The souls of the martyrs are under the altar. There is personal existence after death, therefore. The martyrs are conscious of themselves and they remember how their innocent blood was shed. The Bible does not teach soul-sleep. Even though thoughts about the after-life are not completely and distinctly present and worked out in the Old Testament, there is certainty about the continuation of life after death, as well as about the bodily resurrection of the dead. These things become clearer in the New Testament.
After the deaths of the rich man and poor Lazarus1 their bodies are buried in the earth. Then they open up their eyes in eternity, one of them in pain, the other in ‘Abraham’s bosom’, an expression for Heavenly happiness. They are in the realm of the dead (Hades, called Sheool in the Old Testament, the general expression for the underworld2), without an earthly body, but with full consciousness. Their personality, their ‘ego’ is completely present. Their spirit/soul return to God Who gave them.3 The bodies rest in the grave on earth, sown as seed in the earth (1 Corinthians 15:35-44) until the great day of the resurrection, when we as human beings are resurrected to immortality with total renewal of spirit, soul and body. The inner man4 after death is either in glory or in pain. It is not clear what form or shape the inner man (personality) has after death. Jesus knew about the realities of afterlife, as no one else! Having come to earth from the other dimensions that surround us, he gave us a glimpse of the realities over there. In this true story (not a parable) by Jesus in Luke 16:19 – 31 we find that the rich man indeed recognises Lazarus, so there is awareness and recognition over there. Then the rich man pleads that Lazarus be permitted to return to earth to the rich man’s brothers, so that they will not end up in the same place of torment after their death. ‘They have Moses and the prophets,’ is the answer he is given. They have the Word of God. They can read the Bible. And whether or not they believe the Bible is up to them.
Today we know about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The historic proofs are overwhelming. With the result that therefore more people are converted to Christ today? And believe in Him, simply because they know about this fact in history by the testimonies of many that we read in the Bible? Do more people today listen to the Word of God? Do more people today therefore turn to God? I wonder. But Jesus is alive and will be coming back soon!
Whereas Sheool/Hades (the realm of the dead, the underworld) seems to be located down, under the earth, the souls of these martyrs are up above, in Heaven, under the altar. This is the first time this ‘altar’ is mentioned. John does not mention it when describing the throne.5 The golden altar (of fragrance) will indeed be mentioned shortly.6 Is what is described here the Heavenly equivalent of the brazen altar of sacrifice that stood in the forecourt of the Tabernacle and the Temple, and upon which animal sacrifices were offered? The Bible explains that the blood contains the life. That blood of those sacrifices was poured out at the base of that altar. Leviticus 17:10-14 says that the soul/life is in the blood. “I will set My face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.” ’Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”7
It is as if these martyrs have been slaughtered as sacrifices. Paul says: I am at the point of being sacrificed like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near8. His soul, his life will be with God. They are with Christ.9 Death is gain for Paul10—will it be true for us too?
• Heaven and the Temple are two images that are used interchangeably for God’s dwelling-place. This is why Moses had to make a little piece of Heaven on earth when he built the Tabernacle. God wished to dwell on earth in it.11
• Exactly the same basic model was used for the Temple, and God wished to dwell there too.12 Isaiah says: “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of His robe filled the Temple.”13 The Lord speaks from His holy Temple.14 The Lord is in His holy Temple.
• Where the modern Dutch translation says ‘palace’ in Psalm 18:7 and 29:9, the English Authorised Version translation says ‘Temple’—as does the Dutch Staten translation (authorised in 1637 by the Dutch Staten/Government) in Psalm 29:9.
Bible References:
1.Luke 16:19–31 2.Deuteronomy 32:22; 1 Samuel 2:6; Genesis 37:35, 42:38; 2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 18:5–6, 116:3; Numbers 16:28–34; Isaiah 38:10, 17–19; Psalm 6:6, 31:18; Ecclesiastes 9:5–10; 1 Kings 2:6, 9; Job 24:19; Psalm 9:18 See also Psalm 16:10–11; Acts 2:27, 31, 13:33–37; 1 Corinthians 15:54–55; Revelation 1:18, 20:5, 13–14 Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7 3.2 Corinthians 4:16–5:8 4.Revelation 4:2–5:14 5.Revelation 8:3–5 6.Leviticus 4:10-14 7.2 Timothy 4:6; Philippians 2:17 8.Philippians 1:23 9.Philippians 1:21 10.Exodus 25:8, 40:34–38 11.2 Chronicles 5:13–6:2 12.Isaiah 6:1 13.Micah 1:2 14.Habakkuk 2:20
