G. The Fifth Seal (6:9-11)
G. THE FIFTH SEAL (6:9-11)
The first four seals have had to do with happenings on earth. Now we are transported to heaven.
9. This time there is no living one to say ‘Come’; the opening of the seal ushers in the vision. John saw the souls of the martyrs under the altar (for the altar see 8:3,5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7). Some have argued for two altars in heaven but there is no evidence. The sacrifice that puts away sin has been offered and there is room only for the altar of incense, which typifies homage and the offering of prayer. The association with it of the souls of the martyrs may be meant to indicate that the martyrs have offered up their lives as a sacrifice to God. Christina Rossetti reminds us that the sword ‘has had its will of many a martyr, and yet has despatched him to glory’. John’s words are a reminder that throughout history there has been a persistent hostility toward deeply-committed Christians on the part of those wielding power. It is manifest today as at other periods, and it will be so to the end of time.
It is unusual to have a reference to souls under the altar. There are Jewish references to people buried in Israel as ‘under the altar’, but none is cited to souls in that position. It seems to be a place of privilege, probably also of safety in God’s keeping. John may also mean that when the martyrs sacrificed their lives for God (cf. Rom. 12:1; Phil. 2:17) the most significant part of what happened took place in heaven.
For slain see note on verse 4; for the word of God and for the testimony on 1:2. John is probably referring to the testimony Christ gave to them (cf. Jn. 3:32) rather than to the testimony they bore to him (they had maintained is rather ‘they had’). They were dedicated, committed men, and they retained their concern for the testimony rather than hold fast to life itself.
10. The martyrs address God in a loud voice. Sovereign Lord renders ho despot
s (used of God in Lk. 2:29; Acts 4:24, and of Christ in 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4; it could be either in 2 Tim. 2:21). It is the word for a master of slaves and thus emphasizes God’s complete power. But though his sovereignty is thus in mind he is not thought of simply as a powerful despot. He is holy and true (cf. 3:7). The expression stresses God’s goodness and reliability. This line of thought continues when we come to the verbs judge and avenge (cf. 19:2, which is almost the answer to this prayer), for both have to do with justice. While the martyrs clearly do not wish their persecutors to have untroubled lives, they are not asking for indiscriminate revenge; they want justice.
s (used of God in Lk. 2:29; Acts 4:24, and of Christ in 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4; it could be either in 2 Tim. 2:21). It is the word for a master of slaves and thus emphasizes God’s complete power. But though his sovereignty is thus in mind he is not thought of simply as a powerful despot. He is holy and true (cf. 3:7). The expression stresses God’s goodness and reliability. This line of thought continues when we come to the verbs judge and avenge (cf. 19:2, which is almost the answer to this prayer), for both have to do with justice. While the martyrs clearly do not wish their persecutors to have untroubled lives, they are not asking for indiscriminate revenge; they want justice.The inhabitants of the earth recurs in Revelation and it seems always to refer to unregenerate mankind as a whole (3:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8,14; 17:8, the Greek being identical in all these places; it differs but slightly in 13:12; 17:2). There is another prayer for vengeance in Luke 18:7, there from the living (cf. Rom. 12:19). In both passages there is the recognition that the Christian should not pursue personal vengeance. Retribution is a divine prerogative. Some think that the prayer of the martyrs here is less Christian than say Stephen’s prayer for his killers (Acts 7:60). But we must see it in the light of John’s interest in the theology of power. It is not a plea against individuals but a call for the reversal of the world’s judgment on God’s people. The cry is intelligible only on the basis that the supreme power in the world is God’s power and that he exercises it in a moral way.
11. Some have seen in the white robe a reference to justification (as in 19:8). The robes are given, for people do not justify themselves. God justifies them. Perhaps more probable is the view that (as with the white horse in v.2) white is to be seen as the colour of victory. The martyrs appeared to have been defeated by their enemies. Actually they had been given the victory by God. As in verse 6, there is a speech without the speaker being named. But clearly the words are authoritative. The martyrs are to wait a little longer. The verb wait (anapauomai) may mean ‘be quiet a little while longer’ (Goodspeed), or ’rest in blessedness’ (cf. 14:13). Both may be in mind, but there is surely more of an emphasis on the latter.
The end will not come until the full number of the martyrs is complete. This does not mean that God wants a specific number of martyrs and that he waits until somehow that number is reached. He is working out his plan and in that plan there is a place for other martyrs. That plan will be neither hastened nor delayed. The first Christians found a problem in the fact that God does not punish sin here and now. They saw part of the answer in the cross. The cross does not mean the abolition of judgment. It means that people will be judged by their attitude to the sacrificial love of God shown on Calvary. But the cross also shows that God has no truck with evil. Finally it will be totally overthrown. God waits and the number of martyrs grows to its completion. But the final destruction of evil is certain. It is not a question of ‘Whether?’ but of ‘When?’.