Revelation chapter 6 verses 9 through 11. These are God's words. 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 and they cried with a loud voice saying how long the Lord holy and true until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth.' Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow-servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed." So far the reading of God's inspired and inerrant word. Remember that the point of the seals is the authority of the Lord Jesus on what is being unsealed. The point in the vision is that He alone has the authority to undo the seals, the document belongs to him, and the carrying out of what is in the document belongs to him. He is the one who, both in his divine nature as he who sits on the throne, and then in the human nature that he took by which to redeem us, is also the Lamb. And so, to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb means to the triune God and to Jesus Christ the mediator. he's actually considered in both of those. And here he is in his glorious authority. Amazing that one that is a creature would have the authority of God because he is just the one divine person. He does not have a separate human person or subsistence. And so he has in himself all the prerogatives of deity, even when exercised in his humanity. And so when we come to the fifth seal and we see that it is describing both the fact of persecution and the length of time during which persecution occurs, it is of great comfort to know that the Lord Jesus is sovereign over this, that it happens according to his authority and his wisdom and power and goodness to his people. so that when we are persecuted, we really can heed the blessing that we heard in Matthew chapter five. You know, blessed are you when they persecute you and revile you and say all manner of nasty things about you. Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake and for his sake. rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." It comes under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. But just because it comes under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't mean it's acceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50 verse 20, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. And so even though the good God meant the good that he was doing through the evil that they were doing, it doesn't mean that the good God is okay with the evil. In fact, precisely because he's good and precisely because their evil and what they did was evil, he must and will certainly punish them. And that's the concern of these souls under the altar. They are not crying out in a vengeful spirit. No, they have white robes. They have the character of Christ. Not only are they counted righteous, dressed in white robes of justification in which we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ before God for our standing with God, but they're also given white robes, which we will read later in the book, are the good deeds of the saints. dressed in the white robes of Jesus in our sanctification, where those of us who have been counted righteous for Jesus' sake become constituted and completely righteous in our character and our conduct by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, He is faithful and just not only to forgive us our sins, justification, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, sanctification. And so they are exactly of the character of Christ, who prays on his cross, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do, and whose character is reflected in Stephen when he is being executed, and he is being stoned, and he prays. do not hold this sin against them. And one of those for whom he prays ends up being the Apostle Paul, on whose behalf the prayer of Stephen is answered, and he's converted, and he becomes an apostle. And he himself will say in Romans 10, of the Jews who many times tried to execute him, a couple of times they thought they were successful, but they had failed, God is my witness, my heart's desire, and my sincere prayer to God for them is that they might be saved. And so this is not a vengeful spirit towards those who are persecuting them. This is a desire that the goodness and the righteousness and the justice and the holiness of God would be vindicated. How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth, until you sentence correctly and carry out that sentence, or you render the correct verdict and carry out the correct sentence. He is holy and He is true. And the saints under the altar wanted to be vindicated, wanted to be demonstrated that the Lord is holy and true. That's what they are aching to have happen. That is the thing about which they say, how long? Note the blessedness of these souls. First of all, their souls are in the third heaven, as it were. Their souls are in glory and their souls are given a precious and holy place under the altar. How exalted and noble and dignified is the standing of believers. Their bodies, yes, are resting in the grave and not yet resurrected, but their souls are glorified. Their souls are glorified in their character. Their souls are glorified in their place. Their souls are glorified in their comfort. Notice the white robe that is given to each of them. They're reminded. of the righteousness of Christ that has been counted for them. They have attested to them and upon them the righteousness of Christ that has been worked out in them. These precious white robes, far better than the long-sleeved tunic, or as English translations since probably Tyndale have had it, coat of many colors that Joseph had from Jacob. No, these white robes far exceed any of those things. And keep that in mind, because when sun, moon, and stars come crashing down in the sixth seal and people want to go all left behind on us, we're