The Souls Slain for the Word of God Revelation 6:9

After the worship scene in heaven where “the Lamb” of God received the “scroll” in God's right hand, the beginning of the tribulation to come upon the earth began and John the apostle “saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer, and when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. ””And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth”, and in chapter six and verse nine of Revelation John wrote, “when he had opened the fifth seal” he saw “the souls of them that were slain for the word of God” where we read:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

The verse reads, “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, ...” John began with the words, “and when” which means “at the time and moment” “he had opened” which means “Jesus unfastened and loosed” “the fifth seal” or “the fifth signet seal”, “I saw” which means “John perceived, noticed, discerned and discovered” “under the altar” or “beneath or underneath the holy place of sacrifices and offerings” “the souls” which refers to “the lives in so far as they are constituted that by the right use of the aids offered them by God who can attain their highest end and secure eternal blessedness and the lives regarded a moral beings designed for everlasting life” “of them that were slain” or “of the people who were killed, mortally wounded, butchered and put to death by violence” “for the word” which means “on behalf of the speech, decree, mandate and order” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. John saw Jesus open the fifth “signet seal” which was upon the “scroll”, and he noticed the “living people” beneath the altar of God who were martyred because of “God's word”.

The verse goes on to say, “... and for the testimony which they held:” John continued with the words, “and for the testimony” which means “and because of the witness, record and report” “which they held” or “that these people under the altar had, owned and possessed”. Not only were these people beneath the “altar of God” martyred for “the word of God” but also for their “witness and record” of belonging to Jesus Christ.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how these martyred “souls” suffered death because of their “faith and trust” in Jesus Christ. God desires to have a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus Christ, and some of them shall give their lives for their faith. Many Christians have faced and do face death, and some people who become Christians in the tribulation will die. They shall not go unnoticed by God and neither will anyone who lays down their life as a Christian.

Next time John shares how “the souls of them that were slain for the word of God”, “cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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