will be the end of opportunity for people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ. I want the day of the Lord to come — but I also desire my brother, and all who are lost, to be found before that dreadful day, because that is what God desires (Romans 2:1-11).¶

The sixth seal — the day of wrath¶

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood... and the kings of the earth and the great ones... hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)¶

There are two main camps in interpreting Revelation — the preterist (past) and the futurist (future) — and as I shared at the beginning, I believe it is both. John is in the Spirit in heaven, which is not constrained by earthly timelines, so what he sees may be near future, far future, and past all at once — a larger time period played out like a summary. I believe this because of the sixth seal: the martyrs were just told to wait a little longer, and now we see full judgment poured out. The sixth seal sounds like the end of all things — verse 17 says "the great day of their wrath has come" — yet the rest of Revelation shows the build-up of that day. The preterist can point to past famines, wars, antichrist leaders, and martyrs; but it is hard to explain a past occurrence of the cosmic events of the sixth seal without removing them — the same problem you'd have with Jesus' own description of the coming day of the Lord.¶

A correlation I found: remember when God said the Amorites' iniquity was "not yet complete"? Amorite means "mountain-dwellers" — those who live in supposed security and strength, looking down on others. And here we see the people of the world ask those same mountains to fall on them, to hide them from the wrath of God. The Amorite spirit represents those who, full of pride and unbelief, stand against God and his people; at the end of the age, it will be dealt with.¶

I want to encourage us that while we learn about what comes upon the wicked who do not put their faith in the Son of God, the believer has been and will be spared from God's wrath, because Christ himself took it for us on the cross (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).¶