"When the fifth seal was opened John heard the voice of the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, crying out loudly, “How Long, O Lord, until Thou dost judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” The way this is worded in most of our Bible translations it sounds like a cry for revenge. But I do not hesitate to tell you that there is no such cry heard in heaven! And most assuredly not from the people of God who have had their natural-minded, carnal, soulical heads chopped off! Furthermore, if this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, they are not saying, “Lord, just how long is it going to be until you really zap those people who have opposed us and who continue to walk in an earthly, fleshly, and religious mind-set?” That is not the revelation! We’re not saying, “O Lord, how long until you get fed up with this foolishness and really give them what they deserve?”
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"We must constantly remember that also this fifth seal, as well as all the others, represents a vision. And therefore we are dealing with symbolism. As soon as we lose sight of this fact, we are apt to ask all kinds of carnal-minded questions. Forgetting the fact that we have a vision here, bespeaking a spiritual reality, we might, like most religious folks, conceive of these souls under the altar as glorified souls in heaven, and no more. Yet the question might be raised, do these saints in the glory of the heavenly temple cry out for vengeance? Is it not true that before they were thus “slain” they walked in the spirit of sonship as expressed by Jesus when He said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the sons of your Father which is in heaven” (Mat. 5:44-45). How then is it possible that now they invoke the wrath of God on them, and that too, after they have lost their old carnal mind! Is there then still carnality in the state where one has put on the mind of Christ? The question we must ask is this: what is really the meaning, what is the reality of the outcry of these souls under the altar? What is the essential idea of this symbolism? As we shall presently see, they do not cry for fleshly vengeance, but for the MIGHTY PASSIONATE MOVING OF GOD WHICH DEALS WITH THE NATURE OF MAN! This is in harmony with the whole book of Revelation, for the entire passage is visionary and symbolic."
Abel's spirit cried out to God - not from Heaven, but from in between.
When a believer dies, they do not go to Heaven. In fact, this is a supremely huge error most people make - the believers never go to 'Heaven'. We are told we go to a 'lobby' of sorts, Abraham's bosom / Paradise, and wait the end. Afterwards - our reality is rebooted and a new reality is given to us to live in. The base reality, where God lives, is never promised to the believer.
"Most all Bible students have misunderstood the cry of these souls from under the altar because of the faulty translation of the Greek word ekdikeo as avenge — that is, retaliate with vengeance."
"The first and primary meaning of the word, however, is “validate.” In every language words carry various shades of meaning, they do not generally mean just one thing in one way. Let us always remember that it is usage that best determines the meaning of a word!"
One of the old testament gods. They were pretty vengeful.
Wut?
Meh. I like revenge better.