Revelation 5

Verse 1

The Scroll

"And I saw on the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals."

In Revelation 5, the subject changes. The focus is not on the throne, but on a book, actually a scroll (books did not yet exist in John's time). It is a scroll sealed with seven seals. Using this scroll as a starting point, the main character of the book of Revelation is introduced: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb who is depicted as having been slain. A verse-by-verse approach is more difficult in this chapter because a later section sheds light on a previous section. Therefore, we are looking ahead to what comes later. The big question is what the scroll represents, on the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. Understanding the scroll is an important key to understanding the rest of Revelation. What the scroll symbolizes is also evident from what is mentioned later in Revelation about the scroll and its seals. Below, we summarize the characteristics of the scroll and its seven seals:

1.   The scroll is on the right hand of Him who sits on the throne (5:1).

2.   The scroll is written inside and on the back (5:1).

3.   The scroll is sealed with seven seals (5:1).

4.   No one in the visible or invisible creation is able to open or even look at 

the scroll (5:3).

5.   A victory was required to open the scroll (5:5).

6.   Someone had to die to open the scroll (5:9).

7.   Someone had to buy people and prepare them as kings and priests to

open the scroll (5:9, 10).

8.   The ultimate result of opening the scroll is that people will rule over the

earth (5:10)

9.   The opening of the first four seals of the scroll triggers action from the

throne. One of the four living creatures says four times, 'Come!'Then four horsemen, earthly powers, bring disaster upon the earth (6:1, 3, 5, 7).

10. The opening of the fifth seal triggers a cry for vengeance for the blood of

those slain for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus (6:9).

11. The opening of the sixth seal causes a tremendous earthquake and

unleashes cosmic forces. The inhabitants of earth conclude that the wrath of the Lamb has come (6:12).

12. The opening of the seventh and final seal causes silence in heaven for

about half an hour, followed by the giving of seven trumpets to seven angels and the offering of incense with prayers of the saints. Then the trumpet judgments begin (8:1).

 

After the last reference to the scroll in Revelation 8:1, the scroll and the seven seals are nowhere explicitly mentioned again. Two other books appear on the scene, the 'little book' in the hand of a strong angel and 'the book of life'.  The book of life is mentioned for the first in the Lord's address to Sardis, (Rev.3:5) and it keeps playing a role of the utmost importance until the very end of time (13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 21:27). In the final chapter, the book of Revelation itself, "this book", is mentioned four more times (22:7, 9, 10, 18). However, these books are in no way identical to the scroll in the hand of Him who sits on the throne. The little book had to be eaten by John and this is followed by events concerning Jerusalem and the people of Israel - it is the Endtime story of God's people within the story of the whole earth. The book of life is "the Lamb's" and contains the names of all who are saved from eternal fire by grace and through faith in Him. And "this book" is the Book of Revelation, written by John and for the first time mentioned in Revelation 1:11, where John was instructed to write everything he saw "in a book" and send it to the seven churches.

 

The scroll in the hand of Him who sits on the throne is not mentioned again after chapter 8. However, it is still referred to. This occurs in Revelation 16:17. After the opening of the seventh seal, six trumpets are blown with severe judgments on the earth, and after the blowing of the seventh trumpet, seven bowls containing God's most severe judgments are poured out on the earth (chapters 12 through 14 are interludes, clarifying the situation on earth between the judgments). After the pouring out of the final, seventh bowl, a loud voice comes from the throne, saying, "It is done." This means that what is written in the scroll has been fully fulfilled. It therefore seems that the scroll encompasses the plans, the execution of the events we see in chapters 8 through 16 (after the breaking of all seven seals in 8:1).

 

We will now look at the meaning of the above twelve characteristics of the scroll and the seven seals. (1) After compiling all the information about the scroll, it can be cautiously concluded that the book in the hand of the One seated on the throne represents the will of God Himself. It is God's purpose for His creation. God's will for His creation is no secret but is already stated in the first chapter of the Bible:

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every seed-bearing plant which is on the face of the whole earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; they shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that moves on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.” (Gen.1:27-30)

That last phrase, “and it was so,” lasted only a very short time. Things soon went wrong, and we know why. At the time Revelation was written, creation had already been subjected to fruitlessness (or vanity) for some 4,000 years. It bears no fruit for God. It does not fulfill its purpose. But God does not abandon the works of his hands. He does not abandon his plans for his creation because of human disobedience or deception by the devil. Still, in the right hand of the One on the throne lies the will about creation, as He intended it. This will also contains the terms for its execution, the path by which creation must be liberated from fruitlessness. All of this is written in the scroll.

