A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.
Parallel Translations
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A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.
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And longe whyte garmentes were geven vnto every one of them. And it was sayde vnto them that they shulde reste for a lyttle season vntyll the nomber of their felowes and brethren and of them that shulde be kylled as they were were fulfylled.
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And long white robes were giuen vnto euery one, and it was saide vnto them, that they shoulde rest for a litle season vntill their fellow seruants, and their brethren that shoulde bee killed euen as they were, were fulfilled.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Revelation 6:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
- Revelation 14:13 I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- Revelation 3:4-5 Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
- Revelation 7:14 I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering.They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.
- Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
- Isaiah 26:20-21 Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
- Daniel 12:13 “But go your way until the end; for you will rest, and will stand in your inheritance at the end of the days.”
- John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As before 3:4.
As before 3:4.
Until their number be fulfilled.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 And white robes were given unto every one…
11 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.
Ver. 11. And white robes] Their innocence was cleared, and their persecutors convinced. God would speak for them in the hearts of their greatest enemies.
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Until their fellowservants also] We doubt not, saith a learned interpreter here (Mr Forbes), but that the crowned saints do in general know the afflicted condition of the Church militant, and do wish them deliverance; but our special necessities and occurrences of particular persons they cannot know. Brother Bradford, said Bishop Ridley, a little before he was offered up, so long as I shall understand that thou art in thy journey, by God’s grace I shall call upon our heavenly Father to set thee safely home; and then, good brother, speak you for the remnant that are to suffer for Christ’s sake, according to that thou then shalt know more clearly. (Acts and Mon.) But this is to be taken with a grain of salt.
That should be killed] Under Licinius, Julian the Apostate, and the Arian emperors.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And white robes were given unto every one of…
And white robes were given unto every one of them; white robes of glory; for the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, and of a holy life, were by them put on before they were slain.
That they should rest yet for a little season; that they should be satisfied, and acquiesce in God’s dispensations.
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Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were; for God had yet more faithful witnesses to be martyred, (though not in such flocks as before), who should die for the same faith and profession.
Should be fulfilled; when the number of those his martyrs should be completed, he would avenge their blood upon their enemies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And white robes were given to everyone of them,....…
And white robes were given to everyone of them,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read in the singular number, "a white robe", and so does the Syriac version; as a token of their innocence, that they did not suffer, or were slain, for any capital crime or immorality they were guilty of; and of their purity and perfection they now enjoyed; as also of that spiritual delight and pleasure, which was unspeakable and full of glory, they now had in the presence of God and Christ; and in short, of that happiness and glory which souls in a separate state, before the resurrection morn, are partakers of; who besides the righteousness of Christ, comparable to fine linen clean and white, walk with Christ in white, in the shining robes of bliss and glory:
and it was said unto them, that they should rest; or have rest; eternal rest from all their toil and labour, from all their sorrows and sufferings of every kind, which rest remains for the people of God, and into which these were now entered; or that they should cease from expostulating and inquiring after the above manner, and rest satisfied and contented, exercising the graces of faith, hope, and patience, believing, looking, and waiting:
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yet for a little season; either until the end of this persecution by Dioclesian, when vengeance would be taken of the Roman empire, and it would be no more as Pagan; or until the day of judgment, when full vengeance will be inflicted on the persecutors of the saints; and which is but a little while with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of that eternity of blessedness glorified saints are partakers of:
until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled; meaning either the rest of the saints that should suffer martyrdom in the: following part of this persecution; or those who should suffer under the Arian persecution, when the empire would become Christian; or under Rome Papal, and in all the persecutions of the apostasy, unto the end of that state: these are called "fellow servants" and "brethren" of the saints in heaven; for they all worship and serve the same God, and belong to the same family, in heaven and in earth; and the selfsame reason that is made use of to animate the saints below to courage, faith, and patience in suffering, Pe1 5:9, is used to keep up the expectation of the saints in heaven, of that vengeance that will be executed on their enemies, and to point out the time when it will be; and it may be observed, that the number of martyrs, or of those that shall suffer and die in the cause of Christ, and for his Gospel, is fixed and determined by God; and that number shall be perfected and completed, and when that is done, he will pour out all his wrath on them that have persecuted them and put them to death: and so the Arabic version renders it, "that the number of their companions and brethren, and of those who are to be killed as they have been killed, is fulfilled"; In the Apocrypha is written:
