The Fifth Seal

I. Introduction
A. Rev.4-5 vision of a scene in heaven with a throne, and the One on the throne has a scroll with seven seals, and then we’re introduced to the only One who is able to open the seals: a Lamb.
B. And then in chapter 6 we’ve been reading about the opening of these seven seals.
1. The first four were four horsemen, sent forth by the Lamb to inflict suffering here on earth.
2. This morning we come to seal #5.
C. Revelation 6:9-11 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. 10 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?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
II. Explanation of what’s going on here in the opening of the fifth seal.
A. When the Lamb opens the fifth seal, John sees under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne (9).
1. The opening of the fifth seal does not release a round of suffering upon the earth as the first four seals did. Rather, in His vision John sees Christians in heaven who’ve been killed for bearing witness to Christ.
2. Instead of seeing the suffering on earth as a result of the decrees of the One on the throne, like in the first four seals, the fifth seal depicts the suffering on earth in terms of the reaction of deceased saints in heaven to the suffering which had been inflicted on them by their persecutors.
3. But even though its seen from a different perspective, the suffering of these Christians in the fifth seal was very much a part of the suffering described in the first four seals. We know this because the Greek verbs are exactly the same in both descriptions (“slay” in 6:4, 9 and “kill” in 6:8, 11).
4. So, who are these the souls under the altar who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne? Are they the small fraction of Christian believers who were actually killed for their faith? I don’t think so. I think this is referring to all believers who stay faithful against all the opposition, all those who conquer as spoken of in the seven letters of Rev.2-3, not just those who were killed for their testimony. Let me tell you why.
a. The identical phrase is used in Rev.20:4 (“I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God”). There they are also described as “those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.” And the next verse (Rev.20:5) contrasts this group with “the rest of the dead,” referring to non-believers.
b. This referring to all true believers as those slain for their testimony is consistent with numerous NT passages which describe the Christian life in language of sacrifice and martyrdom (e.g., Matt.10:38-39; 16:24-26; Rom.12:1-2; Phil.2:17; Rom.8:35-39).
c. Let me just read Romans 8:36. Paul is talking about the tribulation, distress, persecution, and danger believers face and he quotes Ps.44:22: As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Cf. Rev.5:6)
d. This is the Christian life! For Christ’s sake we are being killed all the day long; like sheep to be slaughtered. Following Christ means dying every day. It means being slain for the word of God.
5. I find this convicting! Jesus’ description of our lives in Christ is of being slain for our testimony of the word of God & the message of Jesus.
a. Many Christians, it seems to me – at least in America – devote a lot of energy trying to avoid the dying God has ordained for His people. Instead of engaging in ministry to the world around us, it has become an acceptable part of Christian culture to pursue earthly security, safety & affluence.
b. The description of Christians here as “those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” is, in my opinion, pretty far-fetched in contemporary America.
c. We may honor and esteem those who travel to far-off lands as messengers of the gospel, as if they have a special calling, doing something we could never do, but we don’t seem to accept that every believer is part of this calling to minister the gospel & the love of Christ wherever God leads us.
d. The reason for this is what Jesus said in Matt.19:23-26, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” You see, our access to worldly comforts makes it very hard to really grab hold of God’s promises about the glory that will come on the last day to those who suffer.
6. On the other hand, how awesome is the grace given to people to stand up for truth even though it brings them hatred and even death. And this is happening all around the world.
a. How easy it is to fear the rejection of men!
b. Think about what a miracle of grace it is that people like this exist – people who willingly give up their safety, their financial standing, their popularity, even their very lives in order to stand on and advance the word of God.
c. What would drive a person to make this kind of choice? They are either the ultimate fools, or they have found something so valuable that it’s worth giving up everything for.
d. And if they did find such a treasure, what could it be? Well, the very one for whom they gave everything up talked about this:“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46
e. Christ’s kingdom is such a valuable treasure that it’s worth giving up everything else in order to obtain them.
B. These souls slain for the word of God are crying out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy & true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (10)
1. These believers before the throne are crying out to God for vengeance. They are crying out for the judgment day, the day when Christ will return and avenge the blood of His people...
2. How long before You do what You promised? How long will this four horsemen havoc be wreaked upon Your people? How long before the tide turns & You punish our persecutors?
3. This doesn’t sound very Christian. It sounds selfish and mean-spirited. And yet these people are supposed to be perfected (Heb.12:23). How can perfected saints talk like this?
4. Well, it’s BECAUSE they’re perfected that they CAN talk like this. Their prayer is not vindictive, it is actually praying for the vindication of God’s reputation. If God doesn’t punish those who mistreated His little ones, He’ll be seen as a liar; if He doesn’t punish sin He’ll be seen as unjust.
a. We see this in Psalm 74:10-11 “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!” (Cf. Psalm 73.)
b. This is why these slain believers preface their prayer by addressing God as “holy and true.” They are asking God to demonstrate His holiness and truthfulness by bringing wrongdoers to justice.
