Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 139

May 19;    Revelation 6:9;    139/260(II);    ‘Martyrs’

Revelation 6:9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Throughout history incredible numbers of Christians have been martyred for their faith.  Often they were given choices, reject Jesus and you will live.  Most refused to ever deny the Lord Jesus who redeemed them and gave them eternal life.  They steadfastly held to their testimony that Jesus Christ was their Lord and Savior.  During the tribulation there will be a great number of martyrs as well.  Many, if not most who do not receive the mark of the beast, will be martyred.  The martyrs, who truly are heroes, ask the Lord when will their deaths be vindicated.  They are not looking for vengeance, since they knew martyrdom was a distinct possibility.  Rather, they were asking the Lord, when will He vindicate them and end the devil’s onslaught on Christians.  They are told when there are no more tribulation saints martyred, it will be complete.  In America, people may say unkind things to you if you are a Christian, but rarely will anyone be killed for their faith.  This is not so in many countries.  False religions often mercilessly attack Christians. The courage and commitment of Christians, faced with death, throughout history is so inspiring.  Knowing there was a distinct possibility of being killed, Christians went to foreign lands willingly to share the gospel with the unsaved pagans.  Many of those the missionaries were going to were hostile and fierce.  The believers went anyway.  How proud the Lord Jesus must be for these heroes.