What Does Revelation 6 Teach About the Martyrs’ Cry for Justice?

What happens when the fifth seal is opened in Revelation 6?

Good Monday morning. When we left last week, judgment had begun in the breaking of the first four seals. This morning we’re going to start in Revelation 6 beginning with verse 9, where the fifth seal is opened and there’s a shifting here, something different happens.

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, asking the sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before He would judge and avenge their blood on those who dwell on the earth. Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed should be complete.

In the Old Testament, when the sacrifices were made in the temple, the blood would pool underneath the altar. Isn’t it interesting that this is the picture of where these martyrs reside inside of this passage of Scripture.

O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

Revelation 6:10

Why is the blood of the martyrs so significant to God?

Throughout the ages, we have the stories of the martyrs. The very first one recorded in Scripture is that of Stephen, and Paul witnessed that martyrdom having no idea, I’m sure, that one day he would face his own. History records that 11 of the 12 apostles died of martyrdom, including Matthias who took the place of Judas.

John was the only one banished to the Isle of Patmos, who receives this powerful vision. Oh, what they thought they were doing to John, but little did they know they were just creating an environment for him to be supernaturally downloaded this book of Revelation. John is the only one that lived to old age.

What is so powerful to me is how holy the blood of a martyr is. From the martyrs throughout history to the Coptic Christians that we horrifically viewed on the seashores years ago, about four years ago actually, being slain by ISIS, there’s something exceptionally holy in the sight of God of those who are willing to give their life for their faith in Jesus Christ. And He hears their cry. Their blood cries out from the ground, and from the first martyr for his faith to the last one that is to come, they are not missed on God.

Why are the martyrs told to wait for God’s justice?

It’s interesting in this moment that the martyrs have a concept of time. They say, how long will it be, Lord, until you avenge? And He says, you wait. Basically, He was saying, I’ve heard your cry, and there is coming an answer, but you have to wait a little longer because there are more martyrs to come.

Sadly enough, during the time of the Antichrist, there will be more martyrs for the cause of Christ. Isn’t it interesting that there’s no angelic coming in this passage? Why? Because this is a demonic work. The death of God’s children is a demonic work; it is not a holy work. And heaven has stepped aside while the enemy is producing what he’s producing.

What happens when the sixth seal is opened in Revelation 6?

Then it says, 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 stars of the sky fell to the ground as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and the 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.

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 6:16-17

What does the sixth seal reveal about human accountability before God?

Interesting that this sixth seal comes after that seal, isn’t it, that there is a great earthquake. And in this seal, we see every man. There is no respecter of person in this moment. I don’t care how mighty some people believe they are; everyone is brought to full account in that moment. There isn’t slave or free, and there isn’t rich or poor. There is just man in the sight of God, and there will come a time when every man will give an answer.

It says here that they are asking the very mountains to fall on them. But look at what happens. These are not the earthquakes in Matthew 24 that are the beginning of birth pains. No, this is an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, and stars are falling from the sky. It’s like you have everything on display at one time.

The sky vanishes. I don’t know if the sky will actually vanish or if there will be something so massive that it literally blacks out the sky, but it says the sky will be as if it rolls back on a scroll. The whole entire topography of the world is going to shift and change because of this cataclysmic moment, to the point that people would be begging for their very death.

Will God ultimately bring justice for every martyr and every wrong?

Trust me, every person killed for their faith, every child murdered or abused, every widow mistreated, every poor person dismissed, every unholy act done to another human being is going to one day be brought into account. The beauty is this: God is taking notice in this life, and evil doesn’t get the last word.

In fact, God said, and Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians, that it is God’s love that gets the first word and the last word. For every martyr’s blood that has ever been slain, God is going to right that wrong.

God’s love gets the first word and the last word.