 

(2) The plan by which creation must be liberated is not simple. Humanity has become so entangled in the devil's lies that creation is increasingly in danger of degenerating into chaos. He who sits on the throne has prevented absolute chaos time and again. He did this by repeatedly making a new beginning with humanity and by diligently caring for His creation with His blessed creative hands. Think of the rainbow around the throne. But the definitive redemption of humanity and creation from the grip of barrenness is a long journey. That is why the scroll is written inside and out. This detail indicates the colossal and extensive nature of the liberation program.

 

(3) In seven days, God created heaven and earth. It seems that the liberation of heaven and earth is more complex. Solely to open God's will regarding the restoration of heaven and earth, seven seals must first be broken. Just like the writing on the inside and back of the scroll, this also points to the enormous feat that must be accomplished to bring God's will to fruition. The events that take place when the seals are broken must be seen as effect or expressions of the enormous resistance from the forces hostile to God, to which humanity has surrendered itself. This resistance, however, must come to light and be overcome.

 

Verses 2-4

Mighty Angel

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?" And no one in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, was able to open the book or to look upon it. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look upon it.

For the first time since John was given a glimpse into heaven, an angel is now mentioned. An entire chapter has passed without the word "angel" being mentioned even once. Some commentators equate the four living creatures in the midst of and around the throne with angels. However, the book of Revelation continually distinguishes between the four living creatures and angels. We previously indicated that their place "in the midst of and around the throne" seems more likely to indicate a visualization of four characteristics of God's governmental ways. God's governmental ways are so concrete, consistent, and vivid that they are depicted as concrete animals.

 

The first angel to appear on the scene is a powerful angel, crying out with a loud voice. This angel, though powerful, is unable to open the book himself. No angel is capable of directing God's governmental ways with his creation toward the goal God desires. If God were to leave this to an angel, He would be making Himself dependent on a creature. That is something God would never, ever do. It would be contrary to His holiness. It is as Isaiah said:

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. Do not fear, neither be dismayed. Have I not caused you to hear and declare it from the beginning? For you are my witnesses: is there a God besides me? There is no other rock; I know none.”

But there is a second reason why an angel cannot carry out God’s plan. If an angel did so, that angel would receive dominion over the earth. However, that is not God’s intention. In Hebrews 2 we read:

“For he has not subjected to angels the world to come, which we are about to see. But someone somewhere testified, saying, “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You regard him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.”

God intended for man to have dominion over creation—not an angel, not even He Himself, but man. Of course, the earth remained God’s possession. He is and remains the Creator. In Haggai, God says, “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of hosts.” And to Israel, God says in Leviticus, “… the land is Mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with Me.” But man would be God’s steward and rule on God’s behalf. Therefore, only man can carry out God’s plan by managing creation as He sees fit.

 

However, there was a major problem. That problem isn't mentioned here in Revelation, but it's more or less assumed to be familiar. The problem was human failure. For four thousand years, God looked for a human being who could carry out his plans, but all people fell short. Four thousand years is forty times one hundred years, or approximately forty generations. Forty is the number of trials. Israel was tested for forty years in the wilderness and failed. After forty generations of testing, it had to be established that no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth—not a single person—would ever be able to carry out God's plans and lead creation to the purpose God had for it. Jesus was tested for forty days in the wilderness.

The problem isn't mentioned. The seed of the problem lies in Eve's temptation by the serpent. This meant disobedience to the one commandment God had given humanity and introduced sin. "Through one man sin entered the world..." This meant obedience to the devil's temptation and introduced the devil's dominion over humanity. In several places, the devil is called the god of this age or the prince of this world. Jesus did not challenge the devil's dominion over the kingdoms of the world. All this signified the execution of the judgment God had warned of: death. "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin..." The devil is the one who had power over death. The dominion of sin, the devil, and death means, in a word, fruitlessness or vanity. For God, creation bears no fruit. It does not fulfill His purpose. For humans, their existence is primarily trouble and suffering. This had been the new normal for four thousand years.

That humanity could not redeem itself from this also has to do with the fact that all people are descendants of a fallen Adam. Every descendant of Adam's lineage bears the stain of sin. Yet, God gave humanity the opportunity to prove themselves. But no one has been able to fulfill the divine plan for creation.

 

John is deeply moved by the fact that no one can carry out God's will for his creation. In fact, no one was deemed worthy to open the book or to look upon it. No one is capable of even perceiving God's plans for the redemption of his creation. This would mean that the "new normal" of the reign of sin, the devil, and death would persist forever, and that there would never be redemption, never a return to the old normal, the creation as God intended it, of which He could say, "It is very good," under the blessed rule of humanity. That is indeed something to be utterly distraught about and to weep uncontrollably over.

