Under the Altar

Atheolous writes about Under the Altar (Rev. 6:9)

UNDER THE ALTAR: The souls that were under the altar were in the grave, under the literal altar of the literal temple. I can hear a chorus of voices exclaiming, "That can't be. Dead souls cannot speak!". Of course, that is true. Souls that sleep the sleep of death while awaiting the resurrection cannot speak. But the souls in John's vision did speak. I believe that pride keeps most Christians from accepting the truth concerning soul sleep (conditional immortality). It is a flat-out stubborn refusal to accept the wages of sin.

The Souls Under The Altar is another article on the Afterlife | Conditional Immortality, Soul Sleep and Annihilationism website which discusses Revelation 6:9.

Many Christians will be familiar with Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, which book contains a graphic account of the persecution of faithful men and women of God down through the centuries. Today Christians are still suffering and dying for their faith, mainly among Muslim and Communist nations and on the Indian sub continent. One of the purposes of John’s Revelation was to remind the suffering church that God has not forgotten his people. In his own time God will act to avenge the faithful, to judge the wicked, and to establish a kingdom of everlasting righteousness upon the earth. To this end John was given a vision whereby after he sees Christ open the fifth of seven seals, he sees “under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained” (v. 9). (emphasis mine)

I look forward to the day when God will establish his kingdom. Come Lord Jesus!