The Adoration Of God The Redeemer: An Exposition Of Revelation 5:8–14

By David J. MacLeod

[David J. MacLeod is Dean for Biblical Studies, Emmaus Bible College, Dubuque, Iowa, and Associate Editor of The Emmaus Journal.

This is the final article in a three-part series on Revelation 4–5, “Worship in Heaven.”]

In recent years a smorgasbord of ideas has been propounded about who Jesus is and what He has done.[1] An increasing number of essays, books, and seminars advocating bizarre and nonsensical ideas about Jesus have been spawned, and the biblically illiterate public has been quick to embrace these ideas.

Jesus has been portrayed as a political zealot (S. G. F. Brandon), a social prophet (Richard A. Horsley), a charismatic Jew (Geza Vermes), a magician (Morton Smith), a cynic philosopher (F. Gerald Downing), or a modern chief executive officer (Laurie Beth Jones). Writers have argued that He was born near Qumran, traveled to Egypt in His teens where He was influenced by Buddhism, married Mary Magdalene in His thirties, was crucified but escaped death through the use of special medicines, married Lydia in His fifties, and celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Last Supper in Thessalonica (Barbara Thiering).

Another person has written that myth makers invented the idea of Jesus in order to disguise their fertility cult centered in the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms (John M. Allegro). A popular novelist said that Jesus survived Calvary only to be finally crucified overlooking the Bay of Naples as an old man (Irving Wallace). Meanwhile liberal theologians continue to deny the deity of Christ, His incarnation, substitutionary atonement, and resurrection from the dead (John Hick, Shelby Spong).[2]

In the theater He has been portrayed as a clown (Godspell) and as the Rock Redeemer (Jesus Christ Superstar).[3] In the infamous film The Last Temptation of Christ director Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus as wracked by doubt and indecision. At one point Jesus confessed His personal sin, saying, “I am a liar, I am a hypocrite, I am afraid of everything.. .. Lucifer is inside of me.”[4]

The publication of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has given great impetus to conspiracy theories that the early church covered up the truth about Jesus. Brown claims that (a) Christians did not view Jesus as God until bishops at the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) affirmed His deity by a close vote, (b) the earliest records about Jesus are not the canonical Gospels but are the Gnostic gospels found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, (c) thousands of documents presenting Jesus as mere man predate the canonical Gospels and the four Gospels were rewritten under commission from Emperor Constantine to make Jesus appear more Godlike, and (d) the church has conspired to cover up the fact that the early Christians worshiped God through ritual sex (Hieros Gamos, or “sacred marriage”).[5]

Whatever the skeptics decide about Jesus, believers will continue to follow the Scriptures, confess the creeds, say their prayers, and sing hymns to Jesus. As New Testament scholar and historian Mark Alan Powell notes, before the New Testament was written, hymns were being written about Jesus. A number of them are quoted in the Bible. Skeptics have no songs to sing to Jesus, but believers around the world do. Those songs contain the greatest story ever told, and that story preceded and is now recorded in the Scriptures and is part of the theology of the orthodox Christian church. Historians may continue their so-called “quests” for Jesus, but His people will not stop singing praises to Him.[6]

When believers turn to Revelation 5, they are cheered to realize that “only on earth is there any question about Jesus Christ’s identity and worth. In heaven they know who He is and what He is worth!”[7] “Only on earth is there confusion, perplexity and error.”[8]

This chapter portrays Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, whose infinite sacrifice has redeemed millions around the world. He is the One who is worthy, with God the Father, of universal worship. He is the regal Lion who in the future will exercise worldwide dominion over the earth. With this chapter before them believers can leave the ignorance, confusion, and blasphemy of skeptics and consider the testimony of heaven to the worth of Jesus Christ. This passage is “one of the greatest scenes of universal adoration anywhere recorded.”[9]

Chapters 6–19 describe the judgments that will fall on the earth in the seven-year period before the second coming of Christ. Chapters 4 and 5 are a preface to that period of tribulation. They point out that no matter how fearful and uncontrolled the forces of evil on earth may seem, God is governing His universe behind the scenes.[10] “A single motif binds together the double vision of chapters 4–5, namely, that the God of creation is the God of redemption, accomplishing his gracious will through the crucified and risen Christ.”[11]

Both chapters give glorious portrayals of worship in heaven. In chapter 4 God is worshiped as Creator. In chapter 5 He is worshiped as Redeemer. In 5:8–14 the adoration bestowed on Jesus leaves no doubt about what those in heaven think of Him. In a series of songs He is praised as the infinitely worthy One.

The Prelude To The Praise In Heaven (v. 8)

The Occasion Of The Praise

In a scene parallel to the one in Daniel 7:13–14 Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, stepped up to the throne and took a scroll from the right hand of God the Father (Rev. 5:7). No one else in the entire universe was found worthy to do it (vv. 2–4). The scroll is a testamentary disposition, that is, a testament or will. It contains the promised inheritance of the Messiah and His people, namely, dominion over the earth in the yet-future, one-thousand-year kingdom. Only Christ was found worthy to break the seals (symbolizing His authority to execute judgment) and to inaugurate the millennial kingdom on the earth.

