Quote:
Originally Posted by Bro Ramel Rush
I see two opinions also. Although Esias makes good references I have leaned on, this one always pulls me back to consciousness after death;
Revelations 6:9 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that was slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held and they cried with a loud voice, saying How long, O Lord, holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.
This descriptive act is taking place before the resurrection. Whether it is to be taken literally, God knows. |
The souls of the martyrs are not enjoying heaven, but are under the altar. That is where the blood of sacrifices was poured out, at the base of the altar. So this is saying the martyrs have offered themselves sacrificially.
Their souls are crying out for vengeance. In
Genesis 4:10, God told Cain his murdered brother's blood was crying out to God. And according to
Genesis 9:4,
Leviticus 17:11, 17:14, and
Deuteronomy 12:23, the soul (nephesh, translated as "soul" and "life") is in the blood. In fact,
Deuteronomy 12:23 specifically says the blood IS the soul (nephesh).
So souls crying out means their blood is demanding vengeance, which means their deaths require justice, and that God is fully cognizant of that fact. It does not mean disembodied spirits are hanging out under an actual altar up there somewhere yelling at God to punish those who persecuted them.