5. But maybe some people have an even bigger objection. Some people are offended at the very idea of a sovereign Lord who will avenge the blood of His people.
a. Today many mock this God who keeps a record of what people do and then punishes them at the end. They love to devise ways to convince themselves that there is no danger of judgment.
6. It’s very understandable. Those who love darkness hate light. But their hatred and mocking do nothing to erase the coming reality of God’s punishment. In fact, they increase it.
7. No matter how much people protest or laugh at the idea of God bringing down the hammer of His justice on those who reject Him and repudiate Him, it doesn’t change anything. God is God. He is who He is. “The nations rage, the peoples plot in vain. The rulers of the earth set themselves against the LORD. But he who sits in the heavens laughs. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury.” Psalm 2:1-5
8. And His wrath is hottest toward those who abuse His little children. It would be better for them if a millstone were hung around their neck and they were cast into the sea (Lk.17:2). Cf. Mt.18:10ff.
9. Sadly, because of the world’s abhorrence of the doctrine of divine wrath, many in the Christian church downplay it, ignore it, or even deny it, in spite of the fact that the whole Bible teaches us that “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict [His people]...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord...10 when he comes on that day.” 2Thes.1:6-10 And there are many other passages we could read (e.g. 1Thes.5:1-11; John 5:28-30; Acts 17:31; Rom.2:5; Heb.12:25-27; 2Pet.3:7, 10).
10. Vengeance is not ours, but that doesn’t mean it’s not God’s.
11. We’ll talk a lot more about the Judgment Day next week.
12. — The saints’ cry “how long?” is also inspired by Zech. 1:12. There the same question, “how long?” is asked after the four groups of horses have patrolled the earth and reported that the nations that had persecuted Israel were enjoying peace. God then responds by proclaiming that he will remove this peace and judge those nations (Zech. 1:13–16), and the same horses become the agents of this judgment (Zech. 6:1–8). Likewise, here in Rev. 6:10 the same question arises after a similar depiction of the four horsemen. – Beale, G. K.
C. In response to this “How long?” prayer, each of these believers are given a white robe (as promised in Rev.3:4-5), and told to rest a little longer,
1. So, even when you get to heaven your waiting isn’t necessarily over. Justice must be waited for. The last day must be waited for. The return of Christ must be waited for.
a. OT saints had to wait for the 1st coming of Jesus. Why are we surprised to wait for His 2ndcoming?
2. What are we waiting for?
a. Traffic back-up: What’s going on up there? I’m going to get out and see what’s going on.
b. So, what IS the hold-up?
3. Well, it turns out that God is waiting “until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” (Rev.6:11)
4. You see, there is a certain set of individuals God has chosen to create and to bring to Himself, and until this process is complete, the end will not come.
a. This is God’s “No child left behind” program. If your name is written in the book of life, the whole universe is going to wait until you come to Jesus before the show ends.
b. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” -2Peter 3:9 (Cf. Mark13:10)
c. And once it is complete, not one additional person would come even if you waited 1000 years.
5. Now it may seem strange that here we are 2000 years later and the “little longer” isn’t over yet.
a. Peter addresses this issue in 1Pet.3:1-14.
b. We also see parallels in Rev.12:12 (“short time”) and 20:3 (“thousand years”).
III. In the Bible, we’re told very little about what’s going on right now with Christians who have died. This is one of the few passages which tell us about what theologians call the “intermediate state” (between earthly life and the final state of resurrected glory).
A. You see, there is going to be a great day when believers will be resurrected in new bodies and we’ll live in a new heavens and a new earth.
B. But what about before that day? Where are our loved ones who have gone before us right now? Where are Al & Peg Mathwin, Bill & Virginia Dodds, Jane Sowers, Bob Achor, Jimmy Wilcox, Aaron Gray’s mom & Heather Gray’s dad, many others? Where will WE be when we die?
C. We know that they don’t yet have new bodies, and that their earthly bodies are still in the tomb.
1. Human are composed of two parts, body and soul/spirit. At death, the two are separated. So, those in heaven are disembodied souls: when we die our souls go to heaven, our bodies to the earth.
2. "The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Eccl.12:7
D. We also know that these believers who have died are with the Lord. We also see this here in Rev.6:9-11 and in Luke 23:39-43 "This day you will be with me in paradise" (also Luke 16:19-31).
E. We know that they’re still living in the context of time, or they couldn’t ask, “How long, Lord?”
F. We can tell they are awake and that they are resting in God's presence and that they are yearning for the day of judgment and resurrection.
G. You see, this is one of those situations of good, better, best. This life is good, the intermediate state will be better, and the final state of resurrection will be best of all.
1. Now in this life we have the precious salvation Jesus accomplished for us, plus He is with us through the Holy Spirit. We have His peace; we have the promises of His word of a glorious destiny; we have the company of God’s people traveling together marching to Zion.
a. Some might say, “This life is good? Are you kidding?” Yes, it is good, though it is also hard. It is much better than life without Christ, and without help, and without hope.
