SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/27/2015
11:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Petition From the Souls under the Altar
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
6:10
Message of the
verses: “10 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 dwell on the earth?"”
On May 11, 2005 I wrote the following in my Spiritual
Diary about this verse: “I am sure that
this verse has given problems to many people throughout the ages as they have
read it because some perhaps cannot understand why these martyred saints are
calling for their own blood to be avenged.
As believers on this earth we are told to pray for those who are our
enemies, and both Jesus Christ and Stephen have done this just before they
died, but these believers are now in heaven and they, along with I suppose
martyrs throughout the Church age, have been asking when will God avenge their deaths
and when will God’s justice be given upon this earth to all those who have
rejected Him. It is in God’s character
to judge sin because justice is part of His character. There are many of the Psalms which cry out
this same cry, and one day soon God will answer all of these prayers.” I certainly cannot say that I have changed my
mind about what I wrote in May of 2005.
There are some who think that the fifth seal is
martyrdom, but when we look at the purpose of these seals that Christ is
opening they are judgments and martyrdom is not a judgment, so we have to
conclude that this fifth seal depicts God’s wrath and God’s judgment upon those
who are evil and who are killing the believers who are trying to tell the truth
about Christ, and about what is going on during the Tribulation period.
I have been thinking a lot about prayer in the last few
months and have come to some conclusions about it that to me, are very
important in my walk with the Lord.
Prayer is having God’s will be aligned with my will and that is an
important thing to remember. As we look
at these saints who are now perfect because they are in heaven we see that what
they are praying is in the will of God for they have no sinfulness about them,
the flesh is not a part of them so they can pray with a pure heart which is
unlike those of us who are believers still in our bodies here on earth.
Jesus prayed for those who had Him crucified, and Stephen
did the same as seen in Acts 7:60, but there will come a time when the patience
of God will come to an end and He will judge because that is also a part of His
nature, and we are seeing that time described in the book of Revelation beginning
with chapter six.
John MacArthur writes the following about prayer: “May Christians act as if prayer were a mere
formality that has little effect. Yet,
amazingly, the prayers of the Tribulation martyrs will move God’s hand of
judgment. Jesus illustrated that same
principle in the parable of the persistent widow and the unrighteous judge: ‘Will not God being about justice for His
elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice
for them quickly’ (Luke. 18:7-8). The prayers
of the Tribulation martyrs will participate in activating the torments of the
sixth and seventh seals along with the trumpet and bowl judgments which follow.
“God’s hand of judgment will move in response to the
martyrs because their prayers will be urgent, fervent, impassioned, and
consistent with His purpose and will. Krazo
(cried out) is a strong word that emphasizes the urgent need and denotes strong
emotions (cf. Matt. 9:27; 14:26, 30; 15:22; 20:30-31; Mark 9:24). The twenty-four elders and the angels loudly
praised God (5:12), and the Tribulation martyrs will petition Him ‘with a loud
voice.’ In keeping with their call for
vengeance and justice, they address Him as the ‘Lord, holy and true. Lord’ does
not translate kuios the common New
Testament word for Lord, but the stronger term despotes (‘master,’ ‘ruler).
It speaks of God the Father’s might, power, majesty, and authority.” I surely find the book of Revelation opening
up more when I better understand some of the words that are given meaning to by
John MacArthur.
I write about the attributes of God in my Spiritual
Diaries because it is a good way to better understand God as we look at His
different attributes. Also by knowing
His attributes one has a better idea of how to pray to Him about different
things as seen here by the martyrs in this verse for they appeal to the
holiness of God along with the truthfulness of God, the faithfulness of God and
the justice and wrath of God.
These martyrs have
question for God and that question is, as I stated in my May 11, 2005
Spiritual Diary, may be asked of God by all the martyrs, and that is how long
will you wait before you avenge our blood and take action upon those evil men
on the earth. How long is a prayer that
I am sure has been asked of God many times in the past, and will continue to be
ask of God, probably every day. One more
thing I want to look at and that is the phrase “those who dwell on the earth,”
as we have seen this phrase in 3:10 and will see it again in 8:13; 11:10; 13:8,
12; and 17:2 and 8. This phrase speaks of the ungodly. MacArthur adds “As was the case with murdered
Abel, the very ground cries out for their blood to be required at the hands o
their killers.”
We are living in the last days of God’s grace upon this
earth as we know it now, for once the Tribulation period begins it will signal
that God is about to take back His universe, and He will do it with the series
of judgments that are found in the book of Revelation as we are beginning to
see.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I am thankful to
the Lord for the privilege of prayer, and for also teaching me more and more
about it and how to better pray better.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and to live in the glorious love that Christ has for me.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Titus” (2 Corinthians 2:13).
Today’s Bible
question: “On what day of the week did
the women bring spices to Jesus’ tomb?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/27/2015 12:14 PM
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