The Fifth Seal – Part Seven

A Prophetic Warning
Of Things To Come

The Fifth Seal

“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 testimony which they held.”
Revelation 6:9

God’s Character
And
The Coming Persecution

The unfathomable character of God is not rash or suddenly moved to judgment. His movements are calculated and governed by longsuffering. As Peter declares, He “hath long patience.” For hundreds of years, Israel suffered greatly at the hands of the Egyptians, yet there came a time when God moved on behalf of His people. The overwhelming judgments that fell in Moses’ day were the culmination of centuries of abuse suffered by the Israelites.

We read concerning God’s judgment delaying upon the Amorites where God saw their path, but the “iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:16). The God who sees the violence in the earth, the sexual perversion, and all of the ungodly behavior of our day, is not slack concerning His judgments but is longsuffering to His creation. Yet in the fullness of time, His judgments will fall and will not tarry.

This truth is vividly displayed in the loosing of this fifth seal. The souls of all the Martyrs from Abel on are seen under this heavenly altar, testifying of their love to Him who is worthy! In the loosening of this seal, God shows forth the righteousness of His judgments on this last day as He judges the world (the religious as well as the political) in their treatment of His beloved ones.

Even within God’s own people, the remnant has always been persecuted by the religious, as typified in Cain slaying Abel. Why did Cain slay Abel?

“Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous…”
1 John 3:12

Jude testified that the Cain element was ever present when the early church gathered, as well as the spirit of Balaam and the Korah. May we take heed to the truth of God’s Word!

“Woe to them! For they went the way of Cain and gave themselves up to the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.”
Jude 1:11

This unholy trinity of evil is present in our present-day gatherings with the people of God. They assemble “without fear” in our midst. In the day of persecution they will turn as Judas betraying the true and revealing themselves as evil.

“These are sunken rocks in your love feasts, feasting together with you; feeding themselves (“shepherds feeding themselves” ESV as is the Greek) without fear…” (May we take heed!)
Jude 1:12

This truth of the mixture of His church will be clearly revealed in the loosing of the Fifth Seal. Jesus clearly warned us of this day (which has already been partially known by our suffering brethren throughout the ages).

“Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Mark 13:12-13

The loosening of the Seals will carry the clear revelation of those who are His and those who, with pretense, followed Him for a season only to be revealed as the traitors they are. As Peter exhorted us, it is a day for us to “arm ourselves” with this relevant truth.

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
1 Peter 4:1

Let us be pre-warned of the things that are about to unfold HERE in our land that we may stand in the face of the coming treachery. May God Himself print indelibly upon our hearts the grand testimony of His Word:

“Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.”
2 Timothy 3:12

The Cry For Justice

In the loosening of the Fifth Seal, we are afforded glimpses of the heart’s cry of those who have been martyred throughout the ages.

“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?”
Revelation 6:10 (ESV)

There is a resounding cry for JUSTICE that arises from the souls of those murdered for His Sake. They are looking to God to vindicate and avenge their blood on those who dwell on the earth. Do not think that God will forgo the righteous decrees of His Own Justice in this day. The judgments that are coming upon the earth are the culmination of all the evil and the perversity of the rulers and princes of the earth. His hand will not be stayed, nor His righteous verdicts go unserved. It is foolishness to seek by political means an answer to the persecution of the righteous! (Daniel 7:19-23, Let God Arise!) (PODCAST – Daniel’s Fourth Beast)

God Himself testifies concerning the rulers of this world:

“The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying
Let us break their bands asunder,
and cast away their cords from us…”
Psalm 2:2-3

(read the whole Psalm to see His assessment of earthly rule)

We see God responding to their pleas for His judgments to fall “upon them who dwell in the earth.”

“Then 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.”
Revelation 6:11

Many years ago, when considering God’s response, I realized that every martyr, when viewed through the eyes of scripture, is yet another nail in the coffin of this world. God has set a number, and when that number is reached, His judgments will flow from the fury of His wrath. May we take heart and be comforted in the sorrow of all that is about to break upon us.

I write these things by the prompting of His Spirit, though incomplete and with the frailty of words. Nevertheless, His Word will stand. The number of their fellow servants is nearing completion and will include many saints from our land soon.

“He who has an ear, let him hear…”

EVEN SO – COME LORD JESUS!

†

The Fifth Seal Series: (Coming Book)

The Fifth Seal – Part One  (A Brief Introduction)

The Fifth Seal – Part Two (Seeing Jesus)

The Fifth Seal – Part Three  (Letters to the Church and the Coming Persecution)

The Fifth Seal – Part Four (The Sealed Book)

The Fifth Seal – Part Five (Weep Not)

The Fifth Seal – Part Six (His Resurrection and The Sealed Book)

Brian Troxel