The Lamb’s taking the scroll brought about a tremendous response of worship.[12] This is the act that all creation and all God’s people have been waiting for since Adam’s sin brought grief and sorrow into the world. By this act God’s enemies will be defeated, Antichrist destroyed, the devil vanquished, death overthrown, the curse lifted, the earth made new, and paradise restored.[13]

The Posture Of The Praise

The four living creatures, probably that high order of angels known as cherubs, the representatives of the animate creation, and the twenty-four elders, symbolic of the resurrected, glorified church in heaven, fall down “before the Lamb.”[14] In verse 14 the apostle added the verb προσεκύνησαν (“worshiped”); its basic meaning is “to kiss.” The Greeks used that verb when referring to throwing a kiss to one’s god. Then it came to mean “to fall down,” “to prostrate oneself,” “to adore on one’s knees.”[15] It also denoted the corresponding inward attitude of reverence and humility.[16]

Other postures assumed by believers when they pray include bowing the head (2 Chron. 20:18; Neh. 8:6), kneeling (Ps. 95:6), standing (1 Sam. 1:26; 2 Chron. 20:13; Pss. 24:3; 134:1). Augustine said that such outward gestures help believers pray more fervently. They help believers focus on the One to whom they are speaking.[17]

The Accompaniments Of The Praise

Each of the elders had a harp (or lyre), the traditional instrument used in singing the psalms, and a bowl full of incense. Grammatically the expression “having each one” (ἔχοντες ἕκαστος) could include both living creatures and elders.[18] However, there is no indication elsewhere that the cherubs have a priestly function, whereas the elders (i.e., the church) do (cf. v. 10).[19] The presence of harps[20] is another reminder of Christina Rossetti’s remark, “Heaven is revealed to earth as the homeland of music.”[21] John explained that the “golden bowls full of incense. .. are the prayers of the saints.”[22] The use of incense was a normal feature of worship in the Old Testament tabernacle and temple (Exod. 30:1–8; Deut. 33:10; 1 Kings 9:25). Incense symbolizes the prayers of God’s people ascending to the Lord.

Roman Catholic interpreters say this means that the elders or saints in heaven serve today as mediators of prayers voiced on earth.[23] However, this contradicts the statement in 1 Timothy 2:5 that there is only one Mediator in heaven, “the man Christ Jesus.” Also the scene in Revelation 5 is not a description of the present time; it describes future events, which will transpire immediately before the Tribulation. John was not implying that saints today in heaven convey to God the prayers of believers on earth. He wrote instead of the time when the entire church will be raptured and glorified in heaven.

The saints’ prayers should be understood as appeals to God for the coming of Messiah’s reign.[24] The requests in Matthew 6:10—“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”—are the age-long prayers of the church, which, from the perspective of the raptured saints in Revelation 5, are about to be answered.[25]

The Song Of The Elders And Of The Living Creatures (vv. 9–10)

The Song Of The Elders (v. 9)

The acclamation of the worthiness of the Lamb.[26] The great chorus of praise now begins, and it comes in three waves: (a) the “new song” of the living creatures and the elders (vv. 9–10), (b) the song (or chant) of the angelic host (vv. 11–12), and (c) the song of the entire created universe (v. 13).[27] New songs were sung at festal occasions in Old Testament times to celebrate new mercies from God (Pss. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10).[28] Here the new song of the elders and creatures relates to the new and greater deliverance that the Lord is about to make in the earth. The term “new” (καινός, not νέος) means new in quality, different, better than the old. By the Lord’s sacrifice He accomplished a wholly different and miraculous thing. A new covenant has been established, and its eschatological benefits are about to be seen (Jer. 31:1–30; Ezek. 36:1–25).[29] So the song is one of thanksgiving for the redemption Christ has accomplished and will accomplish.

The English word “ode” is derived from the Greek word ᾠδή (“song”) and is used of songs of mourning and songs of joy. Here it is a song of joy.[30] Many have wondered what the music of heaven will be like. Whatever its nature, it will be the most beautiful music anyone could imagine.

Probably the words in verse 9 will be sung by only the elders. The reading of the King James Version and the New King James Version is almost certainly correct, “You. .. have redeemed us to God.” Most modern translations, however, omit the word “us” and supply a substitute (“men” [NASB, NIV], “saints” [NRSV], or “people” [REB]). They do this for two reasons. First, they assume that both the elders and the living creatures are singing in verses 9–10. These translators assume that it is unlikely that the singers would say “us” in verse 9 and switch to “them” in verse 10. Second, they note that one important Greek manuscript (A, or Alexandrinus) omits the ἡμᾶς (“us”).

However, to omit a word from the Bible because of only one Greek manuscript is a serious blunder. The evidence supports its retention.[31] Verses 9 and 10 could well be presenting responsive or antiphonal praise.[32] In verse 9 the “elders” (i.e., the redeemed) sing, “You purchased. .. us,” and in verse 10 the “living creatures” (i.e., cherubs) sing, “You have made them to be a kingdom.”

