The martyrs are gathered standing on the sea of glass. They have overcome the beast. They have died and have been welcomed into the Kingdom.
They are victorious over the Devil and the emperor who had ordered the persecution of the Christians and so they sing a song of victory just as Moses had sung following the crossing of the Red Sea escaping Egypt and the chariots and charioteers that had been sent to destroy them.
Just as the Book of Revelation must have given hope and courage to the Christians under Domitian, it most likely gave hope and courage to those who would continue to suffer under the emperors who were determined to extinguished this new religion.
The worst of these persecutions would be under the emperor Diocletian in the three hundreds. This would be the last of the persecutions and in another twenty-five years or so, Constantine would defeat Rome and Christianity was accepted as a way of believing and eventually would become the state religion.
The Book of Revelation remains a source of hope for all those who suffer persecution today because of their beliefs as well as for all of us who try to follow Christ. Even though we don't suffer persecution, we often suffer discrimination and prejudice for our beliefs.
Others may suffer the persecution of illness or loss. The news is full of stories of young people who die from violence and those who are killed by drunk drivers or people who hit them and leave them to die in the streets.
I can't image what the parents of the young people go through with this senseless violence, nor the families who are left to wonder about the indifference of others to people who are either dead or dying by their negligence.
I believe that these men and women are also being persecuted by the selfishness of others. I admire those who continue to believe in a good God and often reach out in support to others and sometimes reach out with forgiveness for those who have caused them such pain.
They too, are modern day martyrs who will stand on that sea of glass.
