Hi Gino, John and Doves,
Gino - your post linked below. I have often thought about this. My instinct that it is talking about all the martyrs - old and new Testament. This because they are told to wait a little longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. Revelation 6:11. They are given white robes which tells me that they don't have that long to wait. The huge crowd that appear in heaven in Revelation 7:9 are all wearing white robes and these people are described as being from every nation and every language - not just Israel. In the warnings to the 7 churches, which are all in Turkey, Smyrna was warned it was about to face persecution. As this all appears to be before the rapture, I lean toward the belief that it will be Christians residing in the Middle East that are likely to face intense persecution. And, we know that Israel is going to be attacked most viciously.
I can't wait to find out the truth of all prophecy - the perfection.