Believers are not only called to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His name’s sake. Revelation 6:9 talks about the opening of the fifth seal. The heavenly saints, when on earth, had suffered under the followers of the Devil. These heavenly saints cry out for God’s justice to be meted out. Their cry does not refer to prayer for the saints on earth. These heavenly saints have bodies which can wear the white robes given to them (Rev 6:11), i.e. they are in their glorified bodies after the rapture.

1.  Identity of the heavenly saints (Rev 6:9)

The heavenly saints are described not by the personal, oral confession of their faith, but by what they died for. They are saints who are “slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Rev 6:9). They held on to the Word of God till the end of their lives. They did not stop obeying or defending it. They persevered and lived in holiness, reflecting the name of Christ.

If we remain faithful to the Lord, living and dying for Him, we will be there under the altar of the Lord in the heavenly realm.

2.  Justice of the heavenly saints (Rev 6:10)

The saints in heaven describe the Lord as “holy and true” (Rev 6:10), i.e. God will not do anything that is false. He knows who have persecuted His children. These heavenly saints, who had suffered on earth, cried for God’s justice. They had experienced loss of freedom, property, jobs and their lives for Christ’s sake. They cry for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, i.e. they cry for the Lord to come, to cleanse this world of evil and sinners, and to cast the Devil into the bottomless pit, and to rule the earth in the millennial kingdom.

3.  Answer to the heavenly saints (Rev 6:11)

The Lord answers that He will act in His time. There are still more believers that He wants to bring into the kingdom of heaven (Rev 6:11). The justice of God will be meted out when the last elect believes. When Christ returns as Judge, the day of salvation will be over. All who sin against God’s children will not escape the justice of God, unless they repent and receive Jesus while they are still on earth.

May we live and die for the Lord Jesus Christ and respond as sheep in the face of persecution, so that others may see Christ and glorify our Father.