Revelation 6:9-10

9-When 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.
10- They 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?”

I am not in the book of Revelation very much but recently found myself in the 6th chapter, considering the above verses. What a horrible situation we find described here.

Those who stood up for the Word of God had been slain. Take that in for a moment. The injustice, the hatred, the total rejection of God in the killing of His messengers. Yet it is curious, if that is the correct way of speaking, that the souls were under the altar.

Would not the souls, being those of the righteous, be with the Lord? This was an assumption that I usually make, backed up with a verse such as

2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Yet we find the souls of the righteous under the altar, crying out for justice on those who dwell on the earth, on those who poured out their blood. But wait – we have a picture of a sacrifice in the souls of the righteous, with the blood, and an altar being spoken of. And we have those who are to be judged, presumably for the death of the saints.

Could this picture imply who the saints were persecuted by, and that should receive justice from God? John speaks of those who “dwell on the earth”, yet the picture presented seems to allow the persecutors, those who committed the murders of the saints, to be of a religious persuasion, spilling blood at an altar.

How is it that to be understood? We are constantly associating religion with God, yet there are numerous instances within the Word where we find the saint is persecuted primarily by those who are the most religious!

Surely, as an example we do not have to go far, for the most religious people on earth spent years finding a way to kill Him, and eventually they succeeded. His blood was shed on an altar of His own choice, and His experience with the religious has much to teach us.

That is why it is so important for us to recognize the spirit of God being expressed in the character of the believer, having been described by the apostles of the Lord.

May I offer a few verses that describe the saint, as opposed to the religious amongst us.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

I could bury this post in verses that speak of humility, patience, endurance, love, joy, sacrifice, and gentleness but I think my point is clear.

The religious amongst us may not be our ally, but actually, without knowing, distract, delude, deceive, disappoint and destroy the believer. This truth should spark us to realize we need the Lord in relating with those who are both openly against us, and those who may seem to be with us. The Word has given us guidance in finding discernment of those surrounding us, and direction in how to related to them.

Both brother and enemy is to experience love from the believer, yet the believer is to discern and understand those we are amongst.

A bit of a ramble, but this short passage stirred something in me, and reminded me that to be religious is not necessarily the path God wants me to be on.

He wants us to follow Jesus, and He was one of the most irreligious, and yet most righteous, Man who ever walked the earth!

May we be a bit more like Him today, and a bit less religious!

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