Question:
I would like you to explain Genesis 4:10 regarding Abel’s blood crying out to the Lord after he was dead and Revelation 6:9, where John saw the souls of those who were slain in heaven.
Answer:
There are various figures of speech recognized by students of language, one of which is personification. This literary device attributes human qualities to non-human entities, making them speak or behave as if they were alive. Personification is often used in the Bible. For example, in the second chapter of Habakkuk, the stones of a house are depicted as crying out, and the beams answer them. This imagery suggests that the house was built on iniquity, and it is so evident to God that He speaks as if the very stones were testifying against it.
Similarly, consider the story of Abel and Cain. Cain shed Abel’s blood, and the earth—previously innocent and untouched by bloodshed—was made to drink in the evidence of Cain’s crime. Cain believed he could hide his wrongdoing from God, but God aimed to show him that his sin was as apparent as if the very blood were crying out from the ground.
Of course, we don’t think for a moment that blood is alive or has the ability to speak. Nevertheless, God remembers it as if it were speaking. This figure of speech is also used in Revelation 6:9, during the time of the pale horse named Death. During the persecution of the Dark Ages, thousands of God’s children were slain, and John sees them represented underneath an altar. This altar, however, is not in heaven; only the altar of incense is depicted there (Revelation 8:3). The altar of sacrifice was on earth, and those who were slain are shown as being beneath it, indicating that they were not souls in heaven.
The grave sin of taking these lives was so significant in God’s sight that even inanimate beings who suffered are portrayed as crying out to Him. This cry represents the call for justice against such wickedness. God cares for them and hears their pleas as if they were speaking audibly. That is the essence of this imagery; we surely do not imagine that if those souls were in heaven, they would be calling out for vengeance against their persecutors.
The concept of heaven as a place of happiness would be incompatible with such thoughts. Those souls would understand that the wicked would ultimately face judgment, and it would be utterly foolish—and contrary to the Spirit of Christ—for them to be seeking retribution against their enemies. This text illustrates how God feels for and cares about His oppressed and persecuted children. Although they may seem forgotten, and centuries may pass since the crimes were committed against them, God remembers them just as if they were audibly crying out to Him from the very places where they were sacrificed for His sake.
