Revelation 6:7 - 11

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

When the fourth seal is opened, John is again told to go see what information is revealed by one of the four living creatures.

He sees a pale horse which means death. It is ridden by Death, and accompanied by Hades, Hades is the place where souls abide after death as they wait the Judgment Day.

Death would come first, and it would be a result of the severe famine which was caused by war, and it was made worse by the persecutions which were caused by the Roman Empire of the caesars, the senate, and the Roman legion.

This application of death is not to a fourth of the world's population, but to those who follow after Christ, the disciples of Christ, the members of the Lord's church. They are the ones being persecuted by the Roman Empire.

It is a power over one fourth because God never allowed the church to be entirely wiped out.

The ones who died were killed by the sword, and by famine, by pestilence, and even by wild beast as done in the arenas of Rome.

In the 9th verse the fifth seal is open, but this time John is not told to “come and see”. Apparently John is now fully focused on the information revealed by the opening of the seals.

An altar is exposed by this seal, the altar in the temple was used to burn the sacrifices which were offered by the people. This altar is a representation of the faithful who were killed by the persecutions which had taken the lives of many Christians. Their bodies were symbolically placed on the altar when killed because of their belief in Christ and their defense and testimony of His word.

Beneath the altar was where the blood of the sacrifices was poured, this is where John sees the souls of the ones who died because of their faith in Christ.

Their bodies are dead but their souls are still alive and able to speak intelligently. These souls which were pictured below the altar are begging for God to avenge the deaths of the righteous ones who have been killed because of their faith in Christ.

Before answering their call for vengeance they are rewarded with white robes and told to rest and wait. The white robes indicate their standings in God's eyes. They have found favor in God's eyes because white indicates being worthy.

They are told to wait until the time was right. When the time was complete God would avenge them and their brethren who had lost their lives because of their faith. Avenging their lives will be fulfilled in Revelation 20:4.