Revelation 6:6-11 Souls under the Altar

Revelation 6:9-11 T SLIDE Seal number 5 

*Revelation 6:9 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.

In the Old Testament blood sacrifices were required as a payment for sin. The souls were under the altar a position in a place of safety in close proximity to the LORD.

Who are these saints? Who are these souls (martyrs)? the answer varies. Dr. Thomas Constable explains: Some believe these martyrs are all Christians who die for their faith during the entire church age, all believers who die from Christ’s ascension to His second coming. The lives of these martyrs were sacrifices as upon an altar to God. CBS Th

SLIDE  Saints under the altar

*Philippians 2:17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 2 Timothy 4:5

*Matthew 24:9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.;

*Luke 21:12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.  

SLIDE timeline  If you believe in the Rapture all Christians living at the time will go directly into Jesus Christ’s presence. These people John described in this verse could be those who come to faith in Christ after the Rapture. They became believers during the first half of the Tribulation and then suffered martyrdom for their faith. (Explain slide)

Isaiah 26:19 prophesied  “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise-- let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy-- your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”

SLIDE in the air Teacher READ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Notice that Christ does not come to earth during the rapture; we will meet them in the air. When Christ returns with His army He will bring heaven down to earth.

Slide HELL Let’s talk about those loved one who have gone on before.

Sheol- In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to describe the realm of the dead is sheol. It simply means “the place of the dead” or “the place of departed souls/spirits.” 63 Times in the ESV Old Testament it is called a place of sorrow a place of the wicked. Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah has the most references.

The New Testament Greek equivalent to Sheol is Hades, which is also a general reference to “the place of the dead.” The Greek word Gehenna is used in the New Testament for “hell” and is derived from the Hebrew word hinnom. Other Scriptures in the New Testament indicated that Sheol/Hades is a temporary place where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection. The souls of the righteous, at death, go directly into the presence of God—the part of Sheol called “heaven,” “paradise,” or “Abraham’s bosom” http://www.gotquestions.org/sheol-hades-hell.html#ixzz3ex56XsP6

SLIDE thief

Luke 23:43 thief on the cross  "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
PAUL speaks 2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

SLIDE in the air

*Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Revelation 6:10They 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?"

Some writers believe this was not a vindictive cry for vengeance but asking how long will they have to wait.

*Isaiah 35: ⁴ Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

Who is under the altar? I tend to favor the idea of the Tribulation Saints. When Stephen was martyred in Acts, he ask for God to forgive them just as Christ had done. Grace and mercy are key in the Church age. However God is meeting out judgment during the Tribulation period and it would be just for the Lord to avenge their deaths. Others say it is right to ask God to avenge in our behalf.

SLIDE robes

*Revelation 6:11Then 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.

David Jeremiah says in his book Agents of the Apocalypse the Lord provides five comforts for these martyred souls.

·        A Refuge ‘under the altar’ to be covered with the blood of Christ justified a place of close communion with God

·        A Robe covering a temporary body since they have not received the new body promised for New Jerusalem

·        Rest Revelation 14:13 rest from their labors

·        Retribution the angel with the sharp sickle mentioned in 14:18-19 will avenge them

·        Reward martyred saints will receive a martyrs crown and be honored to sit on a throne because they did not take the mark of the beast 666 during the Tribulation and during the 1000 year reign of Christ in New Heaven on earth

Words from Daniel 7

*Daniel 7 ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.' ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Slide saint in air

*Matthew 27:⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,

What qualifies one as a saint?
*Ephesians 2 ¹⁸For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

*Matthew 24: ¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

What must we endure?   Teacher READ Luke 21:12-19

¹²But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. ¹³This will be your opportunity to bear witness.¹⁴Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,¹⁵for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.¹⁶You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.¹⁷You will be hated by all for my name's sake.¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish.¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Who intercedes for the Saints?

*Romans 8:²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

TEACHER READ: Ephesians 3¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith---that you, being rooted and grounded in love,¹⁸               may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

*Ephesians 4¹¹And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Even in the days of David the psalmist God protected and preserved His saints.

*Psalms 37:²⁸ For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

*Psalms 97:¹⁰ O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

*Psalms 116:¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Warren Wiersbe says we must look at our stand for Christ as “an appointment, not an accident.”

Additions questions from Online Bible Study © Copyright David, E. Pratte, 2013

Revelation 6:1-17

1. What is the significance of “seven seals” (6:1)? What similarities for you observe in the first four seals (6:1-8)? How are the fifth and sixth seals distinct (6:9-11, 12-17)? What is the purpose of the seventh seal (see 8:1)?

2. Who opens all of the seals (6:2f)? Who gives these horses and riders their authority? What biblical principle does this teach?

3. What does each horse represent (6:2f.)? Who rides the “white horse” (6:2)? Is it Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 19:11-19) or the coming Antichrist (Dan 9:26-27; 1 Thess 5:3)? How did you arrive at your conclusion? What does “a bow” signify? Why is there no mention of arrows? Does this imply a “peaceful conquest” (cf. 6:4)? Why or why not (see Isa 41:2)? How then do you understand the phrase, “conquering and to conquer?”

4. What do the scales represent (6:5-6)? What do you make of the phrase, “Do not damage the oil and the wine” (6:6)? At first glance, what do you think this means?

5. What did John see in 6:9? Why are the martyrs “underneath” the altar? Why were they slain? What question did these martyrs have on their mind (6:10)? What should our attitude be toward those who persecute us? Should we forgive and forget, or should we say, “Get ‘em, God!” What happens to those who are martyred (cf. Rev 3:5; 7:9, 14)?

6. How does the world you live in view Christians? Do they tend to look down on you because of your faith, respect you, or make fun of you? Have you ever been persecuted because of your faith in Christ? Do you find it easy to go public with your faith in God, or are you tempted to want to keep faith a secret?

7. On a percentage basis, how much of the pain you have experienced in life has been due to things within your control, and what percentage have been things outside of your control? Why does God allow His loved ones to be persecuted? Is all the pain in our lives God’s will? How would you respond if a skeptic asked you this question?

8. What six cosmic catastrophes do you note in 6:12-17? Which of these is particularly disturbing to you?

9. What groups of people constitute the seven classes of society (6:15)? Why does John include this list? What is the overarching principle in this verse?

10. What is the response of the earth-dwellers (6:16-17)? Is this response adequate? Why or why not?