going to remember, oh, right, There was a time with a vision where sun, moon, and stars fell down. And we will understand scripture from scripture rather than from the imaginations of men. But just now, their souls are in heaven. Their souls are under the altar. They're given the white robes. And notice that this is not that they should wait a little while longer. but that they should rest a little while longer. They are not in angst. They're not anxious about the delay. Yes, they long for the vindication of God's holiness and truth. How long, O Lord, holy and true, but they are resting. They are the ones who have overcome as the Lord Jesus has said in all those letters to him who overcomes and then he's going to come in chapter 12 and verse 11 and They're going to be described to us there as the ones who overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and and loved not their lives, even unto death." The persecuted Christian is one who overcomes by dying. And so theirs is a great blessedness. Well, what is the answer to the question, how long? And it's not a how long answer, but a how many answer. There are two numbers that have yet to be completed. One is the number of those who are going to have the same honor as these who have been martyred, the ones who have been slain for the word of God and for their testimony, as the end of verse nine says. So they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were was completed. And so there is a set number. of those who will die for the gospel, die as persecuted for Christ and for Christianity. It's not something that happens somehow randomly or indiscriminately from now until the return of Christ. It's something that happens to those who have been numbered among those to whom God is giving that privilege. And so there's an intentionality. If ever somehow comes a day that you are about to die for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his gospel. know that this is something that the Lord has honored you with, selected you for. There is an exact number of those for whom that honor has been determined, set apart, and that is a number that needs to be completed. And then the other number is their fellow servants, the number of those who will come to faith in Jesus Christ, the number of those for whom Christ died, is a set number, the number of those who will be joined to Christ, who will be adopted by the Father, who will be indwelt by the Spirit, who will be servants of God in the Servant, capital S, of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an exact number. There cannot, of course, be any more than the number for which the Lord has determined these things, and there cannot possibly end up being less. It is impossible that there would be one upon whom God set his love, for whom Christ died, that he would not also come into this world, be brought to faith in Jesus Christ and united to Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, that he may be united to Jesus and justified and adopted by the Father and indwelt by the Spirit. The number of those for whom this has been decided is an exact number, and it must be completed. That is what the return of the Lord Jesus is waiting for. That is what the judgment is waiting for. That is what God's, the holy and true Lord's, judging and avenging the blood of those who are slain for the Word of God. That's what it is waiting for. As 2 Peter 3.9 says, God is not slow, as some count slowness, but he being unwilling, it is unwilling that any should perish, but that every single one for whom it has been determined that all would come to the knowledge of the truth. And so that's what things are waiting for. They're not waiting for things to get so bad that Jesus has to come back now. They're not waiting for a certain combination of wars or plagues or hurricanes or whatever so that people can fret and wring their hands and say, surely Jesus must be coming back now. No, remember, those things from the first four seals, those are things that Jesus says do not be deceived about. They're just the beginnings of sorrows. They are the way it is between from his first coming to his second coming. What it is waiting for is for the number of the saints, the servants, and the number of the martyrs, those who will die for Christ's sake, to be completed. That's it. And we say, oh, when is that? We don't know. But believers ought to rest. While we are here, we rest in Him. And we, in dependence upon Him, in devotion to Him, out of delight in Him, we do whatever He has given us to do. And then when we are done here, we rest a little while longer until the number is complete. And so, take heart, take courage that Christ is the one to whom the seal belongs, the authority for the persecution that is happening to His people belongs. Pray for and identify with, love and remember your brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted and killed. Advocate for them when you get opportunity, but do not despair and do not give in to the end timesiness that failing to see that this is really about the authority of Christ over those things leads to. Don't give in to that sort of hysteria. It is exactly the opposite of the great truth about Jesus and his authority and the great truth about the rest of believers who overcome here and who rest there actually have. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you and praise you that you who sit on the throne and the lamb are worthy of all worship. And Lord Jesus, we praise you that both as the Lord and as the Lamb, you have the authority to take the scroll and to open its seals, and that everything that happens to us comes in your sovereign, powerful, wise, and infinitely good providence towards us. And so give us, we pray, to rest upon you now and to rest in you forever. We ask in your name, amen.