And when the Lamb 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 they had upheld. And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.
Rev 6:9-11
The fifth seal describes a condition where souls, who have been slain for the word of God, are crying out to God. They are given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer until the full number of their fellow servants were killed. This is describing what I believe to be widespread martyrdom. We're not there yet. At least not to the scale described.
I do think the seals have begun to break. See: Progress Update - The Seals of Revelation
I want you to note in particular how these souls are described. They are under the altar and they are crying out to the Lord for justice! Then they are given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer.
Notice this statement from God following the very first murder!
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Gen 4:10
Enoch elaborates here:
"These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period, till the great judgement upon them."
I saw a dead man making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit. And I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: "This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit to heaven?"
And he answered me saying: "This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew.
Enoch 22
Note that Enoch describes Abel as a soul "making suit" (crying out) to God!
I believe the statement about souls "crying out" from "under the altar" and Enoch's "hollow places" are describing Sheol.
For background, see: Sheol
Now notice these two scenes in Revelation chapter 7.
The context: The sixth seal has already been broken and the "wrath of the Lamb" has just been announced (Rev 6:17)
Scene 1
Before the wrath begins, angels are told to "seal the foreheads of the servants of our God". These servants are the 144,000; 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. I believe these 144,000 are sealed for protection on the earth (Rev 9:4)
And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel
Rev 7:2-4
Scene 2
Immediately following this sealing of the 144,000, we see a great "multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb".
After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
...
Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”“Sir,” I answered, “you know.”
So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:9-14
Before this event, the dead are in "Sheol" or "under the altar". The righteous are given a "white robe" and told to "rest a little while longer".
Here in Rev 7, before the wrath of the Lamb begins, we see this great multitude "from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb"!
I believe this is describing the resurrection event!
But notice this! The 144,000 are sealed for protection on the earth at what appears to be the same time of the resurrection event. What gives?
We see this group again in Rev 14:
Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Rev 14:1-5
Here we see "the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000". I strongly suspect that they are on the earth - standing on Mount Zion. But there is also participation from heaven during this momentous event - "And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders".
Notice this also. They are described as "firstfruits to God and to the Lamb". And they "follow the Lamb wherever He goes". That is significant!
This would suggest that the Lamb is present on the earth with this group of people before the triumphal return described in Rev 19.
Btw. The statement"these are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins" sounds deeply misogynistic. Believing that would contradict other statements in Scripture that honor women like Deborah, Esther, Ruth, and Mary. I really don't think this is a statement about a group of people being defiled by women. Throughout the Bible (including Revelation), the worship of other entities, apart from God, is consistently described as adultery. What's being described here is a group of people who are spiritually pure and faithful to God alone.
So carrying on in regards to the 144,000, this is what I think is going on here.
The 144,000 are literal Jewish believers (12,000 from each tribe) who are sealed on earth before the wrath of the Lamb, survive it, and enter the Millennial Kingdom in their physical, human bodies as the "firstfruits" of Israel's restored nation.
I believe the 144,000 are His inner circle. They accompany Him. They are the living proof of His reign—human beings who were sealed, walked through the tribulation, and now walk with the King.
They are not angels. They are not disembodied souls. They are human in the fullest sense (though possibly transformed), living in a redeemed but still physical world.
I say "possibly transformed" because of the wording in Rev 14. And note this verse below:
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”
Rev 14:13
Something happens from this point forward regarding those who "die in the Lord".
In any case, I believe this group, the 144,000, are the first wave of a restored Israel!
