Revelation 6: Rest a Little Longer

Today’s reading is Revelation 6.

Jesus went forth conquering and to conquer, but instead of instantaneous, worldwide victory with peace on earth, War, Famine, Death, and Hades followed in the wake of Jesus’s victory. What would you be thinking if you were a disciple in the middle of this?

Would it be something along the lines of, “Wait a minute! It’s not supposed to be like this. Why is this happening? How long is this going to happen?” You are in good company.

When Jesus broke the fifth seal, John saw under the altar (yes, even though it hasn’t been mentioned before, there is an altar in this heavenly tent) the “souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Revelation 6:9, ESV). This is precisely the same reason John was exiled on Patmos (Revelation 1:9). They had been slain just as the Lamb who had ransomed them had been slain.

We must grasp the picture. The term translated “soul” can also be translated “life.” In fact, in the Septuagint (LXX), we find this term in passages like Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of all flesh is its blood, and I myself have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for its blood will make atonement for the soul” (LES2). The same Greek term for “soul” in Revelation 6:9 is found for both “life” and “soul” in Leviticus 17:11. Life is in the blood. Do you recall when Cain killed Abel, God said to him, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10, ESV). That is precisely what John is seeing. The souls, the life, the blood of the martyrs cry out from under the altar. While that may seem ghoulish to us with our modern sensitivities, there is a certain amount of comfort in this heavenly picture. The death of these martyrs was not in vain. They didn’t just die. From the heavenly perspective, those who die in persecution as martyrs, were sacrifices. They walked in the footsteps of Jesus. Their blood, their life, their souls pooled under the altar. They weren’t just swallowed up by the ground. These who were called to be living sacrifices and take up their cross daily, became the ultimate sacrifice for Jesus.

“How long?!” they cry. Jesus has gone forth conquering and to conquer, how long will War, Famine, Death, and Hades get to continue in their trades? How long will disciples of Jesus fall prey to their authority? How long until the conquering King will take vengeance for the blood of the saints pooling under the altar?

The response is not what we expect. They are given white robes and told to rest or wait a little longer. Why did they need to wait? Because there were more martyrs to be had. I know this is shocking. However, the issue here is one of free will. Persecutors will be judged. But God is not going to judge them for what they might do some time later, He will wait until they do it, and then bring judgment. In Matthew 23:29-36, Jesus warned the “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites” that he was going to send “prophets and wise men and scribes” and the Jewish leaders would persecute and kill them. This would happen so God could bring upon these enemies of His people the blood of all the martyrs from Abel to Zechariah. God would not bring the blood of martyrs on the heads of these folks because of His foreknowledge of their actions. He would only bring it when they actually worked these abominations. God was not waiting for more disciples to be executed out of sadism, but out of love. Love even for His enemies. He wanted to give the enemies every opportunity to abandon their sin, repent, choose not to kill. But in order to give that opportunity, God’s people are left vulnerable to those who will not abandon sin and repent of the persecution.

While we may not find this very comforting, once again, we see God is working by His plan. He is not taken by surprise. He isn’t losing. We aren’t losing. And even those who die at the hands of War, Famine, Death, and Hades still win.

Praise the Lord!

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PATHS:
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How does Revelation 6 prompt or improve your trust in God?

And You Thought You Were the First

Today’s reading is Psalm 13.

Four times David cries “How long?” Most believe this is David’s question during the rather lengthy period between Samuel anointing David as king (1 Samuel 16:13) and Judah or Israel anointing him as king (2 Samuel 2:4; 5:3). This was a period of about 15 years. It definitely fits what David was thinking in 1 Samuel 27:1 when he decided to escape to the Philistines. “How long, Lord?” How long until You do what you’ve promised? How long until You bless me like You said? How long until You do something about my enemies? You can hear an almost despair in these first two verses. Especially in that first line, “Will You forget me forever?” And you thought you were the first one to have ever felt like this. Nope. Here is David, the man who ended up being king of Israel, right in the midst of this kind of angst, depression, and even despair. It felt like the Lord had abandoned him. I bring this up simply because one of the devil’s tools is for us to get in this interim period between when God gives His promises and when God actually grants His promises, and use that period to make us believe God has reneged. Or worse, that God isn’t really there and the promises were a hoax. We get into this sad position and then believe we are the first and only to have ever been there. We feel like we’ve been lied to, and we give up. We’ll have more to say about overcoming this place later in the week. Today, I just want us to see that the Bible is absolutely, 100% honest. It lets us know there will be these times. Even the greatest and most blessed of God’s saints faced these times. You aren’t the first of God’s people to face times like this. You won’t be the last. Don’t give up on God.

Today’s reading is Psalm 13.