The song begins with the elders’ words “Worthy are You.” This acclamation was used in Rome at state banquets and festivals to salute Domitian the emperor. Here it is addressed to the true Emperor of the world, Jesus Christ.[33]

The Lamb is worthy because of His death. Two of the standard German works on Revelation have remarked that there is one word in chapter 5 which can be considered its Leitmotiv, namely, ἄξιος (“worthy”).[34] Some writers have said that ἄξιος here simply means “able,” like the word ἱκανός.[35] True, no one was able to open the scroll (v. 3), but the angels’ proclamation (v. 2) and the elders’ song (v. 9) have to do with ἀξιότης (“worthiness”), that is, an inner ethical, moral fitness for the task.[36]

“Worthiness,” as seen in a large number of ancient texts, is not an inherent ability that entitles a person to something divine. Instead “it is the right inner attitude, shown forth by deeds which enable him to receive this gift. A severe test has brought this to light.”[37] What is striking in all these ancient texts, van Unnik wrote, is that in every instance some individuals were given access to a heavenly book. In Revelation 5:3, however, no one was found worthy; no one could pass the test.

Here, however, there is not a single person. That strikes out every category of favored persons: none of those who have repudiated the world; none of those who had been initiated in the mysteries; none of the sages; none of the prophets who according to Irenaeus desired to be worthy, however high they stand in the esteem of John as servants of God (cf. 1:1, etc.); none of the martyrs who steadfastly preserved their loyalty to God in the fire of testing, even if they have such an important place in the Apocalypse (cf. 2:13; 6:9). Nobody fulfilled the requirements. What an implicit, but for the ancients eloquent criticism of all sorts of religiosity, of all human religious worthies! These simple words are the end of all secret mysteries of apocalyptics and mystagogues. And because nobody has been found worthy, the book remains closed. This is the sad and saddening conclusion. 

Suddenly the voice of one of the Elders is heard; there is no need for weeping. His word is an unexpected and surprising declaration introduced by the word [“Behold”]. After all there is somebody who is worthy![38]

“The Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome” (v. 5) and has proven Himself worthy! “The Messiah has conquered and stood the test by his victory.”[39] The sequel in verses 6, 9, and 12 explains how the victory has been won. His triumph is not that of a victorious king in his glory, but paradoxically that of a slaughtered lamb. “He has been tested in his sufferings and has gained the victory.. .. All emphasis in this description lies on ‘Christ alone.’ ”[40]

One caveat needs to be expressed with regard to van Unnik’s excellent essay. It is true that the Lamb has “passed the test.” In addition, however, verse 9 makes clear that the One who is worthy “to take the book and to break its seals” does have—in addition to His victory in testing—inherent qualities that make Him alone worthy. Not only did the Lamb pass the test; He alone was worthy to take the test! He alone is David’s God and Son (cf. 22:16). He alone is the God-Man whose sacrifice has infinite efficacy;[41] He alone is the sinless Lamb of God (1 Pet. 1:18–19) who is the substitute for sinners; and He alone is the Davidic Scion who can sit on David’s throne. The Lamb is worthy, then, both because of who He is and because of what He has done. This is the necessary requirement for opening the book that contains the inheritance of the Davidic Messiah and His people.

The salvific work of the Lamb. The elders’ song says three things about His death.[42] First, it was a sacrificial death (“You were slain”).[43] Jesus’ death was not an accident; it was intentional and with purpose. The verb σφάζω (“slain”) is used in 1 John once and in Revelation eight times.[44] It means “to slaughter,”[45] and it implies a death of “violence and mercilessness.”[46] Christ died as God’s lamb.[47]

Second, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was a redemptive death (“You purchased” us).48 Each Passover lamb reminded the Israelites that they had been emancipated from slavery in Egypt. All people are slaves of sin (Rom. 6:6, 16–17), but by His death Jesus purchased His people’s liberation from the curse and penalty of that sin (Gal. 3:13).[49] And He will deliver them into the promised land of His millennial kingdom.

Third, it was a universal death (i.e., universal in its benefits). He purchased people “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”[50] The elders are not Old Testament Israelites; rather, they represent the New Testament church, including believing Jews and Gentiles;[51] they are from every nation on the earth.[52]

The Song Of The Living Creatures (v. 10)

Having heard the elders worship the Lamb for their redemption, the cherubs respond antiphonally. They too praise the Lamb for His redemption of the church, and they tell of its effects. Their praise reveals that the church, including believers from every nation, will also enjoy the promises made to Israel at Sinai. “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6; cf. Rev. 1:6).

Three things are mentioned in the cherubs’ praise, all of them resulting from the Lamb’s sacrifice.[53] (1) The Lamb has made[54] His people “a kingdom,” that is, they enjoy a royal status as sons and heirs of God (cf. Rom. 8:17; James 2:5). (2) He has made them “priests,” with the privilege of serving Him and of having free access into His presence to worship Him.[55] (3) He has given them dominion over the earth (“they will reign upon the earth”).[56] His redeemed people will reign with Christ during the millennial age.[57]

Some writers reject the idea of a literal kingdom on the earth.[58] They prefer to say that the saints reign now or will reign with Christ in heaven,[59] for the thought of an earthly kingdom, they say, is carnal and unspiritual.

