3 Jan 2014
Revelation 15:2-4
Revelation 15:2: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
These martyrs are Tribulation saints, but they seem to be very specific ones: they are people who died in the middle of the Tribulation. I say this because those who died earlier were never faced with the temptation of the image of the beast or the Mark of the Beast, since they died before those things came to pass. This praise is directed at those who were alive when things were at their very worst, and who had to go through the world’s darkest hour.
Since they are in Heaven, that means they must have been martyred. This is a common theme throughout Revelation: becoming a Christian during the Tribulation means that you are going to die. I think there will be some who will survive, but there will be many millions martyred during this time. Being a Christian during this point of history is very close to signing your own death warrant – but it is also the only way to avoid facing the endless and unbearable wrath of God.