Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share How Long?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
How Long?
Revelation 6:9-11
March 1, 2020
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
The sermon starts around 15:55 in the audio file.
Or, When the Vengeance of the Lord Is Ripe
We do not know the extent of evil on earth. We do not know how bad it has been in the past, we do not know how bad it is in other parts of the world, we do not know how bad it still could get. We do not know if we can believe how bad things are as reported, we do not know if it’s the reports themselves that are bad.
Perhaps the most dreadful wickedness is the persecution of God’s people, not just those who are mocked and mistreated through legal and/or economic methods, which are real trials, but those who are killed for their confession. Men and women have died, they are dying, and there are more who will give up their lives in order to witness to their love for God.
No one cares more about this than God Himself. No human being, no matter how sympathetic, no matter if they themselves are the ones being persecuted, know the extent of the anger and hatred in their persecutor’s heart, let alone the scale of persecution throughout history. No one is more offended by, or indignant against, unrighteousness. No one cares for His children more than our heavenly Father, our Father who sent His Son to endure crucifixion in order to redeem and adopt and fellowship with us. And yet, where is He? Why doesn’t He do something? Why not intervene and do justice?
One of the frequent cries of God’s people is “How long?” We might ask it appropriately in the midst of any pain and trial. But it applies especially to the greatest pains of a martyr’s cry. In Revelation 6:9-11 we hear that very cry.
The Lamb has taken the scroll and has begun to open the seals. In Revelation 6:1-8, as He broke each seal, one of the four living creatures called out for a horse and rider. The rider on the white horse conquered to establish a kind of superficial peace on earth, that was ruined by the red horse rider who took peace from the earth, followed by the black horse and rider of scarcity, and then the pale horse and the Death rider who killed a quarter of the earth’s population. The first four seals, however far apart they occurred or overlapping, make major movement on the earth.
The fifth seal is so different. There is no horse, and the result of the broken seal is that nothing happens on earth, not at least as part of this seal. Though John saw the living creatures in heaven, the horsemen rode out on earth. Now he sees others in heaven, and they are told to hold on for a while. The sixth seal has an earthquake and stars falling to earth and mountains on earth removed, but the fifth seal is just a discussion in the heavenly temple.
I have been more and more encouraged as I’ve meditated on this paragraph the last week. I pray you will be further emboldened to just conquer as well by this Word of the Lord.
The Characters (verse 9)
As usual John sees: When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw souls. This is the original, “I see dead people.” The vision initially begs the question, how do you see souls represented?
These souls were under the alter. An alter is mentioned multiple times in Revelation, and could be a reference to the sacrificial altar or to the altar of incense in the temple (see later Revelation 8:3-5; 9:13); the prayers as incense seem to be the correct connection (Revelation 5:8). This is the heavenly temple edition of the altar, and it is in the throne room.
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test
the children of man.
(Psalm 11:4 ESV, see also Isaiah 6:1)
The altar represents what is offered to God in worship, which these souls have done with their bodies. They have not been given their resurrection bodies yet. They are not asleep, they are conscious and audible.
These souls in particular had been slain for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne. They were martyrs, meani[...]
View all episodes
By Trinity Evangel ChurchRevelation 6:9-11
March 1, 2020
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
The sermon starts around 15:55 in the audio file.
Or, When the Vengeance of the Lord Is Ripe
We do not know the extent of evil on earth. We do not know how bad it has been in the past, we do not know how bad it is in other parts of the world, we do not know how bad it still could get. We do not know if we can believe how bad things are as reported, we do not know if it’s the reports themselves that are bad.
Perhaps the most dreadful wickedness is the persecution of God’s people, not just those who are mocked and mistreated through legal and/or economic methods, which are real trials, but those who are killed for their confession. Men and women have died, they are dying, and there are more who will give up their lives in order to witness to their love for God.
No one cares more about this than God Himself. No human being, no matter how sympathetic, no matter if they themselves are the ones being persecuted, know the extent of the anger and hatred in their persecutor’s heart, let alone the scale of persecution throughout history. No one is more offended by, or indignant against, unrighteousness. No one cares for His children more than our heavenly Father, our Father who sent His Son to endure crucifixion in order to redeem and adopt and fellowship with us. And yet, where is He? Why doesn’t He do something? Why not intervene and do justice?
One of the frequent cries of God’s people is “How long?” We might ask it appropriately in the midst of any pain and trial. But it applies especially to the greatest pains of a martyr’s cry. In Revelation 6:9-11 we hear that very cry.
The Lamb has taken the scroll and has begun to open the seals. In Revelation 6:1-8, as He broke each seal, one of the four living creatures called out for a horse and rider. The rider on the white horse conquered to establish a kind of superficial peace on earth, that was ruined by the red horse rider who took peace from the earth, followed by the black horse and rider of scarcity, and then the pale horse and the Death rider who killed a quarter of the earth’s population. The first four seals, however far apart they occurred or overlapping, make major movement on the earth.
The fifth seal is so different. There is no horse, and the result of the broken seal is that nothing happens on earth, not at least as part of this seal. Though John saw the living creatures in heaven, the horsemen rode out on earth. Now he sees others in heaven, and they are told to hold on for a while. The sixth seal has an earthquake and stars falling to earth and mountains on earth removed, but the fifth seal is just a discussion in the heavenly temple.
I have been more and more encouraged as I’ve meditated on this paragraph the last week. I pray you will be further emboldened to just conquer as well by this Word of the Lord.
The Characters (verse 9)
As usual John sees: When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw souls. This is the original, “I see dead people.” The vision initially begs the question, how do you see souls represented?
These souls were under the alter. An alter is mentioned multiple times in Revelation, and could be a reference to the sacrificial altar or to the altar of incense in the temple (see later Revelation 8:3-5; 9:13); the prayers as incense seem to be the correct connection (Revelation 5:8). This is the heavenly temple edition of the altar, and it is in the throne room.
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test
the children of man.
(Psalm 11:4 ESV, see also Isaiah 6:1)
The altar represents what is offered to God in worship, which these souls have done with their bodies. They have not been given their resurrection bodies yet. They are not asleep, they are conscious and audible.
These souls in particular had been slain for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne. They were martyrs, meani[...]