However, surely the four creatures know what they are saying when they affirm that the redeemed will reign on the earth.[60] Significantly the cherubs use the future tense (βασιλεύσουσιν) when speaking of the reign of the saints.[61] A number of scholars have argued that it makes little difference whether the Greek text has the future (βασιλεύσουσιν) or the present (βασιλεύουσιν). They argue that even if it were the latter it should probably still be taken in the future tense, that is, as a futuristic present.[62]

The Song (Or Chant) Of The Angelic Host:The Reward Of The Lamb (vv. 11–12)

The Number Of The Angels (v. 11)

John’s attention then focused on angels who surrounded the throne. “The number of them,” John wrote, “was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands” (μυριάδες μυριάδων καὶ χιλιάδες χιλιάδων). The word “myriad” (μυριάς) is literally “ten thousand,” but in a context like this where it is compounded it means “a very large number, not precisely defined.”[63] John saw a company of angels that was innumerably glorious.

The Chant Of The Angels (v. 12)

John did not write that the angels sang. One scholar wrote, “Angels cannot sing the new song, because they have never fallen or needed to be born again. As a matter of fact there is nothing in the Bible to tell us that angels can sing at all.”[64] Whether or not angels can sing, John used the word “saying” (λέγοντες) here. Perhaps their hymn should be understood more as a chanted response than as a song.[65]

Also they do not praise the Lamb for redeeming them. No fallen angel will ever be redeemed, and of course no elect angel has ever needed to be redeemed. And yet the angelic world is fascinated by the redemptive work of Christ (1 Pet. 1:12).

According to the angels’ hymn the Lamb is worthy to receive seven great prerogatives.[66] (1) Power (δύναμις). As millennial King He will accomplish what He will set out to achieve. His people will always say of Him, “He is able.”[67] (2) Riches (πλοῦτος). Speaking of Jesus’ first advent, Paul said, “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9). Then in the millennium He will have the resources, as He does now, to carry out all His promises.[68] (3) Wisdom (σοφία). Paul called Jesus “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). As millennial King He will know, as He does now, all the secrets of the Godhead and the solution to all problems.[69] (4) Might (ἰσχύς). As the Lion He will disarm the powers of evil and overthrow the kingdom of the devil. There will be no situation with which He cannot cope.[70] (5) Honor (τιμή).[71] The day will come when “every knee [will] bow. .. and every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10–11)—not Nero, Domitian, or the Antichrist, but the Lord Jesus Christ. (6) Glory (δόξα). The word “glory” suggests the pomp, splendor, and fame that will characterize His court.[72] In addition to His essential divine glory (Heb. 1:3), Revelation 5:12 likely looks forward to His royal millennial glory (Matt. 19:28).[73] (7) Blessing (ἐυλογία). Christ will be praised and extolled by all created things.[74]

The Song Of The Created Universe: The Reign Of The Lamb (v. 13)

The Extent Of Their Acclamation

The apostle then heard “the roar of the great acclamation as it rises to heaven, and it is heard also within the circle round the throne.”[75] Every creature in the universe acclaims the worth of the Lamb. “This scene anticipates the universal acclamation to be offered at the consummation of all things. If it represents universal praise in an absolute sense, then it issues not only from God’s willing subjects but also from his opponents, who will be forced into submission (as in Phil. 2:10–11; Col. 1:20).”[76]

The Object Of Their Acclamation

They worship “Him who sits on the throne” (God the Father) and “the Lamb” (God the Son). Jesus’ sovereignty will be openly acknowledged in the millennium and on into the eternal state. Here Jesus is linked with the Father in worship. That the Lamb is worshiped is clear evidence of His full deity.[77]

The Postlude To The Praise In Heaven (v. 14)

The “Amen” Of The Living Creatures

John’s vision of the heavenly worship concludes with the four living creatures saying “Amen.” This idiom at the end of a time of praise means “So let it be,” “Truly, indeed,” “May the Lord do so,” “Right!” or “It is true!”[78] The four living creatures first offered praise in 4:8, and so it is fitting that they have the last word in this chapter.

The Worship Of The Elders

As the cherubs say “Amen,” the twenty-four elders, representing the redeemed and glorified church, “fell down and worshiped.” Appropriately the church is mentioned last, for the deepest homage is due from those who have been redeemed and made a royal priesthood to God.[79]

Implications

Heaven Thinks Highly Of Jesus Christ

In this scene of heavenly adoration the Lion-Lamb is worshiped as God the Redeemer. As David’s anointed Son and as the sinless Lamb of God, He alone was qualified to suffer as the Redeemer of humankind. Because of His sacrifice for sins He is esteemed worthy to open the book of inheritance and to reign over the world in the coming millennial kingdom. His death is the basis of the redemption of men and women from every nation on earth.

Charles Lamb (1775–1834), nineteenth-century essayist, told a group of friends, “If Shakespeare was to come into this room, we should all rise to meet him, but if. .. Jesus Christ was to enter, we should fall down to kiss the hem of His garment.”[80]

True Worship Is Theologically Informed Worship

A sense of worship should include feelings of humility, wonder, awe, mystery, thanksgiving, and peace. Yet the focus of true worship is not on human feelings but “on God’s presence, as it was and is and is to be.”[81] Worship in heaven focuses on the revealed truth about God and His Son—on their attributes and works.

