Revelation 5:8-14

 

(Rev 5:8 KJV)
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Previously John had wept for he believed that the book was to remain sealed for they could not find one who was worthy to open the book and loose the seals. Well here the Lord Jesus Christ had taken the book from God the Father and with that transfer Heaven breaks out into colossal praise. The living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down and prostrated themselves before the Lamb. The twenty four elders are pictured as having harps. (Psa 33:2 KJV) Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Harps were used to bring praise to the Lord. The golden vials are really large golden bowls full of odours. The word “odours” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “incense.” This word is associated with sacrifices and offerings and not just an aroma. (Acts 10:4 KJV) And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. As Cornelius had prayed, it was in a vision that he was told that his prayers and alms were before God as a memorial. When we look at the golden vials which contained incense, it is symbolically the prayers of the Saints which had ascended to heaven and were before the throne of God. It is believed that these prayers are the prayers of the Saints that are praying for the consummation of the ages and the return of Christ. (Rev 16:15 KJV) Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. In the tabernacle and temple, there was an altar of incense. The incense was compounded and was prepared once a year. It was to be used one pound per day and three pounds on the day of atonement. The altar was positioned before the veil between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. Incense was to be burned in the morning and evening.

(Rev 5:9 KJV)
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Now a new song is being sung. This new song has its focus on the redemption the Lord Jesus Christ effected through His sacrifice on Calvary. Since Christ was the one who effected redemption by Himself, He was worthy to take the book and to open it and open the seals. (Heb 1:3 KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Christ’s effectual redemption of the Elect, by His own blood, redeemed us to God, in other words, the Elect of God were reconciled unto Him. The redeemed of God can be found in every country around the world. (Mat 24:31 KJV) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. On the last day when God finally winds up this present sinful generation, all the Elect will be gathered from all the nations on earth. The new song always focuses on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of the book of Revelation.

(Rev 5:10 KJV)
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

(Rev 1:6 KJV) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Not only did the Lord Jesus Christ save us from a burning Hell but in addition to that (if that wasn’t enough), He made us Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the earth. Whatever we are going to reign over on earth is still a mystery now but will be revealed on the day of our final redemption. This verse is not teaching that we are going to reign in some mythical thousand year millennium on earth but the reign of the believer is going to be forever in the New Heaven and New Earth. Daniel also saw the fact that the true believers are going to reign over a kingdom. After all, if the true believer is a king, then they must have some kingdom to rule over. Here Daniel also states that the Kingdom is going to be an everlasting Kingdom.

(Dan 7:22 KJV) Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

(Dan 7:27 KJV) And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

(Rev 5:11 KJV)
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

In verses nine and ten, the elders sang the great song of redemption. The angels cannot sing a song of redemption because they do not need to be redeemed. The angels who rebelled with Satan will be judged and cast into Hell. The angels which stayed in heaven are called the Elect angels. (1 Tim 5:21 KJV) I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. The number of angels around the throne are basically innumerable as we see the numbers above. This is why Jesus told His disciples that His Father could easily send legions of angels to deliver Him. (Mat 26:53 KJV) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Twelve legions of angels is merely a drop in the bucket compared to the number of angels which God created.

(Rev 5:12 KJV)
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

The extremely large crowd of angels with the elders and the four living creatures made a very loud voice. The word “loud” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “great.” The voice was a great voice in worshipping the Lamb who was slain for the sins of His Elect. There are seven things that the great voices in unison are stating that the Lamb is worthy to receive. The first one is power. He has all power and authority in heaven and earth. His power was able to raise the dead, cast out demons, and do miracles but He never used His power in an incorrect way, in fact, He never used His power to even save Himself from the cross. The next item He received was riches. The wealth of the universe and of the earth belongs to Him. (Psa 24:1 KJV) The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. These are the material riches but the true riches are those of the Gospel and redemption. (Luke 16:11 KJV) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Next is wisdom. Christ is the embodiment of wisdom. (1 Cor 1:24 KJV) But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Then comes strength. This strength is God’s mighty strength which is strong enough to save a person. (Isa 59:1 KJV) Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: Then comes Honor. The honor he receives as Redeemer, mighty God, and all that He has accomplished being the Lamb of God. (Psa 96:6 KJV) Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. (1 Pet 2:17 KJV) Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Then comes glory. He now receives the heavenly glory from where He came from before He entered the humiliation of coming in the flesh to a sin filled world. He was pure and holy and walked among the sinful for thirty some years and now He receives the glory that is akin to the glory which God receives. In Revelation chapter one we saw the radiance of His countenance which caused John to fall at His feet as dead. His inner glory is reflected by the outer glory. The final one is blessing. The word in Greek is “eulogia” which means “praise.” He is worthy to be praised by all His people and the angels in heaven. He is now exalted because He was humbled on earth as a man.

(Rev 5:13 KJV)
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Here is probably the greatest worship session in the universe taking place as John sees it. Not only are the angels, elders, and living creatures in Heaven giving honor and glory to the Lamb, but now John sees included those on the Earth, under the earth, and those in the sea. (Phil 2:10-11 KJV) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; {11} And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This praise session is different as a possibility that even those created animals under the earth and those in the sea are praising God. What we have here is the entire creation praising their creator. (Neh 9:6 KJV) Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. If God can cause Balaam’s donkey to speak, He can open the mouths of all the animals in the creation to sing praises. Keep in mind though that we are reading apocalyptic imagery and instead it may be referring to those believers who have died and were buried and are being resurrected to eternal life or those who died in the sea and now are being resurrected on the last day unto eternal life and are praising the Lord. This scene is part of the “now and not yet” scenario. In other words, in the Bible there are only two ages. The present age and the eternal age to come.

(Titus 2:12 KJV) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

(Mark 10:30 KJV) But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

(Luke 18:30 KJV) Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

This means at the present time (the now) there is only as limited praise being given to the Lord from the body of believers but according to the Scriptures, there is coming a day when the entire creation, including the enemies of Christ, will bow down and worship Him (the not yet).

(Rev 5:14 KJV)
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

The sequence of praise now refocuses back into the throne room where the four living creatures and the elders once again prostrate themselves in worship to God the Father and God the Son. The eternality of God is a prominent theme in the book of Revelation and it is a great encouragement to believers that as long as God lives, we too shall live, and that will be forever and ever.