Seals · Future - mid Tribulation
Fifth Seal: Martyrs Under the Altar
Souls cry out for vengeance
From the teaching of Apostle Mary Banks
When the fifth seal is opened, the souls of those who were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held are seen under the altar. These martyrs cry out with a loud voice, asking how long the Lord will wait before judging and avenging their blood on those who dwell on the earth. White robes are given to each of them, and they are told to rest for a little season until their fellow servants and brethren who should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.
This seal serves as a foreshadowing of the acts of the antichrist and the seventh trumpet judgment. The fifth seal is revealed in the days of the sixth trumpet and indicates that there will be extreme persecution of the Church before the return of the Lord. The souls of the martyrs are seen under the altar, indicating the sacrifice of their lives for the faith, and their cry for justice reveals that the Church is still on earth at this time.
The fifth seal introduces persecution on the earth and forecasts the persecution and killing that will be manifested in the days of the trumpet judgments, including persecution of the Church by the Antichrist, the overthrowing of nations by the Antichrist, and the destruction and desolation of Israel and their Temple. The seal does not cause martyrdom but reveals that martyrdom is a defining element of the book's content.
The scriptures
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: 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? 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.