Do you then believe that all true believers attain perfection before they die? If not, what do you mean by "to bring them to full holiness"?
Yes, full, complete, perfect holiness, ie, total accord with GOD's nature and will and purpose for us either before their death of by, because of, their death. Our holiness is why we are here, what we are to learn here, and is the product of the training in righteousness that all legitimate children go thru,
Heb12:1-5, with martyrdom being the most painful discipline of all.
Revelation 6:9 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: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O LORD, holy and true, dost THOU not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
[Notice that they didn't ask “why”, just “how long”.]
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them: and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Well, from these verses we can see a few things...
First, some people were definitely holy, that is, the ones that had already been martyred. They were ready to go to the judgement. It's also interesting to note that they did not get their white robes before this (like when they became converted or went up to heaven). They got them only after they had made this saving confession of faith unto holiness.
Second, we can see that GOD wasn't ready to call the judgement, even though HE is holy and true and can't abide evil.
Third, we can see part of the reason why GOD wasn't ready to go, to wit: it was necessary that some more of GOD's children be martyred.
Now, the question that comes to mind is:
why did they have to be martyred? Why couldn't GOD hold HIS judgement right then and save them from all that torment and pain?
According to
Matt 13:28-30 HIS judgement had to be postponed, that is, couldn't happen yet, because some of GOD's children were still unholy, that is, if HE held the judgement right then, they would be condemned too. Therefore, HIS judgement had to be postponed until after they all were martyred, that is, made holy through martyrdom, because that's what it would take for sme of them to become holy. (Sense, reason and the Bible weren’t working for them and neither was GOD's love for them.)
The judgement day will not proceed until all the sinful elect are heaven ready, ie, in complete accord with HIM and HIS call for the judgment or why else must they suffer under the evil of the weeds if not to learn to repudiate them, accept the judgment and so FINALLY
come out from among them and touch not their secular worldly uncleanness...
Peter tell us what the criteria for the day of judgement is:
2 Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of GOD. In verse 12,
“hasting unto” means
“hastening the coming”, as the NIV has it,
“speed its coming”. If this is true, then one can not help but wonder how it is possible that we can hasten the coming of the day of GOD's judgement? What part do we have in it?
Well, may I suggest that if it was postponed because of our disobedience (
unholiness), then we probably will have to repent of that disobedience and get into
all holy conversation and godliness before it will happen.
And for some, being martyred by some of hell's angels (ie, family members, church members, friends etc) is the final kicker for their achieving holiness, their willingness to accept the judgement upon all reprobate (man, woman and child) as just.