Heavenly-Minded Christians Are Worshiping Christians

Vance Havner told of two river boats passing on the Mississippi River. An old man working on one of the boats spoke to a passenger and said, pointing to the other boat, “Look, yonder’s the captain!” The passenger asked for an explanation of his excitement. The old man said, “Years ago, we were goin’ along like this and I fell overboard, and the captain rescued me. And since then, I just love to point him out!”[82]

So too believers love to point out the Lord Jesus to others. God the Father loves to hear His people speak well of His Son. After all, He does so Himself (Matt. 3:17; 17:5).[83]

Jesus Can Purchase Any Sinner From The Guilt And Punishment Of Sin

As John watched, all heaven sang of that sacrifice. The great multitude of the redeemed came from every nation on earth. All had been guilty, and all were purchased by the blood of the Lamb. What will be true in that future heavenly scene is also true today. All who would enter Messiah’s kingdom must be purchased by that sacrifice. No one will enter the millennium unless he has been redeemed or purchased from the slavery of his sins by the efficacy of that sacrifice (John 3:3, 5).

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.[84]

Notes

1. The literature by contemporary skeptics grows steadily. The following works survey the current literature, provide sane scholarly rebuttals to it, and document the various theories mentioned in the introduction to this article: Darrell L. Bock, The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth behind Alternative Christianities (Nashville: Nelson, 2006); Craig A. Evans, Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006); Peter Jones, Stolen Identity: The Conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus (Colorado Springs: Cook, 2006); J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace, Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006); and Mark Allan Powell, Jesus as a Figure in History (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998).
2. R. N. Ostling, “More Spongtaneous [sic] Eruptions,” Time, February 18, 1991, 62.
3. Paul L. Maier, “The Jesus Game,” Eternity, December 1973, 23–24.
4. Quoted in John Leo, “A Holy Furor,” Time, August 15, 1988, 35.
5. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 233–34, 245, 309–10.
6. Powell, Jesus as a Figure in History, 183–84. Powell makes the telling observation that Philip Brooks, composer of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” was born the same year David Friedrich Strauss published his Life of Jesus (1835). “Not many read Strauss any more,” he says. “But, oh, that hymn!” (ibid., 184).
7. S. Lewis Johnson Jr., “The Christology of Heaven, part 2” (cassette tape, Dallas: Believers Chapel, 1989).
8. S. Lewis Johnson Jr., “The Mediator’s Cross according to Heaven,” Reformation and Revival Journal 5 (winter 1996): 17.
9. Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 134.
10. George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 70; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 116.
11. George R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, New Century Bible (London: Oliphants, 1974), 108.
12. “The worship of God in 4:8–11 is now replicated in the universal adoration of the Lamb” (Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002], 258).
13. Joseph A. Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 9th ed. (New York: Charles C. Cook, 1906), 1:286.
14. “Prostration [προσκύνησις] before the Deity is found throughout the Bible and was the most common form of Jewish worship. It is quite frequent in this book (4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4, 10; 22:8) and demonstrates the basic response of both human and angelic beings to the majesty of God” (Osborne, Revelation, 258).
15. “Where προσκυνέω is used absolutely it means to share in public worship, to offer prayers (e.g., John 12:20; Acts 8:27; 24:11), whence, in Revelation, προσκυνέω comes to denote a particular kind of prayer, namely adoration” (Hans Schönweiss and Colin Brown, “Prayer,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown [Grand Rapids; Zondervan, 1976], 2:877).
16. Ibid., 875–76; Heinrich Greeven, “προσκυνέω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), 758–66; and Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2000), 882–83.
17. Markus Bockmuehl, “Should We Kneel to Pray?” Crux, September 1990, 14–17.
18. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 89. The grammar makes it unlikely that the living creatures hold harps and bowls. The participle “having” (ἔχοντες) is masculine plural and its antecedent is οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι (“the twenty-four elders,” masculine plural) and not τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα (“the four living creatures”), which is neuter plural (G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999], 357).
19. R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1920), 1:144–45.
20. The harp (κιθάραν, “lyre”) was an instrument with ten or twelve strings used in temple worship to accompany hymns. It was a primary instrument for use in the singing of psalms (Pss. 33:2; 57:8; 98:5; 147:7). The strings could be plucked with a plectrum, though David played his with his fingers (1 Sam. 16:23). Although it could be used for somber arrangements (Job 30:31; Isa. 16:11), it was generally used to accompany songs of praise and joy (Pss. 43:4; 71:22; 81:1–3; 92:1–3; 108:1–3; 150:3–5). It is the most frequently mentioned instrument in the Old Testament, and it is referred to three times in Revelation (5:8; 14:2; 15:2). See Daniel A. Foxvog and Anne D. Kilmer, “Music,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 3:436–49, esp. 440, 446; Osborne, Revelation, 258–59; and Aune, Revelation 1–5, 355–56. Aune has a helpful discussion of the tabernacle furnishings (ibid., 356–58).
21. Christina Rossetti, quoted in Charles, The Revelation of St. John, 1:146.
22. The “golden bowls” (φιάλας χρυσᾶς) were wide-necked saucers filled with incense and used for temple offerings. They were placed on the table of showbread, alongside gold plates, dishes, and pitchers (Exod. 25:29; 37:16; cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 3.142–43, trans. H. St. J. Thackeray, Loeb Classical Library [London: Heinemann, 1930], 4:382–83). See also Osborne, Revelation, 258.
