Daily Devotional For May 10, 2025
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered on account of the word of God and on account of the testimony which they had maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice saying, “How long, O Lord, the Holy and True One, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who live on the earth?” And each of them was given a white robe and was told that they should rest yet a little while, until their fellow servants and brothers, who are about to be killed as they were, should be made complete. Rev 6:9-11.
The awkward sentence at the end of this passage can be read in two different ways. Taken as it reads, it seems to suggest that the future martyrs need to go through some sort of “completion” before they are killed. Most Bible translators, however, add a few words to fill out the picture. “Until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.” The End will not come until a certain number if martyrs is reached.
This was a popular idea in first-century Judaism. Statements like Rev 6:9-11 occur in 1 Enoch 4:33-37 and 4 Ezra 4:35-37. The book of 4 Ezra was written in reaction to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, around the same time as Revelation. As a non-Christian Jew, the author seeks to understand God’s will and ways in the light of incomparable anguish and suffering.
Israel’s history, from Old Testament times until AD 70, had more downs than ups. Magnificent promises and prophecies mingled with betrayals, apostasies, and disappointments. At the time of writing, Jewish hopes for a national Israel seemed forever crushed. “Ezra’s” words ring through and through with sorrow.
In a “vision” Ezra wrestles with the vast number of faithful Jews who lost their lives in AD 70. How can God ever fulfill His promises when His own chosen people suffer such disasters? The angel Uriel responds that the whole current age is full of sadness and infirmity, only in the age to come will the promises of God find their complete fulfillment.
Ezra reacts, “How long and when will these things be?”
Uriel tells Ezra, “Didn’tthe souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters?” God’s answer to them was, “When the number of those like yourselves is completed.” This answer may not be satisfying to us today, but it expresses the idea that suffering does have a purpose, a limit and an ultimate goal. Justice will never be fully seen in this world, only in the world to come. The followers of Jesus must exercise patience as they await the End.
Lord, I pray that I will not be distracted by my local and temporary perspective, help me to trust in Your overall control of the present and the future.