Symbol key · Persons
Souls under the altar
The lives (the poured-out life-blood) of the slain martyrs crying for justice — living beings, not conscious spirits in heaven
Where Scripture defines it
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:” (Revelation 6:9)
Confirmed at Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Confirmed at Leviticus 4:7
...and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering
Confirmed at Genesis 4:10
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Confirmed at Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing...
Read it for yourself
Every reference opens in the two-book reader with commentary, chain references and original-language notes.
Keep pulling the thread
Where this leads next
Symbol key · Forces
Smoke of their torment
Smoke rising after the fire has done its work — evidence of complete, final destruction, not of unending conscious torment
Symbol key · Forces
Trumpet
A warning message, or the sounding of judgment
Revelation 13–14 · the final question
The worship crisis
Both books end at the same question: who is worshipped, on what authority, and under what pressure.