Hello all,
Again, I apologize if this is the wrong section.. but there are so many sections it’s hard to pick.
I was reading Revelations 6:9 and was very confused by the souls under the alter.
why were they not at peace? Why would they be concerned about getting vengeance? Why would they be asking for anything at all? Shouldn’t they be at rest because they died knowing that God has it all under control…
I’m so confused…
Why "under the altar" ?
IMO, the passage is referring to the bronze altar described in Exodus 27.1-8 & 38.1-7. The bronze altar, like the ark of the covenant, was portable, and was carried with staves. It, or one like it, was present in the Temple built by Solomon.
I think the reason describing the "souls" as "under the altar" may be, to emphasise their God-given security from evil, to compare & contrast them with their "brethren" on Earth, who must still face persecution. Their unity with their brethren on Earth is shown by their prayer. The white garments given to them remind the hearer or reader that these souls are martyrs, like Antipas referred to earlier. The whiteness of the garments is a symbol of their holiness & purity & blamelessness, & so, of their fitness to worship God & to near to Him. Bearing witness to God, including witnessing to Christ by suffering death for Him, is a recurrent motif in Rev. John is himself a witness to Christ - that is why he is on Patmos - and the 7 letters are addressed to possible martyrs-to-be.
The psychology of the "souls under the altar" is not the point; The book is not concerned with psychological realism - apocalyptic writings, of which Rev is one, are not concerned with that. Psychology plays a part in books that are set in the everyday world, so we have plenty of psychology, observation of motives, analysis of why people act as they do, in the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, David, Solomon, & several of the Prophets.
Rev is not that kind of book. Like a great deal of apocalyptic writing, it is concerned with
"justify[ing] the ways of God to man"
- with facing questions such as "Why does God allow this ?". As is Job, as are many of the Psalms, as are large stretches of the Prophets. These books are not concerned with case studies in the psychology of individuals, such as we find in the Book of Jeremiah, which shows us Jeremiah's self-doubt, anguish, doubts, frustration, uncertainties, suffering of persecution, & lack of success. Instead of looking at the psychology of characters in Rev, it is more helpful to ask, "What is the
function of this character in Rev ?" Instead of concerning itself with human psychology, apocalyptic writing seeks to discover why God acts as He does, and (as a consequence of what God does) how that is fair, both to His People, and, to their oppressors.
They want their blood to be avenged upon those who dwell upon the Earth (IOW, upon those who are the objects of God's wrath and judgement), not out of any motive of vindictiveness and bloodthirstiness, but because they want gods righteous judgement to be done upon Earth. It is certain that God's wrath will come upon sinners, as the Gospel warns. So, as the souls under the altar are in heaven with God, they long for God's judgement to be done. There is no doubt that God's will is going to be done, so they want it to be done and long for it to be done.
So the "souls under the altar" have several functions:
1. as point-of-view characters, expressing the longing of the persecuted Church on Earth for God to avenge their blood;
2. as POV characters expressing the longing of the Church on Earth for God's "Kingdom [to] come, on Earth, as it is in Heaven", a longing which is fulfilled in Rev 20;
3. as souls who, like John & his hearers, have to wait for the coming of the Messiah (and, with Him, of His Kingdom). His Coming is certain, therefore, so, is the Coming of the Kingdom - but it is "not yet"; and in the meantime, satan and the powers seemingly subject to him appear to have it all their own way, as per Rev 12-13. The relevance of this to Christians in China & other countries is obvious.
4. as holy and pure souls, "made perfect" in Christ, who can therefore be close to Him, and "dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" - He, of course, being that house.
5. as souls who pray for God's Will and Purpose to be done - which is exactly how the Church on Earth is taught by Christ to pray.
