Revelation 6:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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?”

NIV: They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?'

NASB: and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?'

CSB: They cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood? "

NLT: They shouted to the Lord and said, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?'

KJV: 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?

NKJV: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

The prior verse mentioned souls who had been slain for their witness of the Word of God. According to this verse, the souls under the altar cry out for vengeance. They ask God how long it will be before He judges and takes vengeance on those who shed the martyrs' blood.

Their prayer may be classified as an imprecatory prayer, a prayer that calls for vengeance. This kind of prayer is recorded in Scriptures such as 2 Chronicles 24:22; Psalms 54:5; 68:22–23; 79:6; and 143:12. This connection, and chapter 7's description of believers "sealed" by God, suggests these martyrs are Jewish believers converted during the time of the tribulation, not present-era Christians. Believers of the present, the "church age," are told to respond to maltreatment with kindness. When Stephen, a church-age believer, was being martyred, he exemplified the manner in which Christians ought to respond to maltreatment. He cried out loudly, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:60).

The souls under the altar recognize God's absolute right to have allowed their martyrdom. They address him as "Sovereign." They also attest to His holy character. Being holy, God cannot commit any wrongdoing. Therefore, God did nothing wrong in allowing their martyrdom. Further, they address God as "true," literally, "perfect." He did not, nor could He, make any mistake in allowing these tribulation believers to be martyred.

Revelation 6:9–11 continues a description of what will happen when Jesus—the Lamb—opens the seven seals. This section relates specifically what happens when the fifth seal is opened. The four horsemen of the first four seals inflict severe pain and turmoil on the earth; verse 9 introduces a group that experience martyrdom for their faith and witness. Although their bodies succumb to death, their souls live on. The apostle John saw their souls under the altar in heaven, and he heard them cry out to God for vengeance. He also heard God's response to their prayer and saw Him give each soul a white robe.

This chapter typifies the dramatic, heavily symbolic description of end-times events for which Revelation is famous. John sees a series of visions corresponding to Jesus opening the first six seals of the scroll He received in chapter 5. The first four seals unleash four horsemen, respectively symbolizing a world leader, war, famine, and death. The fifth seal reveals the prayers of martyrs pleading with God to avenge their deaths. The sixth seal unleashes massive natural disasters. In response, the people of the world cower in fear, admitting that they are suffering under the wrath of God.

The largest section of Revelation extends from chapter 4 to the end and describes events ''that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). Chapter 5 focused on a scroll containing God's judgment on sin and a search for someone to open it. Only Jesus is worthy to open it. When Jesus took the scroll from God, He received praise from every creature in heaven and on earth. Now, in chapter 6 our attention focuses on the events that transpire when Jesus opens six of the seven seals, one at a time. This process will continue through chapter 8.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''