"39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord. 40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. 41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.'' (2 Esdras 2)
Now though this seal does not introduce any judgment to be executed on the Roman empire, as the others do; yet since it introduces all the martyrs with one united voice requiring vengeance on their blood, it may very well be considered as a step towards, and as making way for, the utter ruin of that empire: and which the next seal being opened brings on, and is a full answer to the cry of these souls.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And there was given to every one a white…
And there was given to every one a white robe - An emblem of innocence, joy, and victory, in token of honour and favourable acceptance. And it was said to them - They were told how long. They were not left in that uncertainty. That they should rest - Should cease from crying. They rested from pain before. A time - This word has a peculiar meaning in this book, to denote which, we may retain the original word chronos. Here are two classes of martyrs specified, the former killed under heathen Rome, the latter, under papal Rome. The former are commanded to rest till the latter are added to them. There were many of the former in the days of John: the first fruits of the latter died in the thirteenth century. Now, a time, or chronos, is 1111 years. This chronos began A. 98, and continued to the year 1209; or from Trajan's persecution, to the first crusade against the Waldenses. Till - It is not said, Immediately after this time is expired, vengeance shall be executed; but only, that immediately after this time their brethren and fellowservants will come to them. This event will precede the other; and there will be some space between.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. White robes] The emblems of purity, innocence,…
Verse 11. White robes] The emblems of purity, innocence, and triumph.
They should rest yet for a little season] This is a declaration that, when the cup of the iniquity of the Jews should be full, they should then be punished in a mass. They were determined to proceed farther, and God permits them so to do; reserving the fulness of their punishment till they had filled up the measure of their iniquity. If this book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, as is most likely, then this destruction is that which was to fall upon the Jews; and the little time or season was that which elapsed between their martyrdom, or the date of this book, and the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, under Vespasian and his son Titus, about A.D. 70. What follows may refer to the destruction of the heathen Roman empire.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Rev 6:11. And white robes were given unto every…
Rev 6:11. And white robes were given unto every one of them — As a token of their justification, and favourable acceptance with God; of their victory and triumph over death, their joy and glory. And it was said unto them, that they should rest — That is, wait; yet for a little season — Though, in the mean time, their blood remained unrevenged; until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed for the defence of the gospel, as they had been, should be fulfilled — That is, should have finished their testimony; or till the number of the martyrs should be completed, according to the intention of Divine Providence, in letting persecutors go on a while, until they should have filled up the measure of their iniquities, when the martyrs should receive their full reward, as we shall see hereafter. Lowman observes here, very well, that “this representation seems much to favour the immediate happiness of departed saints, and hardly to consist with that uncomfortable opinion, the insensible state of departed souls, till after the resurrection.” There were other persecutions before, but this was by far the most considerable, the tenth and last general persecution, which was begun by Dioclesian, and continued by others, and lasted longer, and extended farther, and was sharper and more bloody, than any or all preceding; and therefore this was particularly predicted. Eusebius and Lactantius, who were two eye- witnesses, have written large accounts of it. Orosius asserts that this persecution was longer and more cruel than all the past; for it raged incessantly for ten years, by burning the churches, proscribing the innocent, and slaying the martyrs. Sulpicius Severus, too, describes it as the most bitter persecution, which for ten years together depopulated the people of God; at which time all the world almost was stained with the sacred blood of the martyrs, and was never more exhausted by any wars. So that this became a memorable era to the Christians, under the name of the era of Dioclesian, or, as it is otherwise called, the era of martyrs.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain white robes--The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, read,…
white robes--The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, read, "A white robe was given."
every one of--One oldest manuscript, B, omits this. A and C read, "unto them, unto each," that is, unto them severally. Though their joint cry for the riddance of the earth from the ungodly is not yet granted, it is intimated that it will be so in due time; meanwhile, individually they receive the white robe, indicative of light, joy, and triumphant victory over their foes; even as the Captain of their salvation goes forth on a white horse conquering and to conquer; also of purity and sanctity through Christ. MAIMONIDES says that the Jews used to array priests, when approved of, in white robes; thus the sense is, they are admitted among the blessed ones, who, as spotless priests, minister unto God and the Lamb.
