Revelation Now :
Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation
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White Robes for the Saints of God: Day 29 
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 number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Revelation 6.9-17)
Christian Martyrs
The design for both the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem were prescribed in meticulous detail and seem to have been a copy of the Temple in heaven.
Instead of the animals' blood running into the base of the altar, John saw the souls of martyrs who had died for keeping the word of God and their testimony. They are lifted up and given a white robe symbolic of victory. God told them that still more would lose their lives for their belief in Christ. Christian martyrs cry out from under the altar in heaven.
From the temple they beg God for vindication. "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" But they are told to wait. God is not holding back until a certain number is reached. He promises that those who suffer and die for their faith will not be forgotten but will be honored. The Jews believed that the Messiah would not come until a certain number of souls have been born. God would not act until this had taken place.
Universality of Terror
The listing of various occupations in society represents the universality of terror at the impending doom. At the sight of the face of the one sitting on the throne, all human beings from all walks of life "the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man" will be terrified and call for the mountains to fall on them. Jesus did not promise Christians an easy life but instead that persecution was sure. We may wish for justice immediately, as these martyrs did, but we must be patient. God works according to his own timetable, and he promises final justice. No suffering for the sake of God's kingdom, however, is wasted. In the face of warfare, famine, persecution, and death, Christians will be called on to stand firm for what they believe. Only those who endure to the end will be rewarded by God.
Meditation
Is either holy fear or just revenge ever good or justified?
Prayer
Lord give us holy fear and let revenge be in God's hands.
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."