ls symbols of something else,
or are they what they are here stated to be, "the souls of them that
were slain"? Evidently, the latter, appearing under their own name and
character, because they can not properly be symbolized. They were
disembodied spirits, and where is there anything of analagous character
to represent such? Angels can not; for whenever they are employed as
symbols, it is to designate distinguished agencies among men. They
therefore appear under their own appropriate title as "the _souls_ of
them that were slain."

These souls appeared "under the altar," that is, _at the foot of the
altar_, being the same as that described in chap. 8:3--"And another
angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was
given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of
all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne." Thus, the
heavenly world, as opened up before John, appeared symbolized after the
sanctuary of the temple in which stood the golden altar, or altar of
incense. Some have supposed that the brazen altar was the one referred
to, signifying the living sacrifice these souls made of themselves to
God. But there is no altar mentioned in the symbols except the golden
altar. Besides, these were not sacrificial victims; for Christ was made
a complete sacrifice for sin, while these only suffered martyrdom
because of their faithfulness to the cause of Christ. It is much more
reasonable to suppose that their interceding cries went up from the
golden altar, where the "prayers of all saints" ascended with much
incense.

Their prayers to God for the avenging of their blood shows the
expectation on their part that the judgments of Heaven would descend
upon the cruel and haughty persecutors and oppressors of earth, and
their surprise was that the day of retribution had been so long delayed.
The history of the church as developed under the preceding seals gives
particular force to this cry of the martyrs. For nearly three centuries
the civil power of Pagan Rome had been employed to crush the cause of
God. During ten terrible seasons of persecution they had been crucified,
slain with the sword, sawn asunder, devoured by beasts in the arena, and
given to the flames. When Constantine, a nominal Christian emperor,
ascended the throne and protected religion by law, it was believed that
persecutions must cease; but soon the discovery was made that the sword
had only changed h