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should--So C reads. But A and B, "shall rest."
a little season--One oldest manuscript, B, omits "little." A and C support it. Even if it be omitted, is it to be inferred that the "season" is short as compared with eternity? BENGEL fancifully made a season (Greek, "chronus," the word here used) to be one thousand one hundred and eleven one-ninth years, and a time (Rev 12:12, Rev 12:14, Greek, "kairos") to be a fifth of a season, that is, two hundred and twenty-two two-ninths years. The only distinction in the Greek is, a season (Greek, "chronus") is a sort of aggregate of times. Greek, "kairos," a specific time, and so of short duration. As to their rest, compare Rev 14:13 (the same Greek, "anapauomai"); Isa 57:2; Dan 12:13.
until their . . . brethren . . . be fulfilled--in number. Until their full number shall have been completed. The number of the elect is definitely fixed: perhaps to fill up that of the fallen angels. But this is mere conjecture. The full blessedness and glory of all the saints shall be simultaneous. The earlier shall not anticipate the later saints. A and C read, "shall have been accomplished"; B and Aleph read, "shall have accomplished (their course)."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. White robes—Best reading, A white robe was given…
11. White robes—Best reading, A white robe was given to them each. “The white robe in this book,” says Alford, “is the vestment of acknowledged and glorified righteousness in which the saints reign with Christ. Compare Rev_3:4; Rev_17:13.” Note Rev_3:4. Neither this condition of the saints beneath the altar, nor this now first given robe, is so literal that we may suppose such humiliation and re-dressing to be actually undergone by glorified saints. Both the humiliation and re-dressing are symbol in action; the robes being really not bestowed until the disembodied saint first enters paradise.
It was said unto them—By divine authority, but by unknown speakers. Note on Rev_1:10.
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Should rest— Should wait in repose and full assurance of ultimate justice.
For a little season—As reckoned by God’s chronology. Note 2Pe_3:10.
Fellow servants—The entire body of the elect.
Brethren… killed—The glorious army of martyrs.
Be fulfilled—Rather, should fulfil, that is, their career; and all gather in at the final glorious resurrection.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. And white robes were given] We should read,…
11. And white robes were given] We should read, and there was given them to each one a white robe, bringing out still more fully than the old text, that the white robe is an individual, not a common blessing. It serves to mark them both as innocent and as conquerors: what it is is better felt than said. We see that the “souls” appeared in some visible form, like enough to bodies to wear garments: one of the considerations against regarding them as abstractions, not personal beings. There can hardly be any doubt that this verse (cf. Rev_3:4-5) represents a portion of the reward given by God to His Saints, and if so, evidently such a portion of their reward as they receive in the interval before the Resurrection. But whether all the elect are in the same position as the Martyrs, or whether we have here described a special privilege granted to them only, is more doubtful: the prevalent belief of Christendom has been, that Martyrs and the like more excellent Saints have, in this intermediate state, a privilege above all the other justified ones.
and it was said unto them] From the nature of the case, their cry and the answer to it had to be heard by St John successively. But doubtless in fact they are contemporaneous: the Saints at once share God’s desire for the triumph of righteousness over sin, and rest in God’s assurance that it is for good reason that that triumph is delayed.
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that they should rest] i.e. not be impatient and disquieted. Something more is meant than to be at peace, freed from the troubles of their earthly life (as Rev_14:13): but the word does not in the least imply that they are to be unconscious, or as it were asleep.
yet for a little season] Yet to Stephen and his companions it is not less than 1840 years: and though the Old Testament Martyrs be not exclusively meant, they are no doubt included. But notice that it is contemplated that there will be an interval between the Martyrs of the Primitive Church and those of the last days.
their fellowservants also and their brethren] It would be possible to construe the words “both their fellowservants and their brethren,” as though two classes were spoken of. In Rev_19:10, Rev_22:9, where we get the same words coupled, though in another construction, it may be thought that St John is called a brother of Martyrs and Prophets in a special sense. It would therefore be possible to distinguish the two classes, “their fellowservants (viz. all their true fellow-believers), and their brethren which should be killed as they were.” But it is much simpler to translate as the A. V., making both nouns antecedents to the clause that follows.
