5th Seal - Saints Plead For Justice

(Rev 6:9-11 KJV) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: {10} And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? {11} And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Continuing our study in the Book of Revelation today we are going to study the message from our Lord revealed by His opening of the 5^th Seal. In past messages we have shown how the Bible is a closed book and can only be understood by revelation. Jesus showed us in chapter 5 how He is the one that opens the seals, which reveal the hidden mysteries to the children of God. When He opens this 5^th Seal we see a revelation of discouraged Saints. The Saints represent those that have given their lives for the Word of God. They are pleading with the Lord for justice. Therefore I title this message, Saints Plead For Justice.

There is an old saying that goes “Saints want justice and Sinners want mercy”. While this is not true in everyone, it is a trap that Satan sets for the righteous. Remember that as a Christian you are engaged in a spiritual warfare with the devil. He and his angels are fighting against Christ and His angels to force you into believing his lies so that you will go back to the sin that Jesus lifted you out of. One of the most effective ways the devil has to stop you from spreading the Gospel is to get you discouraged. He knows that when you begin to feel that your life has counted for nothing and that the things that you have tried to accomplish have not happened, then he may be able to convince you that it is hopeless to devote your life to the Lord.

A discouraged Christian is an ineffective soldier of the cross. He fails to shine as a light to the world. He appears as gloom and sadness. He gives the appearance that there is no joy in salvation and his influence on the lost is muted. The Christian is to be the salt of the earth and Jesus said that if that salt has lost its savor it is fit only for the dung heap. Passion, Motivation and Enthusiasm to pray, worship and evangelize fade away as the discouraged Christian sinks into self-pity. “It isn’t fair”, he tells God “why don’t you do something to even the score?” And on and on he goes with this kind of thinking that is draining his Christian strength to fight the Good Fight of Faith.

Therefore, the message from your Lord. The devil has many tricks that he will use on you to knock you out of the fight and discouragement is one of them. In fact it is one of his most effective tools in defeating dedicated and committed Christians. There is an illustration of this point in a story that goes: One day the devil was having a yard sale and he had a lot of things spread out on the table for sale. There was strife, hatred, envy, malice, backbiting, maliciousness, idolatry, drunkenness, fornication and many others of his tools on sale. A customer stopped by and was looking over the tools that the devil has for sale. As he looked over them with the various special prices, he noticed a tool hanging on the garage wall that was not being offered for sale. The customer inquired of the devil that it looked like a very good tool to have and how much did he want for it. The devil replied, “That tool is discouragement and it is not for sale for it is priceless”.

Now in our text, Jesus is revealing to us how the devil will use discouragement to keep us from fighting the Good Fight of Faith; to get us down in the dumps so that our light does not shine out and that our influence is erased. And so how will you fight this strategy of Satan? Let us look into God’s Word for our guidance and instruction.

(NLT) Psalm 73:1-22 1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 4 They seem to live such a painless life; their bodies are so healthy and strong. 5 They aren’t troubled like other people or plagued with problems like everyone else. 6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace, and their clothing is woven of cruelty. 7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! 8They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. 10 And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. 11 “Does God realize what is going on?” they ask. “Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?” 12 Look at these arrogant people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. 13 Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong?

14 All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. 15 If I had really spoken this way, I would have been a traitor to your people. 16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! 17 Then one day I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I thought about the destiny of the wicked 18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. 19 In an instant they are destroyed, swept away by terrors. 20 Their present life is only a dream that is gone when they awake. When you arise, O Lord, you will make them vanish from this life. 21 Then I realized how bitter I had become, how pained I had been by all I had seen. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

In this passage we see how the writer gets to thinking about how his life compares to the wicked. Now if you notice he is not looking at all of the wicked but only at the ones that _appear_____ to be living a good prosperous life. This is the way the devil operates. He does not get you to thinking about the sinners that are in prison as a result of their sin. Nor does he show you the drug addict or the alcoholic filthy lying in his vomit in the gutter. He does not show you the cancer ward of a hospital with the patients suffering from the result of smoking. No, he wants you to think that the sinner has it made and that he is living it up. He wants you to think that there is no __use____ in living for God. He wants you to think that you are wasting your time living righteous and holy.