23. Eduard Schick, The Revelation of St. John, trans. Werner Kruppa (London: Sheed & Ward, 1971), 1:61; and Wilfrid J. Harrington, Revelation, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1993), 85.
24. Beckwith noted that the word used in verse 8 is αἱ προσευχαὶ (“the prayers,” i.e., supplications) not προσκύνημα, προσκύνησις (“act of worship,” neither of which is used in the New Testament), or προσκυνέω (“to worship”). He argues that the introduction of prayers into a worship scene in heaven is strange and therefore the words “which are the prayers of the saints” are probably a gloss (Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John [London: Macmillan, 1919; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979], 512; cf. Charles, The Revelation of St. John, 1:144–45; Aune, Revelation 1–5, 358). John Sweet rightly rejects this view, noting that “it is characteristic of John to indicate the earthly realities which lie behind heavenly scenes (cf. 1:20)” (Revelation, TPI New Testament Commentaries, 2nd ed. [Philadelphia: Trinity, 1990], 129). Robert L. Thomas adds that there is “no manuscript evidence for the omission of these words” (Revelation 1–7 [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 397).
25. Cf. Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 1:289; and Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 89.
26. Osborne notes that the song has three parts: the acclamation of the worthiness of the Lamb (v. 9b), the salvific work of the Lamb (v. 9c), and the effects for the followers of the Lamb (v. 10) (Revelation, 259).
27. William Barclay, The Revelation of John, rev. ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), 1:173.
28. Cf. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 126; Beale, The Book of Revelation, 358; and Osborne, Revelation, 259.
29. Johannes Behm, “καινός,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 3 (1965), 447, 449.
30. K. H. Bartels, “Song,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3:672–73.
31. “External evidence clearly favors the inclusion of ἡμᾶς” (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 360). For further discussion of this point see David J. MacLeod, “The Adoration of God the Creator: An Exposition of Revelation 4, ” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (April–June 2007): 209–11.
32. Moses Stuart, A Commentary on the Apocalypse (Edinburgh: Maclachlan, Stewart, 1848), 525. While not committing herself to defense of ἡμᾶς in verse 9, Lucetta Mowry does agree that verses 9–10 are an antiphonal praise (“Revelation 4–5 and Early Christian Liturgical Usage,” Journal of Biblical Literature 71 [1952]: 77).
33. Ethelbert Stauffer, Christ and the Caesars, trans. K. Smith and R. Gregor Smith (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1955), 147–91, esp. 155, 184.
34. Ernst Lohmeyer, Die Offenbarung des Johannes (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1953), 447, n 1; Eduard Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannes (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1960), 38; cf. W. C. van Unnik, “ ‘Worthy is the Lamb’: The Background of Apoc 5, ” in Mélanges bibliques en homage au R. P. Béda Rigaux, ed. Béda Rigaux, A.-L. Descamps, and André Halleux (Gembloux: Duculot, 1970), 448.
35. Charles, The Revelation of St. John, 1:139.
36. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 75.
37. Van Unnik, “ ‘Worthy is the Lamb’: The Background of Apoc 5, ” 457–57. Cf. Leo Koep, Das himmlische Buch in Antike und Christentum: Eine religionsgeschichtliche zur altchristlicher Bildersprache (Bonn: Hanstein, 1952).
38. Van Unnik, “ ‘Worthy is the Lamb’: The Background of Apoc 5, ” 459.
39. Ibid., 460.
40. Ibid.
41. Handley C. G. Moule wrote, “A Savior not quite God is a bridge broken at the farther end” (quoted in Sir Robert Anderson, The Lord from Heaven, 3rd ed. [London: Pickering and Inglis, n.d.], vi, italics his).
42. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:177–78.
43. The elders’ use of the word αἷμα (“blood”) reinforces the idea of sacrificial death. “The interest of the NT is. .. in His shed blood as the life violently taken from Him. Like the cross (σταυρός), the blood of Christ is simply another and even more graphic phrase for the death of Christ in its soteriological significance” (Johannes Behm, “αἷμα,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 1 [1964], 174). “To the Jewish mind ‘blood’ was not merely—nor even chiefly—the life-current flowing in the veins of the living. .. it was the symbol of sacrificial death” (J. Armitage Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 2nd ed. [London: Macmillan, 1907; reprint, London: James Clarke, n.d.], 29). See also A. M. Stibbs, The Meaning of the Word “Blood” in Scripture, 2nd ed. (London: Tyndale, 1954), 1–32; and Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 108–24. Both Stibbs and Morris ably refute the notion, made popular by Westcott and others, that αἷμα is a metaphor for Christ’s life released through death and now given to men (Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 2nd ed. [London: Macmillan, 1892; reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965], 293–95).
44. First John 3:12; Revelation 5:6, 9, 12; 6:4, 9; 13:3, 8; 18:24.
45. Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 979.
46. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: United Bible Societies, 1988), 1:236 (§20.72).
47. “The Johannine tradition probably has in view the Passover lamb which bears the mark of slaughtering on its neck.. .. The slain lamb is the basic Christological theme in John’s Apocalypse (Otto Michel, “σφάζω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 7 [1971], 934). Interestingly the verb ἐσφάγης (“slain”) sounds much like the word σφραγίδας (“seals”).
48. The two aorist indicatives (ἐσφάγης [“you were slaughtered”] and ἠγόρασας τῶ θεῷ ἡμᾶς [“you redeemed us to God”]) in this context “look back to the once-for-all action of the work at Calvary” (Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 400).
