Martyrs

Revelation 6:9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

In John's vision, the seals on the scroll are being broken open, one by one. After the four horsemen appear, the fifth seal prompts the souls of martyrs to cry out. They are then each given a white robe and told to rest until God's will is completed. There are other martyrs that are to join them still. God will not avenge the martyrs until all of them have been slain. Then He will pour out His full wrath upon those who killed God's servants. The life of a martyr is considered a pure and acceptable sacrifice.

This passage indicates two things: people are still to be slain for Jesus up until the end times and those who give their very lives for Jesus' glory remain in a holy rest under the altar of God. Although life on earth must have ended tortuously for these servants of God, they have a certain resting place and purpose in God's kingdom. God will avenge His slain servants. He will not hold back when the time comes to punish those who have killed His servants. What I must ask myself is, am I willing to give my very life for God? I think that I am selfish, still, in the giving away of my life. It is easy to say, "Let me die so that I don't have to go on living." But it is harder to say, "I'll keep living for God's purposes until it kills me." I need to change my mindset to the latter. God isn't pleased by people dying. He is pleased by people living to glorify and serve Him and when those people are hurt or killed, He gets angry. It just dawned on me that suicide is also a form of hurting God's servant. Anyways, I truly need to renew my mind on this. I need to be willing to be pure for God's glory and know that if any persecution happens to me, God will avenge me.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being a just and Holy God. Father, I ask that You forgive me of my sins and make me acceptable in Your sight according to the blood of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, help me to live for You completely. May I stop being selfish with my life and go completely overboard to live for Your glory. I love You. Please make me more in love with You. Please heal me from this sickness and also protect Lion from getting it. I pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.