The Martyrs under the Altar - Matthew Henry

"The sight this apostle saw at the opening of the fifth seal; it was a very affecting sight (Rev.6.9): I saw under the altar the souls of those that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. He saw the souls of the martyrs. Here observe,

(1.) Where he saw them-under the altar; at the foot of the altar of incense, in the most holy place; he saw them in heaven, at the foot of Christ. Hence note,

[1.] Persecutors can only kill the body, and after that there is no more that they can do; their souls live.

[2.] God has provided a good place in the better world for those who are faithful to death and are not allowed a place any longer on earth.

[3.] Holy martyrs are very near to Christ in heaven, they have the highest place there.

[4.] It is not their own death, but the sacrifice of Christ, that gives them a reception into heaven and a reward there; they do not wash their robes in their own blood, but in the blood of the Lamb.

(2.) What was the cause in which they suffered-the word of God and the testimony which they held, for believing the word of God, and attesting or confessing the truth of it; this profession of their faith they held fast without wavering, even though they died for it. A noble cause, the best that any man can lay down his life for-faith in God's word and a confession of that faith."

Matthew Henry