Slaughtered Souls Rewarded

Indeed, all those who are begotten as spirit sons of God die a sacrificial death.  Because of the role they are to play in Jehovah's heavenly Kingdom, it is God's will that they renounce and sacrifice any hope of life everlasting on earth. In this respect, they submit to a sacrificial death in behalf of Jehovah's sovereignty.  (Philippians 3:8-11; compare2:17.)  This is true in a very real sense of those whom John saw under  the altar.  They are anointed ones who in their day were martyred for their zealouse ministry in upholding Jehovah's Word and sovereignty.  Their "souls  [were] slaughtered because of the Word of God and because of the witness work  [mar-ty-ri'an] that they used to have."

The scenario continues to unfold: "And they cried with a loud voice, saying  'Untik  when, Sovereign Lord holy and true, are you refraining from judging and revengin our blood upon these who dwell on the earth?"'  (Revelation 6:10) How can their souls, or blood, cry out for vengeance, since the Bible shows that  the dead  are unconscious? (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Well, did not rigtheous Abel's blood cry out, after Cain murdered him?    Jehovah then said to Cain :"What have you done?  Listen! your brothers  blood is crying out to me from the ground." (Genesis  4:10, 11; Hebrews 12:24) It was not  Abel's blood was literally  uttering words.  Rather,  Abel had died as an innocent victim, and justice called out for his murderer to be punished.  Similarly, those Christian martyrs are innocent, and in justice they must be avenged. (Luke  18:7, 8)  The cry for vengeance  is loud because many thousands have thus died. - Compare JEREMIAH  15:16.

The situation may also be likened to that in apostate Judah when King Manasseh came to the throne in 716  B.C.E.He shed much innocent blood, probabyly  'sawing asunder' the prophet Isaiah.  (Hebrews 11:37;  2 Kings 21:16) Although Manasseh later repented  and reformed, that bloodquilt remained.  In 607 B.C.E., when the Babylonians  desolated  the kingdom of  Judah,  "It was only by the order of Manasseh, according all that he had done; and also  for the innocent blood that he had shed, so that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah did not consent to grant forgiveness." - 2 Kings 24:3, 4.

Next time: Slaughtered Souls Rewarded

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