5th Seal Of The Apocalypse

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5TH SEAL OF THE APOCALYPSE

Pastor Mike here.

I want to talk about the 5th seal of the Apocalypse today.

It’s written about in Revelation chapter 6, verse 9 through 11.

It reads…

9 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.

And so we have the description of the 5th seal of the Apocalypse.

SEAL JUDGMENTS TYPIFY THE ENTIRETY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PERIOD

And it comes on the heels of seals 1, 2, 3 and 4 which we’ve previously discussed in other videos, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, Tyranny, War, Famine and Death with Hades following.

And I’ve laid the ground work that each of the seal judgments take place during the period of time that extends from Christ’s ascension up until the time of Christ’s second coming.

It’s true for the 5th seal of the Apocalypse as well.

INTERPRETATION OF THE 5TH SEAL OF THE APOCALYPSE

And the Lamb of God, Christ Himself, opens the 5th seal and what does the Apostle John see?

The souls of the Martyrs of the church.

These are those who have died for their faith in Jesus.

They have testified to the truth and lost their lives for it.

Not only does John see the Martyrs, but he hears them speaking.

And more than that, they are crying out loudly for vengeance to the “‘Sovereign Lord'” as they ask Him, “‘[H]ow long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'”

The response to the Martyrs comes in that they are “each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer.”

The “white robe” symbolizes Christ’s righteousness given to every believer in whom the Holy Spirit creates faith as the Word of God is heard.

The “rest” of the Martyrs — the person that dies in Jesus is at rest and not in torment as those in Hell — The “rest” of the Martyrs is to continue until the time that all those appointed to die in the same way as they have is completed.

DR. LOUIS BRIGHTON ON THE 5TH SEAL OF THE APOCALYPSE

In his popular commentary on the Book of Revelation, Dr. Louis Brighton says it this way…

“The martyred saints in heaven — and those to be martyred who are still here on earth — portray a picture of the suffering church all during the time period that the four horsemen are ravaging the earth, from the time of the ascension of Christ to the End. All Christians are martyrs in the sense that they all give witness by their faith, their mouths, and their lives to the victorious Lamb, who died and rose again. Because all Christians give that testimony, they all suffer because of it.” (pg 119)

DR. PAUL KRETZMANN ON THE 5TH SEAL OF THE APOCALYPSE

Dr. Paul Kretzmann in his popular commentary on the entire Bible including the Book of Revelation, adds…

“Since the time of Stephen, who was murdered for his confession of Christ, the number of martyrs for the cause of Christ has steadily increased, until their number is beyond calculation. But their souls are in a safe place, in the care of God, where no plague or anguish can touch them.”

Dr. Kretzmann concludes…

“The enemies of Christ and the Gospel, who have shed the blood of the Christians as water, not only in the great persecutions of the early Church, but also in the Inquisition of the Middle Ages and since, will be found by the righteousness and the avenging justice of God, for the blood of their victims cries to the Lord from the earth. God’s patience seems to delay unduly in punishing the crimes against His children, but in due time He will vindicate His holiness and truth.”

WHAT THE 5TH SEAL OF THE APOCALYPSE IS

And so we have the 5th seal of the Apocalypse.

It’s the Martyrs that John sees crying out for vengeance.

They are clothed in Christ’s righteousness and told to rest.

God will vindicate them in due time.