And so the psalmist goes on to lament the fact that he has suffered for God and it appears that his suffering has been in vain. But, something brought him to the proper frame of mind and that is when he went into the _sanctuary of God. He came into the presence of God and God helped him to reason things through. God showed him the other side of the picture and now he is feeling sorry for the sinners. This is one great advantage of the house of God. You and I have opportunity to attend worship services on a regular basis and enjoy the presence of God. We have the privilege of hearing the Word of God preached with the anointing of the Holy Spirit which reveals to us the true image of what sin really does to a person. We can understand the blessings of God that are over the righteous. What a great blessing is the house of God to us and to our neighbors. We ought to be faithful to it with our time, energy and finance! There is no greater blessing to any community that to have the house of God available where the Word of God is preached with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

And so the Psalmist is made to understand that the sinner who is prospering is in a very slippery place. For he thinks that everything is fine and that it does not matter that he disregards the Lord. He will go on in his sin unaware that he is headed for destruction. He thinks that life is grand and that his sin will go unpunished. This is a most deceitful condition to be in as he thinks that he must be living right for he is prospering in the things of this world, and knows not that he is swiftly heading into the torments of hell. This revelation to the Psalmist causes him to be grieved in his heart when he realizes the awful end of the sinner. He confesses that he was as a beast before the Lord or that he was thinking with only the earthy part of himself. In the sanctuary of God the truth has been revealed to him and now he repents of his discouraging ways. He remembers that although justice seems to be missing at the moment, it is not the final end of things. He remembers that God is a God of mercy, but He is also a God of judgment and in His time justice will come to those that refuse to repent.

(Eccl 8:10-14 KJV) And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. {11} Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. {12} Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: {13} But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. {14} There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

In this scripture, the wise man reveals a fundamental truth. Because judgment is not executed _quickly the sinner thinks that he is getting away with his sin and he rushes on to more and deeper sins. Because God does not strike you down with lightening at the moment of your sin, does not mean that God did not take note of it. Nor does it mean that your sin will go unpunished. God’s Word lets us know that we will reap what we sow and the wages of sin is death. The wheels of justice may turn slowly but they do turn in the hand of God. You may think to get away with your sin on this earth but you will receive your sentence in due time. No matter how many times you think that you are getting away with sin, you are only building the wrath of God against you. One day that wrath will burst loose and consume you. It is a very deceptive thing to think that sin goes unnoticed by God and that you can prosper in your soul in spite of it.

In the 10^th verse the wise man said that he saw the wicked buried that had come and gone from the house of the holy. I have observed many sinners do this very thing. They come to the house of God from time to time and hear the preaching of God’s Word. But, it has no effect on them. They do not repent of their sin nor do they accept Christ as Lord and Savior and as a result complete their life without God only to be buried still in a wicked condition. Believe me that is not the way you want to step into eternity to meet the God of the Universe. Also I have often observed Christian people sitting in the house of God with their mind a million miles away. You are not profited by the presence of God unless you enter into His presence. The Word will have no effect on you unless you allow it to enter your mind. The devil will have you to ignore it and discard it if he can.

The wise man said there are times when it appears that the wicked are being blessed just like the righteous. This is merely an illusion of Satan trying to deceive you into believing that there is no profit in serving the Lord. The writer sums it up by reminding you that no matter what the appearance, it will ultimately be well with them that fear God and that it will not be well with the wicked. Everything that happens to you is not a result of your sin. After all Jesus told us that the rain falls on the just and on the unjust. The storms of life beat upon the house on the rock as well as the house on the sand. God has a purpose in everything that happens to you.

(Rom 8:27-39 KJV) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. {28} And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. {29} For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. {30} Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. {31} What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? {32} He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? {33} Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. {34} Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. {35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As a Christian all things work together for your _good____. God has your best interests in mind and He is using you to accomplish the work of the kingdom of righteous and peace and joy. He is not putting you through suffering, torment and pain just because of your sin. You may reap as a result of your sin, but God allows many things to come your way to make a better person out of you. The next time you find yourself suffering some trial, situation or condition look up to the Lord and ask Him what He is doing for you. He knows best what is good for you and what it will take to make you the son or daughter that He wants you to be. To give your life in a literal or spiritual way for the Word of God and for the Testimony of Jesus is something to be pleased with. It is not something to lament because it does not seem fair.

Remember life is not fair and it is a good thing that it isn’t for if it were, where would you and I be today? It was not fair that God forgave me my sin nor is it fair that He forgave you yours and yet that is exactly what He does for everyone that comes to Him repenting. Thank God that He is a God of Mercy and that His mercy has been extended to me! You need to be reminded of the mercy of God so that you will be pleading for His mercy to be extended to the sinner and not for His judgment. His day of judgment will come, you can be sure of that. No one will escape it for every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. Meantime let us pray for mercy to be offered to every sinner and pray that every sinner will come to a place of repentance before their final meeting with God.

Has Satan used his tool of discouragement on you to put you down in the dumps so that your light has been obscured? Has he convinced you to wallow in self-pity to the extent that you are pleading with God for justice? Go into the sanctuary of God and let the Lord reveal the truth of the matter to you.