2. When we die, we will leave behind this veil of tears and the sinful nature which dogs us now (Heb.12:23), and we will rise in spirit to dwell in the presence of the Lord with others who have also departed in faith. There we will rest from toil, from sin, from frustration, from trouble – until the day of His return. But we will still be waiting for the day of our resurrection, longing for the day of the Lord’s justice, the completion of our salvation.
a. This is better than where we are now: 2Cor.5:6-8 “While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ...and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
(1) Phil.1:23 “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
b. Notice that there is no mention here of the RC doctrine of purgatory, which claims that the vast majority of the people of God go to a place where they are agonizingly purged of their sins.
c. Even Jesus had an intermediate state (though a brief one) “Into Your hands I commend My spirit.” His body was in the grave, His soul was with God. (We know His soul was with God because He said, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit.” – Lk.23:46)
3. But although these saints are in glory in heaven, they are not in FINAL glory. We see that they are still waiting for that coming day when their resurrected bodies will be joined to their souls.
a. They are still waiting for the day of Christ’s return when He will make all things new.
b. Rev.6:9-11 makes it clear that the third state is superior to the second, just as the second is to the first. The final state is what is described at the end of Revelation. That will be our eternal state. From the perspective of eternity, the other two will appear to be brief.
H. The first state is where we are today. The final state is where believers will spend eternity. But this passage focuses our attention on the intermediate state. These saints in heaven are very important to us. We say in the Apostles Creed that we believe in the communion of the saints. And part of the communion of saints is our communion with the saints in heaven who have gone before us.
1. We may be separated from them for a time now, but we are one with them in purpose, one in allegiance, one in worship. We are still in this together – not only with each other, not only with the body of Christ around the world, but with the body of Christ that has gone before us. They are our family too.
2. Each believer is carrying a baton that has been carried by others & passed down to us. It has their fingerprints on it. Not only this, the baton we carry has the blood of some of our forefathers on it.
3. Hebrews 12:22-23 tells us that in some sense we are with them even now. It says to believers, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”
a. “You have come” – not you WILL come. We have already arrived there somehow.
b. “to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,”
(1) In coming to Christ, there is a sense in which we have come to the new Jerusalem.
c. “to innumerable angels in festal gathering,” – We saw this great assembly of worshiping angels in Rev.4-5. Turns out, in one sense we’re there too.
d. “You have come...to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,”
(1) This cannot mean believers who have already died and gone to heaven, because that would make it synonymous with “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” later in the verse.
(2) It seems to refer to those whose names are listed in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev.21:27, cf. Lk.10:20)
e. “You have come...to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”
(1) Ah! These are the believers who have died, those mentioned in Rev.6:9-11.
(2) So, in some sense, in coming to Christ we have come to the saints who have gone before us. We are still a part of them and they are a part of us.
4. We do not encounter them directly. In fact, we’re forbidden in Scripture from trying.
5. (It's not that contact is impossible.
a. Moses & Elijah (Peter, James and John saw them on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matt.17:3.)
b. spiritism - Saul and the witch of Endor - the ghost of Samuel (1Sam.28)
c. They have contact with each other and with Jesus.
d. John sees them in this vision in Rev.6:9-11.)
6. But our separation from them is temporary. There’s a great reunion coming. (1Thes.4:13-17)
7. And even though we have no direct contact with these fellow Christians now, they still speak.
a. Heb11:4 And by faith [Abel] still speaks, even though he is dead.
b. Heb.12:1 “We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” testifying of the faithfulness of God.
c. Right now we have no access to the great heroes of the faith in the past, like Moses, David, Paul. We cannot speak to them but they speak to us by the lives they lived here on the earth and by the reward they are enjoying now as a result.
d. And there are many others as well. We can still listen to Martin Lloyd-Jones, and RC Sproul and C. S. Lewis. They are still speaking!
e. We can watch videos, or listen to recordings, or read books of those who are long dead.
f. You have heard me talk glowingly of the three great women God gave the church in the second half of the 20th century: Corrie ten Boom, Elizabeth Elliot and Joni Eareckson.
(1) Corrie Ten Boom actor, Elizabeth Elliot display coming this fall to the Bible Museum.
g. They still speak: through their lives, through their writings.
h. The very fact that they did what they did and are now in heaven speaks to us.
i. The author of Hebrews points us to their lives as spiritual CPR for those who grow weary.
j. Hebrews 12:1-2 Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2...so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
k. My friends, in many ways this life is an endurance contest. Paul himself tells us it is a race, and a fight. We grow weary. We don't know if we are going to be able to put one foot in front of another. We waver, we reel, we feel like we are going to fall. We are tempted to give up.
l. And one thing God has given to us to enable us to keep going is this great cloud of witnesses shouting to us, "He is faithful! Keep running!" The one who has ears to hear can hear the thunderous roar of their voices "Go! Go! Go!"
(1) They felt weary. They struggled to keep going. But they hung on, they did not give up.
(2) They clung to God as their Rock and their Fortress and their Might, as their Lord and Captain.
(3) He was their one true Light in the dreary darkness.
(4) And now they have won for themselves the victor's crown of gold.
(5) Now they enjoy blessed rest in the sweet calm of paradise.
m. And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, let us set our ears to hear their distant triumph song, and hearts will be brave again and arms strong.