that should be killed as they were] The word “as” is slightly emphasised, “even as they.” The Martyrs of the last days are to be like those of the first, Martyrs in the strictest sense—Christians slain because they hold the Christian faith, and will not renounce it. Such Martyrs there have been, no doubt, in the interval between the great ages of persecution under the Roman emperors and under Antichrist, e.g. in the Mohammedan conquests, in the age of the conversion of central Europe, in Japan in the seventeenth century, and in Madagascar, China, New Zealand, and Zululand in our own time. It is likely enough also that martyrs to charity—men like St Telemachus and St Philip of Moscow, Abp. Affré and Bp. Patteson—have their portion with the perfect martyrs to faith: in some cases, as in the last, it is hard to draw a line between the two: any way, those who suffer for righteousness’ sake suffer for Christ, as St Anselm said when Lanfranc wished to deny the honours of a martyr to St Alphege. But to suffer for conscience’ sake, however noble, is not necessarily quite the same thing: and it is hardly right to claim the name of martyr for the victims—certainly not for the victims on one side only—in the fratricidal contests of Christians. “The Lord knoweth them that are His;” He knows whether Becket or Huss, More or Latimer, Charles I. or Margaret Wilson, had most of the Martyr’s spirit: we had better not anticipate His judgement whether any or all of them are worthy of the Martyr’s white robe.
should be fulfilled] Probably we should read, should have fulfilled—i.e. their course, as Act_13:25, or their work.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) And white robes were given . . .—The…
(11) And white robes were given . . .—The victims, however, are not forgotten. There was given to them (each) a white robe. The white robes, the glistening apparel of the saints (comp. Rev_3:4-5), shall be theirs; each shall receive it. They are robes of righteousness (Rev_19:8); they are robes of honour (Rev_4:4), for those who wear them are like God, seeing Him as He is, reflecting His image; they are acknowledged to be His, as they have acknowledged Him to be their God. Persecuted on earth, they are honoured in heaven. There is also a sense in which a white robe is given to them in the eyes of men: those whose names have been cast out as evil have been honoured by a repentant posterity with the robe of tardy praise; after-generations garnish the sepulchres of the righteous whom their fathers slew. The excommunicated in one age are often the canonised of the next, for the dull world learns slowly, and its purest honours are posthumous. But however this may be, for the suffering saints there is the heavenly robe and the heavenly rest.
It was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow- servants also and their brethren, that should be killed (better, who are to be slain) as they were, should be fulfilled (or, shall have fulfilled their course).—They are to “rest.” This does not mean that they are to cease their cry for vengeance, for the saints have never cried for this; but they are to rest, as the souls of the faithful after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, in joy and felicity. But this rest is yet a waiting for a little while till fellow-servants and fellow-sufferers have achieved their work also. To every disciple a work is given in service and suffering, and till these have borne their witness and fulfilled their course (comp. 2Ti_4:7-8, and Act_13:25) the departed must wait for their perfect consummation and bliss both in body and soul.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And white robes were given unto every one of…
And white robes were given unto every one of them; and there was given to each one a white robe. Stolh leukh , "a white robe," is supported by A, C, P, N, B, etc. The white robe of righteousness, the wedding garment of Mat_22:11, Mat_22:12, is the sign of the blessedness of the saints. White is the colour of heavenly victory in the Apocalypse (see on ver. 2). The vision has recalled the past sufferings of the martyrs and their present expectation of the final consummation of their hopes, which is to be not yet. The other side is now to be shown; though they have not yet reached their final bliss, they have received the white robe, they are free from possibility of defilement, the victory is won, and they have rest. Comfort and encouragement are thus afforded to those still struggling in the world, who have not as yet attained to the white robe of perfect righteousness. And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season. Revelation 14. seems to determine the exact signification anapauswntai , viz. "rest in peace," "rest from their labours," rather than specifically "cease kern uttering this cry" (ver. 10), as explained by De Wette and others. For a little time (cronov); that is, till the second coming of Christ, for the time which is to intervene before that event is frequently spoken of as a little time. (see on Rev_1:1 Rev_20:3 Rev_12:12; comp. Hag_2:6, Hag_2:7, "Yet once a little time, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come The time of the world is little in comparison with eternity. This little time is depicted and set forth under the six seals; it comes to an end at Rev_7:17, and merges into eternity in Rev_8:1. Some expositors (of the historical school) understand a cronov to be a definite, arbitrary number; e.g. Bengel considers it to be 1111 1/9 years (see "Speaker"s Commentary," p. 485). Until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. R, B, P, read plhrwswsin , "shall have fulfilled" i.e. their course; A, C, read plhrwywsin , "should be completed." "Their fellow servants also and their brethren" may not denote two separate bodies, notwithstanding that kai occurs twice, but, as Alford remarks, it may point out the same persons viewed in two aspects first, the Christians needed to proceed with and finish Christ"s work as his servants; second, the same ones needed to complete the number of his family. But it seems more likely that reference is intended to two classes of Christians first, their fellow servants, that is, all Christians, who may, however, not suffer martyrdom; and, second, their brethren, the martyrs, who, like them, should yet be killed.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 11. And white robes were given unto every one…
11. And white robes were given unto every one of them. The robes of justification and victory. They are assured that the day when “they will be avenged” will soon come, but that they must wait a little season. Others must be added to the number of the martyrs before the number is fulfilled. It is a time of persecution. The fifth seal is the seal of persecution, and it evidently marks some notable era in the history of the Church, when more fiercely than ever before it felt the intolerant hand of “them who dwelt upon the earth.” The fulfillment is to be sought in a war of extermination waged against Christianity. Again we ask if, following the events already described, history records events that fulfill this prophecy?
