The Martyrs Of Rev. 6

Q

Re: the souls under the altar in Rev. 6:9: How do they relate to the other groups of martyrs mentioned in Revelation? Are they pre-rapture souls? If they were believers, wouldn’t they would get physical bodies at the rapture? So if they are post-rapture martyrs, how are they different from the other mentioned groups?

A

You’re right in saying that these martyrs have to be post rapture believers. Otherwise they would have been resurrected at the time of the rapture. And yet their spirits are in Heaven before the 6th seal, which is when some people claim the End Times judgments begin. I’ve always interpreted Rev. 6:17, “The great day of their wrath has come” to mean the judgments are not starting then but will actually begin before that time, as in “has already come”. Having martyrs in heaven by Rev. 6:9 confirms this. I believe these martyrs are the first fruits of the harvest of the Earth. They will be resurrected at the time of the second Coming (Rev. 20:4).