AP

Revelation 6:9-11   When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”  Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. 

Revelation 6 is the account of the victorious, enthroned Lamb opening the ‘seven seals’ of human history (ie the whole account – ‘seven’ being the number representing completeness).  He was the only one found worthy enough to do this (5:4-14), and it is quite frightening to see laid out before us the reality of a holy God’s just judgement on a world that has rejected his rightful rule – a reality which is not very encouraging for us today!

Then, in the midst of this ‘gloom and doom’ John is given an amazing picture of what it is all about: conquest through suffering!  The conquering Lamb was ‘looking as if it had been slain’ (5:6) – it is not surprising, therefore, to see that his faithful followers were to suffer the same fate.  So, if this Lamb now rules supremely, how long before justice would be established and their unjust treatment be avenged (6:9-10)?

This same Lamb is still conquering through suffering, and he calls on us to rest in the ‘white robes’ of his imputed righteousness and to wait patiently.  Are we prepared to take up our cross and follow him?  Frederick Faber put it like this: “Then learn to scorn the praise of men, and learn to lose with God; for Jesus won the world through shame, and beckons thee his road.”

In the weakness of my flesh, I must admit that I find it particularly hard to take on board what I am instructed to do here as I snuggle into the glorious white robe that has been given to me in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Firstly, I find it hard to ‘wait a little longer’ as I wrestle in prayer for all my many brothers and sisters in Christ who are even now being persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and slain because of ‘the word of God and the testimony they had maintained’ – especially children, women and girls who are suffering this way in North Africa, the Middle East, etc.  But I’m told I must be patient, and so with God’s help I will.

Secondly, I find it really hard to face the prospects of being called on to experience the same treatment, as the culture in which I find myself becomes more determined to incur God’s wrath by rejecting him.

Nevertheless, I can take comfort in the fact that all of this is within God’s sovereign control, and therefore I can trust him to look after me and enable me to stand firm whenever it happens – which is why I pray for the persecuted Church today!

– Bruce Christian