49. Leon Morris observes that whenever ἀγοράζω (“I redeem”) is employed, three aspects of the Atonement are in view. (1) “The state of sin out of which man is to be redeemed. This is likened to slavery, a captivity which man cannot himself break, so that redemption represents the intervention of an outside Person who pays the price which man cannot pay.” (2) “The price which is paid [i.e., Christ’s blood].” Redemption means more than deliverance. Instead it involves the payment of a price. “Christ bore what we should have borne.. .. He is our substitute.” (3) “The resultant state of the believer.” “Those so purchased are in a special relationship to God, and it is this which determines their conduct.. .. The redeemed are those saved to do the will of their Master” (The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 51, 57–59).
50. John’s list is polysyndetic (Aune, Revelation 1–5, 361). Polysyndeton is a rhetorical device in which a number of conjunctions, in this case καί (“and”), are used in close succession. The repeated καί with the four terms accentuates the idea of universality (Friedrich Blass and Albert Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. and rev. Robert W. Funk [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961], 241 [§ 460.3]).
51. Some argue that it is fruitless to see distinctions between these four terms. They argue that John was merely stressing the universal nature of the church, and he used these several terms for rhetorical impact (Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 136; cf. Henry Alford, The Greek Testament [1861; reprint, Chicago: Moody, 1958], 4:609). While it is correct that the words stress the universal nature of the church, the terms are not without distinction (Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 401). (1) The word “tribe” (φυλή) denotes “a group bound together by common descent or blood-relationship.” In the New Testament most references are to the tribes of Israel. In Revelation 5:9 the word includes the redeemed from the Gentile world, which also includes tribal groups (Christian Maurer, “φυλή,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 9 [1974], 245–50, esp. 245, 250). Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich say that φυλή means “a subgroup of a nation characterized by a distinctive blood line, tribe” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 1069). (2) “Tongue” (γλῶσσα) refers to a people group distinguished by their language (Johannes Behm, “γλῶσσα,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 1 [1964], 722). (3) “People” (λαός) speaks of a race, that is, “a body of people with common cultural bonds. .. a people-group” (Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 586). (4) “Nation” (ἔθνος) means “a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions” (ibid., 276).
52. The four terms (“tribe,” “tongue,” “people,” and “nation”) appear together five times in Revelation (5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6), but each time in a different order. The fact that John mentioned four units with the word “every” (πάσης) emphasizes the universality of the Lamb’s redemptive work (Aune, Revelation 1–5, 361). However, this does not mean that every person will be redeemed. John did not imply that all (πᾶς) without exception will be redeemed; instead he meant that all without distinction will be redeemed. People from all tribes, tongues, peoples, and nations will be purchased. The fact that not every person is to be redeemed is made clear in Revelation 14:3–4 (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 359).
53. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:178.
54. The aorist ἐποίησας (“You made”) is proleptic, that is, it anticipates the full inheritance of these things (kingdom, priests, reigning) in the earthly kingdom.
55. Osborne, Revelation, 261.
56. Beale notes a parallel between Revelation 5:10 and Daniel 7:27 (The Book of Revelation, 361).
57. Aune, Revelation 1–5, 362–63. “The notion of priestly service is closely linked with that of reigning with Christ in 1:6; 5:10 and 20:6. The last two references in particular suggest that the locus of Christian ‘service’ for John is the coming reign of Christ ‘on earth’ ” (David Peterson, “Worship in the Revelation to John,” Reformed Theological Review 47 [September 1988]: 72).
58. Two examples are Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 100; and Herman Bavinck, The Last Things, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 114–21. They say Revelation 5:10 describes an inaugurated eschatology, that is, Jesus’ kingdom began immediately after His death (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 362, 363). However, this ignores John’s own testimony that the kingdom is future, subsequent to the second advent of Christ (Rev. 19:11–20:6).
59. Some amillennial scholars say the saints’ reign will be on the new earth (Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The Book of the Revelation [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990], 82–83; and Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 274).
60. Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 1:291–92.
61. The editors of United Bible Societies Greek text give the future (βασιλεύσουσιν) an “A” rating (Barbara Aland et al., eds., The Greek New Testament, 4th ed. [Stuttgart: United Bible Societies, 1993], 843–44).
62. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 136, n 36; Osborne, Revelation, 268; and Alan F. Johnson, “Revelation,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, rev. ed., vol. 13 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 650. Cf. James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. (Edinburgh: Clark, 1908), 120; and Buist M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), 221–26.
63. Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 661. “Their number. .. is not to be taken arithmetically but as an apocalyptic symbol for a countless multitude” (Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 137).
64. Basil F. C. Atkinson, The War with Satan (London: Protestant Truth Society, 1940), 61.
65. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 137.
66. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:179–80. In Revelation 5:12–13 “the angelic choirs extol the omnipotence of the Lamb in a seven-membered doxology” (Johannes Schneider, “τιμή,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 8 [1972], 178). The seven nouns each joined by καί are another example of polysyndeton; this gives a “solemn dignity” to the list (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research [Nashville: Broadman, 1934], 427). The single article τὴν before the first of the nouns indicates that all seven form a conceptual unity (Aune, Revelation 1–5, 364; and Osborne, Revelation, 262–63).
67. Everyone in this scene, including the angels, awaits “His coming again in power, as He Himself [envisaged] when He [spoke] of the coming of the βασιλεία οὐρανου̑ μετὰ δυνάμει in Mark 9:1.. .. The return of Christ is the manifestation of the power which He has in His exaltation” (Walter Grundmann, “δύναμις,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2 [1964], 305).
68. The word πλοῦτος has the basic sense of “fullness of goods.” The only riches that matter are those that belong to the Lamb and His people in the coming kingdom (Friedrich Hauck and Wilhelm Kasch, “πλοῦτος,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 6 [1968], 319, 330).
69. Σοφία is the Greek synonym of חָכְמָה (“wisdom”), which speaks of understanding, intelligence, and skill. According to the prophets this will characterize the Messiah and His reign (Isa. 52:13; Jer. 23:5; cf. Louis Goldberg, “חָכְמָה,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke [Chicago: Moody, 1980], 282–83).
70. The ἰσχυ- word group has the meaning “to be able,” “to be capable,” “capacity,” “power,” and “strength.” The meanings overlap significantly with the δυνα- word group. Not insignificantly, ἰσχύς had the meaning “military power” in older Greek (Walter Grundmann, “ἰσχύς,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 3 [1965], 397, 399).
71. The word τιμή suggests “esteem,” “dignity,” and “recognition” (Schneider, “τιμή,” 174).
72. Bernard Ramm, Them He Glorified (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963), 10. On the glory of Jesus Christ in the New Testament see Gerhard Kittel, “δόξα,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2 (1964), 248–49.
73. The Son of God has always possessed divine glory, but in the millennial age He will receive glory as the messianic God-Man. Thomas, however, differs with this view and asserts that the angels adore the Lamb for “things that He already possesses” (Revelation 1–7, 404). “Glory” is used of Jesus in the New Testament in several ways: (1) His preincarnate glory, that is, His pretemporal existence in heaven (John 17:5; cf. 1 Cor. 2:8); (2) His moral glory, that is, His “Christological-soteriological glory” during His earthly life when He manifested His close connection to and dependence on the Father (John 1:14; 2:11); (3) His messianic glory, that is, the radiant transformation of His person witnessed at the Transfiguration, which looked forward to His messianic kingdom (Luke 9:29–31; 2 Pet. 1:16–18); (4) His acquired glory, that is, the glory bestowed on Him at His death-resurrection-exaltation (John 12:23–24; 13:31; Phil. 3:21; 1 Tim. 3:16); (5) His triumphal glory, that is, the splendor He will reveal at His second coming (Matt. 16:27; 24:30; 25:31); (6) His millennial glory, that is, the splendor—anticipated at His Transfiguration—that shall characterize His earthly kingdom (Matt. 19:28; 25:31); and (7) His eternal glory, that is, the glory to which He was restored after His earthly ministry and which He shall manifest in the eternal state. This glory is associated with and parallel to the glory of the Father (Rev. 1:5–6; 21:23).
74. Hermann W. Beyer, “εὐλογέω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2 (1964), 763.
75. Henry Barclay Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (London: Macmillan, 1906), 82.
76. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 365. Commenting on the universal reconciliation described in Colossians 1:20, Bruce writes that the peace Christ will bring will be accepted in glad surrender or imposed on rebellious forces that will be “compelled to submit to a power which they are unable to resist” (cf. Col. 2:15). See F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 75–76.
77. Morris, The Revelation of St. John, 98. Osborne writes, “The Christology of this passage is awe-inspiring. Only the Gospel of John parallels this book for its high Christology” (Revelation, 266). Beale affirms this truth by saying that “the hymns in vv. 9–12 emphasize Jesus’ deity more than most other passages in the NT” (The Book of Revelation, 358). “The elaborate description of. .. worship in Revelation 5 surely was intended to reinforce in the strongest terms the early Christian practice of including Jesus [the Son] with God [the Father] as recipients of worship on earth” (Larry W. Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003], 593).
78. Cf. Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 53; and Weston W. Fields, “The Translation of Biblical Live and Dead Metaphors and Similes and Other Idioms,” Grace Theological Journal 2 (fall 1981): 201–3.
79. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 83. “In a sense the theme of [John’s] whole prophecy is the distinction between true worship and idolatry.. .. The Apocalypse divides mankind into the worshippers of the dragon and the beast (13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4; cf. the emphasis on idolatry in 2:14, 20; 9:20) and those who will worship God in the heavenly Jerusalem (7:15; 14:3; 15:3–4; 22:3; cf. 11:1)” (Richard Bauckham, “The Worship of Jesus in Apocalyptic Christianity,” New Testament Studies 27 [1981]: 329; cf. idem, The Climax of Prophecy [Edinburgh: Clark, 1993], 135).
80. Archibald Naismith, 1200 Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1963), 214.
81. Mark Horst, “Worship’s Focus: Seeking the Face of God,” Christian Century, November 11, 1987, 991–92.
82. Dennis J. Hester, The Vance Havner Quote Book (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 28.
83. “Delling is right to assert that ‘in its innermost meaning primitive Christian worship was intended to be parallel to the worship of heaven’ ” (Peterson, “Worship in the Revelation to John,” 77; see Gerhard Delling, Worship in the New Testament [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962], 45).
84. William Cowper, “There Is a Fountain,” in Redemption Songs (London: Pickering and Inglis, n.d.), 137.