Doesn’t Revelation 6:9 show that souls never die?

One of the rules for interpreting prophecy in the Bible is to remember that apocalyptic literature (books like Daniel and Revelation) is full of symbolism. Unless the text is pointedly clear, the pictures presented are often representations of truth or an idea. As with Jesus’ parables, we need to be careful to not squeeze more out of the text than was intended.

The first people who read Revelation were beginning to suffer persecution for their faith. It only increased as time went on. Christians went through severe trials during the Middle Ages and during the Reformation. Many gave their lives in order to be true to God. The message of the fifth seal is filled with hope for all who face the sword or the stake for Jesus. God sees the suffering and will someday bring about justice.

Some take the symbolic picture presented in the fifth seal in a literal sense. Are people who died for their faith somehow still alive? The Bible says the “dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Just like Abel’s blood that “cried” from the ground (Genesis 4:10), God is very aware of the death of all of His children. Each one is precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15).

The altar pictured here is probably the bronze altar that stands before the throne of God. There is a Jewish tradition that all of God’s people are symbolically buried under this altar, so perhaps this belief was used to give a visual picture of the injustice brought on the Lord’s people. What will happen at the second coming? “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness. … They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

Key Bible Texts

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: (Revelation 6:9 KJV)