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THE FIFTH SEAL
Revelation 6:9-11, "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
The fifth seal speaks of people being killed for adhering to the Word of God and for the testimony they had borne of Jesus.
Has this happened yet? Them that were slain for the Word of God are otherwise known as martyrs. If you were to count the number of Christians who were murdered last year alone for nothing more than being Christian you would have a greater number of people killed than all of those martyred in the first five hundred years of Christianity rolled together. This includes all those thrown to the lions and those burned at the stake by Rome. The present time is the bloodiest time in Christian history ever!
These martyrs are consoled and told that "...they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants and their brethren should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." At the three and a half-year point of the Great Tribulation the False Prophet will make available a mark in order to buy and sell. This mark will be seen as a boon to mankind. Because of the warning given to Christians about receiving the mark of the False Prophet many will refuse to accept it.
Refusing to accept the mark will not in itself carry the death sentence. This action will set apart those dissenters who will make trouble for the Beast from the Sea. The dissenters will then be escorted to the image of the Beast from the Sea and required to show their allegiance by worshipping it. The Beast from the Sea had previously passed a law stating that anyone who refuses to worship the image of the Beast will be killed. This is Satan's plan to rid the entire earth of the "Christian Nuisance". It is also the act that will fulfill the number of martyrs under the altar.
Consider the following verse;
Revelation 14:12-13, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
This verse is situated after the 144,000 Jewish Christians of Rev. 7 are seen on the heavenly Mt. Zion Rev. 14:1-5 and before the people are seen standing next to the glassy sea mingled with fire in Revelation 15:2-4. Those who come to Christ during the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation will be martyred and added to the number of the martyrs under the altar. These are the Tribulation Saints and they will come to the Lord knowing the price of their salvation will be death. The age of grace ended with the rapture of the sealing of the 144,000 and the rapture of those found written in the Lamb's book of life.
So have we seen a great number of martyrs? Yet another resounding yes! Have we seen an end to Christians being murdered? No, we haven't.
The Christian Counter
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