Jerusalem and the Martyrs

When the Lamb opens the fifth seal, John sees martyrs under the altar crying out for vindication (Revelation 6). It’s a recapitulation of the plea of the oppressed in Psalm 79: “Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Let there be known among the nations in our sight, vengeance for the blood of Your servants, which has been shed. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die” (vv. 9-11).

The Psalm is a lament over the fall of Jerusalem and the defilement of the temple (v. 1). Invaders have left corpses as food for birds and beasts (v. 2), poured out blood like water (v. 3), left no one to perform burials. Where once there was once the blood and flesh of animal sacrifice, there is now the blood and flesh of those who sacrificed. The plea for vindication is a plea to rebuild the city, a plea that Israel would again be cared for like the sheep of Yahweh’s pasture. When Yahweh hears their plea, He will restore the place where they give thanks forever (v. 13).

The plea of the martyrs in Revelation has the same force and the same goal. They want God to vindicate their blood to prove His justice and to declare their innocence. They also want God to vindicate their blood because they want to see Jerusalem flourish. When new Jerusalem descends from heaven, it is in answer to the cries of martyr blood.