“How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-11, NASB)

God is a God of justice, and He will avenge His servants in due time. After his vision of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Apostle John saw martyred souls crying out for justice.  Verses 9-11 say,

“And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.”

It says in today’s passage that John saw the Lamb break open the fifth seal of the book of judgment, and he saw the souls of those who had been slain because of their testimony to the word of God. Many believe that these martyred “souls” are Christians who were persecuted for their faith in Christ. However, there is no clear indication that they are Christians only, but rather, they are faithful witnesses to the word of God throughout all generations. Jesus made a similar reference when he rebuked the Pharisees, “In order that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation” (Lk.11:51). The blood of Abel is a perfect example of this as God rebuked Cain with the words, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Gen.4:10). Also, Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” If the blood of souls martyred, beginning with Abel, cries out to God, then it is logical to interpret this passage in Revelation as martyred souls of all time and not just Christians.

The point of this passage is to show that God is a God of justice and He will not allow the persecutors of His servants to go unpunished. Furthermore, John saw and heard these martyred souls crying out for justice, “How long, O Lord?” Initially, these words seem to go contrary to the spirit of Jesus crying out on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Or against the spirit of Stephen, who cried out while being stoned to death, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Apostle Paul helps us to understand this paradox as he writes, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom.12:19-21).

In other words, we are not righteous enough to make any judgments. Like Jesus, we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. And by paying good instead of evil, we give God the full right to execute judgment upon the unrighteous. If we make judgments ourselves, we are placing ourselves along with those who will be judged because we are sinners too. However, if we forgive our enemies, we free ourselves from judgment and trust God to judge righteously in the end. “How long, O Lord?” therefore, is not a cry for their justice, but rather a cry for God’s justice on earth. The Lord’s response to the martyred souls shows that He is aware of what is going on, but He is waiting until the full number of martyrs come in before He acts in judgment. He is waiting until the full number of the martyred souls to come in during the Tribulation, who would be slain by the Antichrist. We are to be encouraged that God is a God of justice, and He will not forget to judge every evil deed. You can rest assured that the wicked will receive their just punishment.

• Who do you think these martyred souls underneath the altar represent?
• What do you think it means when God said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” and how do we “leave room for the wrath of God?”