 

Verses 5, 6

The Lamb

"And one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and its seven seals.' And I saw a Lamb standing in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, as it were, a Lamb as if it had been slain; and he had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

It is one of the twenty-four elders who comforts John. Several times in Revelation, John engages in brief conversations with those he sees in his vision. Twice this happens with one of the elders. The conversation originates with the elders. It concerns information about how people are related to the throne. Here, it is the One in the midst of the throne. In chapter 7, it is about a great multitude that no one can count before the throne. We never see the elders acting in relation to creation. We see them only engaged in relation to the throne. Toward the throne, they direct their worship. Toward the throne they cast their crowns. Toward the throne they direct their new song. Toward the throne ascends the incense from their golden bowls. On the contrary, the four living creatures and the angels act in relation to creation. In later chapters, angels speak to John about events concerning the people of Israel, the state of the apostate church, and the condition of the bride of the Lamb.

 

John is comforted by one of the elders. He was utterly distraught because God's plans for his creation seemed to be thwarted for eternity. That there is no weeping in heaven seems to be contradicted by this passage. Generally, however, there will be tears of joy. Or tears evoked by the enormous contrast between the struggles of the old creation and the glory of heaven. God Himself will then wipe the tears from their eyes. John is immersed in deep sorrow because no one in the entire visible and invisible universe is deemed worthy to even see, let alone carry out, God's plans, represented by the scroll with the seven seals. He who might be capable of this must meet the following criteria:

 

(1) He must not be an angel (He has not subjected the future world to angels…).
(2) He cannot be the seed of Adam (all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God).
(3) He must, however, be human (…fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And: What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you regard him? You have put all things under his feet).
(4) He must be God Himself (God does not give His glory to another. Besides Him, there is no other Redeemer or Rock).

Only one Person in history meets each of these requirements: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. He who was not of the seed of Adam but He was the seed of the woman. He who was simultaneously the offspring of David and the origin of David. As Jesus Himself stated to the religious authorities: “What do you think about Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “How then can David, in the Spirit, call Him Lord, when he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool?’ If David then calls Him Lord, how can He be His Son?”

He was not an angel, not a descendant of Adam, yet fully Man and fully God. Only He met the requirements for carrying out God’s plans for His creation. But given the enormous problems engulfing creation—the inextricable knot, the completely shattered structures, the unmanageable chaos, the endless series of wrong decisions, the excessive disobedience to God and servility to Satan—it was a tremendous task to extricate that creation from it. It required a tremendous victory. The book of Revelation is very sparing with its use of the past perfect tense. Of the few rare instances, we find two here, in quick succession: "The Lion has conquered". "The Lamb stands as slain". This last expression is particularly remarkable. It's a combination found only here: present tense (to stand) with past perfect tense (as slain). Although the victory has occurred once—"it is finished,"—the "having conquered," "being finished," "being slain" is presented as a continuous state of affairs.

 

Only the Lamb is said to be "in the midst of the throne." The four living creatures were "in the midst of the throne and around the throne." But the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. He is also in the midst of the four living creatures. The Lamb is the most central element of God's throne. The Lamb is the foundation from which God can govern His creation. Who else could be the Lamb but God Himself? All groups that claim otherwise adhere to a terrible and horrific, God-dishonoring heresy. Only the Lamb is worthy to take the scroll and break its seven seals. The Man of Sorrows, who was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, is the One of Whom it is said: “The Lord’s purpose will prosper in his hand.” The Lord’s purpose is the scroll with the seven seals.

The Lamb is the One who said: “Sacrifice and offering you have not desired; you have opened my ears; burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, ‘Lo, I come; in the scroll it is written about me; I delight to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.’”

The scroll in God’s hand contains plans that can only be carried out by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. We have seen in part why above, but later the elders sing of another reason, something of which is already seen here in the “standing as a Lamb that was slain.”

God asked the people of Israel for a grain offering, a burnt offering, and a sin offering, but not for Him. God asked nothing less of Him than perfect obedience. And the Son gives the Father credit for this: "You have opened My ears." God asked nothing less of Him than to do His will, in which the Son, as a Man, says He "delights." How can this be reconciled with the "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done"? That prayer in Gethsemane reveals the enormous scope and the horrific depths of the work that Jesus Christ came to perform as the Lamb of God—but above all, for Him, the deepest desire to do the Father's will. The law was in Christ's innermost being. Not only the Ten Commandments, but everything that God could ask of mankind, He fulfilled as a Man. Here again, we see Christ as the "ark of the covenant" (containing the law), as the "throne of God," or the "Lamb in the midst of the throne."

