THE FIFTH SEAL

Revelation Chapter 6

VERSE 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 testimony which they held.”

WHEN HE OPENED THE FIFTH SEAL, I SAW:

This picture, as we shall see, takes place at the END of Sardis. The John class can look back and see the results of the age. They can see that many faithful saints have finished their courses and can, figuratively, be heard from the grave asking if the persecutions will ever end. What they ARE promised (and WERE promised before their deaths) is that they will receive the eternal justification of the white robe, but that retribution against their persecutors must wait until all seven stages of the Church have happened. That is the gist of this Seal. Thus, its symbols are as follows:

UNDER THE ALTAR:

When a sacrifice is ON the altar, it is not yet consumed. When it IS consumed, it has turned to ashes and fallen through the altar’s grating and is, consequently UNDER the altar — the symbol for faithfully completed sacrifice.

THE SOULS:

In Revelation, “souls” is a consistent symbol for saints who are YET ASLEEP, but who have been faithful, have gained the ASSURANCE of their rewards, but who must AWAIT the coming of the first resurrection (A.D. 1878).

OF THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SLAIN: figurative slaying = being ostracized, persecuted, cut off from the “accepted” fellowship, excommunicated, or considered DEAD as far as the “orthodox” church was concerned.

FOR THE WORD OF GOD: In each case, the Biblical message was the standard which divided the true from the apostate.

AND FOR THE TESTIMONY WHICH THEY HELD:

This phrase indicates consistency in the consecrated faithful. They (Held) MAINTAINED their testimony. In the message to Sardis (Rev 3:2) we see that one of the problems with many of the saints who fell short was that their “deeds (were not) completed in the sight of My God.” This is another way of saying, “Be faithful UNTO death” — apparently not a strong characteristic of many saints in Sardis.

VERSE 10 “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

AND THEY CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE:

This is a DIRECT parallel to Hebrews 11:4 where Abel yet speaks from the dead. The parallel is strengthened when we consider that Abel’s death was due to a difference in sacrifice with his brother. The apostate church slays the true BECAUSE of a difference in sacrifice.

The dead ones “call out” from the grave asking if this crime will ever find retribution. This cry is said to be a LOUD VOICE. Again (as we shall see) since this picture takes place at the end of Sardis, it takes place at a time when the accumulated voices of Waldo and Wycliffe have awakened the minds and longings of all who have been suffering under Papal domination. As soon as Luther sounds his trumpet, the repressed accumulations of many years of frustrations will be heard. Because this very verse most likely refers to the year A.D. 1518, the sounding of the Loud Voice seems a most apt illustration of events. A.D. 1518 is the year in which Luther nails his objections to the church door.

HOW LONG, O LORD, HOLY AND TRUE:

First let it be noticed that there is NO LOSS of faith. By addressing the “holy and true,” these voices are stipulating that they TRUST. It is much like when Jesus asked of the Father but added, not My will but Thine.

The HOW LONG part of this question is significant. This period had recognized the day-for-a- year concept and felt confident that they were at the end of the age. The 1335 days of Daniel added to the date of the crucifixion (A.D. 33) arrives at the year A.D. 1368 — just when Sardis was beginning. Many felt the time for the return had come. The way Jesus introduces himself to Sardis (Rev 3:1) was, no doubt, in part to counteract this error of prophetic interpretation.

When he said he held the SEVEN STARS and SEVEN SPIRITS, he was clearly reminding them that TWO MORE periods of the Church must intervene before it is over. So, HOW LONG is, indeed, answered in the message of Sardis — until the seventh period of the Church. The voices from the altar were much like the Elijah complex, but Jesus answers, “I have yet two stages of the Church who will not bow to Jezebel.”

We will continue with our next post.