Revelation 6:9 - Meaning and Application

In the rest of this chapter, we see the opening of the fifth and sixth seals.

The fifth seal is especially moving. There is no mention here of one of the living creatures calling the apostle’s attention, perhaps because the vision should remain solemn and orderly, or because what is shown lies beyond the present work of the church’s ministers. It may also be because this is not a new prediction of future events, but a fresh source of comfort for those suffering greatly for Christ and the gospel.

When the fifth seal opens, John sees something striking. He sees under the altar the souls of those who were killed for God’s word and for the witness they kept (Revelation 6:9). These are the souls of the martyrs, the faithful believers who died for their confession.

He sees them under the altar, at the foot of the altar of incense in the holy place, which points to their being in heaven at the feet of Christ. Persecutors can kill only the body, and after that they can do no more. The soul lives on. God has prepared a good place in the better world for those who stay faithful to death and are no longer allowed a place on earth.

These holy martyrs are very near to Christ in heaven, and they have a place of great honor there. It is not their own death, but Christ’s sacrifice, that brings them into heaven and gives them their reward. They do not wash their robes in their own blood, but in the blood of the Lamb.

John also sees why they suffered. They suffered because of the word of God and the witness they held. They believed God’s word and openly confessed the truth of it, and they held that confession firmly, even unto death. This is a noble cause, the best cause for which anyone can lay down their life, faith in God’s word and a confession of that faith.

Then John hears their cry. It is a loud cry, and it asks how long it will be before God judges and avenges their blood on those who live on the earth (Revelation 6:10). Even the spirits of righteous people made perfect still remember the wrongs done to them by cruel enemies. Though they die in love, praying as Christ did for God to forgive them, they still long for God to act for his honor, for Christ, and for the gospel.

They leave vengeance in God’s hands. They do not seek to avenge themselves. They trust the One to whom vengeance belongs. There will also be joy in heaven when Christ’s stubborn enemies are destroyed, just as there is joy when other sinners are converted. When Babylon falls, heaven is told to rejoice over it, along with the holy apostles and prophets, because God has judged her for them (Revelation 18:20).

John then sees God’s kind answer to their cry (Revelation 6:11). They are given white robes, robes of honor and victory. Their present happiness fully makes up for their past suffering. They are also told to rest and be satisfied, because it will not be long before the full number of their fellow sufferers is complete.

This language fits the present life more than the perfect state of heaven, where there is no impatience or unrest. But in this world, patience is greatly needed. God knows the number of Christians who are appointed to suffer and to bear witness for him. As the guilt of persecutors fills up, so does the number of Christ’s martyred servants. When that number is complete, God will bring just and glorious judgment on their cruel persecutors. He will repay trouble to those who trouble them, and he will give full and lasting rest to those who are troubled.

The sixth seal is then opened (Revelation 6:12). Some understand this as referring to the great changes in the empire in Constantine’s time, when paganism fell. Others, and with good reason, take it as pointing to the destruction of Jerusalem, which also stands as a picture of the final judgment and the ruin of the wicked at the end of the world. The signs here are so much like the ones Jesus gave when speaking of Jerusalem’s destruction that it is hard not to think the same event is in view in both places, even if some believe that event had already passed. See Matthew 24:29, Matthew 24:30.

Several terrible events are said to be coming. There is a great earthquake, which can be understood in a political sense as the shaking of the whole Jewish church and state, though they seemed as firm as the earth itself. The sun becomes black as sackcloth made of hair, either through a literal darkening or through the fall of the chief rulers and governors. The moon becomes like blood, which may point to lower officials or military men being overwhelmed in bloodshed.

The stars of heaven fall to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a strong wind (Revelation 6:13). These stars may represent men of note and influence, though they were in lower places of power. The result is complete ruin. The heaven departs like a scroll rolled up, which may mean that their religious state will pass away and never return. Every mountain and island is moved from its place, showing that the destruction of the Jewish nation will shake and frighten all nearby nations, both the highest and the most secure. It will be a judgment that amazes the whole world.

This leads to the terror that will seize all kinds of people in that great day (Revelation 6:15). No power, dignity, wealth, courage, or strength will be enough to hold men up then. Even poor slaves, who might seem to have nothing to lose, will be overwhelmed with fear. Their terror will be so great that they will cry out for the mountains to fall on them and the hills to cover them. They will wish not to be seen anymore, and even to have no more existence.

The cause of their terror was the angry face of the one who sits on the throne, and the wrath of the Lamb. What displeases Christ also displeases God, because the Father and the Son are so fully one that what pleases or offends one pleases or offends the other. Though God is invisible, he can still make people on earth feel the weight of his dreadful anger.

Though Christ is called a Lamb, he can also be angry, even to the point of wrath. The wrath of the Lamb is terribly frightening. If the Redeemer, who turns away God’s wrath, becomes our angry enemy, then where can we find anyone to speak for us? Those who perish under the wrath of the Redeemer perish without any remedy.

Just as people have a time for mercy and opportunity, God also has a time for righteous anger. When that day comes, the boldest sinners will not be able to stand before him. These terrors really came upon the sinners in Judea and Jerusalem when they were destroyed, and they will come in full force on unrepentant sinners at the final judgment.