The Fulfillment. —The ninety-two years of civil turmoil began a.d. 192 with the death of Commodus. They ended in a.d. 284. In that year Diocletian ascended the Roman throne, and his reign was distinguished by the most terrible, most prolonged, and most general persecution known in the history of the ancient Church. The Church had often been persecuted before, but no persecution had ever been so universal, so long continued, and so terrible. The Emperor was not by nature a persecutor, but the great men of the empire, especially Galerius, whom he had associated in the duty of government, were alarmed at the astonishing progress of the new religion, and demanded its extirpation. At last Diocletian yielded, and became the leader in the effort to root out the religion of Christ from the very face of the earth.
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Early in a.d. 303 secret councils were held in Nicomedia, concerning the destruction of Christianity. “Perhaps,” says Gibbon, “it was represented to Diocletian, that the glorious work of deliverance of the empire was left imperfect so long as an independent people (the Christians) were permitted to subsist and multiply in it.” On the twenty-third of February, the first blow was struck. An armed force was sent to destroy the great church of Nicomedia, and to burn the sacred books, so carefully preserved in that day when the printing press was unknown. This was the signal for beginning a persecution which was, by the consent of all historians, the longest, the most general, and the fiercest ever waged against the Church. It is a remarkable fact that a chronological era, dating from the time when Diocletian began to reign instituted not for religious, but astronomical purposes, and used until the Christian era was introduced in the sixth century, has received its name from the persecution, and has been called the era of martyrs.
With regard to this period I make a quotation from Gibbon, Vol. II., page 69: “The resentment, or the fears of Diocletian, at length transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts, the governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, were soon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers and exorcists. By a second edict, the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity, which might reclaim them from their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the established worship of gods. This rigorous order was extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were exposed to a violent and general persecution.” This terrible persecution, conducted with such vindictive fury that sometimes church buildings were surrounded by soldiers, the doors locked and the congregations burned in them, continued for over ten years.
In the answer to the martyrs (verse 11) there are three things that are noteworthy. First, it is said that they must await the great judgment, which would not be until another distinct set of martyrs was slain. These are evidently the martyrs slain, not by pagan Rome, but by anti-Christ. Second, they must wait “a little season.” This season is to be measured by God's standard, and not by ours. Third, there were given unto them white robes. White robes are a symbol of justification and of triumph. “The white robes are given to him that overcometh.” These souls are not in the inner sanctuary, the type of heaven; but under the altar of the outer court, the type of the world. The white robes, therefore, imply their triumph and justification upon the earth. This came within twenty-five years of their suffering, through the formal acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Empire.
THE SIXTH SEAL.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain i.e. their number filled up.
fulfilled
i.e. their number filled up.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6:11 A white robe is symbolic of the martyrs’…
6:11 A white robe is symbolic of the martyrs’ victory and of God’s full acceptance. • they were told to rest: Death is a state of rest (cp. John 11:11-12) in which martyrs await God’s justice. • the full number: Only God knows how many Christians will be martyred before the end. In his sovereignty, God will fulfill his purposes through his children who are martyred and will vindicate them at the appropriate time. • brothers and sisters: Greek adelphoi; this term refers to people, both male and female, who are members of the same family.
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