 

The Lamb is also seen in the midst of the elders. The elders are those who have insight into God's ways of government and who, wearing crowns and seated on thrones, are depicted as co-regents with God. But their position is entirely and solely due to the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Without Him, they would not have been seated there but would have been eternally trapped in the clutches of sin, the devil, and death.

 

It is remarkable that John did not realize on his own who it was who would be found worthy to break the scroll with its seven seals. Given his Gospel, he has a vivid memory of the moment he heard John the Baptist say at the Jordan, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as Jesus came to the Jordan. The fact that John completely forgot about that moment in the midst of his vision indicates how impressive the moment of the mighty angel's cry was, and the complete lack of a candidate to take on God's great commission.

 

The Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God. This, too, indicates that the Lamb is God Himself. The Spirit of God is also called "The Spirit of Jesus" in Acts, for example. The horns speak of power. The eyes speak of awareness. Seven is a fullness. The seven horns and seven eyes speak of God's omnipotence and omnipresence. After his resurrection, Jesus could say to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (seven horns) and “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (omnipresence). God himself says to Asa, king of Judah: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.” Here too, we find the combination of eyes and power. And in Zechariah, God says: “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

 

The seven-fold Spirit was also present in Revelation 4 as seven fiery torches before the throne, in connection with the light of God needed in the darkest period of world history, which is described in Revelation. Here, the light of God’s Spirit is further supplemented by the powerful working of the Spirit. Here, the Spirit is not before the throne but has been sent out into the whole earth. The church is seen in heaven in the twenty-four elders. After the rapture of the church, there will be a brief absence of believers on earth. But through the working of the seven-fold Spirit of God, this will be very short-lived. God's Spirit will then work very powerfully, especially in the people of Israel, but through Israel, also throughout the earth. This is comparable to the time of the first Christian community in Jerusalem, from where the gospel spread throughout the entire world in a very short time. During the Great Tribulation, this will be even more powerful. In Revelation 7, we see the working of the seven-fold Spirit in the 144,000 sealed ones and the great multitude that no one can number from all nations.

 

Verses 7, 8

Worship

"And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

That we are dealing with figurative language here is evident from what happens in verse 7. The Lamb is in the midst of the throne and comes and takes the book from the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. The "in the midst of the throne" must be understood as the most central factor in God's governmental ways throughout the ages. The "coming" of the Lamb expresses that the initiative rests entirely with the Lamb. After forty centuries no human being has been found worthy to carry out God's plans for his creation, even though, according to God, only a human being would do. And finally appears Someone who has done everything possible, has completely effaced Himself, has sacrificed Himself in the most profound way anyone can, in order to be able to carry out God's plans. And He comes forward—after everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth had to look at each other in silence—at the request of the mighty angel.

 

The act of ultimate obedience to His God, "Behold, I come to do Your will," is visible for eternity in His "standing as slain." But at the same time, He comes. He came into the world 2,000 years ago. Then He said, "Behold, I come; in the scroll it is written of Me; I delight to do Your will, my God." Here, in Revelation 5, after fully fulfilling God's will for His life on earth, on the cross, He comes to the throne to receive the scroll from God's hand and to carry out God's will for the earth from heaven. At the end of Daniel's last week of years, which is described in Daniel 7 and in Revelation 19, He comes again with the clouds of heaven to truly take control of the entire earth.

 

The Lamb's taking of the scroll from the hand of Him who sits on the throne is the most original event, which sets the entire rest of the book in motion. Therefore, it had to be a "mighty angel" who issued the call to open the book and its seven seals. The impetus for all the events that follow first triggers something in heaven. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall down before the Lamb. That is very profound.

 

The four living creatures are the essential characteristics of God's government, intent on the ways of God with his creation and ceaselessly crying out "Holy, holy, holy." They fall down in worship before the Lamb. This does not occur in chapter 4, where they "will give glory, honor, and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne." Here they fall down before the Lamb, indicating that the Lamb forms the perfect basis for the expression of all God's essential characteristics in his ways and that He is the perfect confirmation of God's holiness. The creatures see the essential characteristics of God perfectly shining forth in everything the Lamb accomplished on earth. Just as the four living creatures portray the four aspects of God's character toward his creation, so the four Gospels reveal the four aspects of the Person of Christ and his work. Matthew, the Lion of the tribe of Judah; Mark, the Servant who, like a mighty ox, finished his work; Luke, the perfect Son of Man; John, the Son of God, descended from heaven like an eagle.

 

The elders are described as falling down for the second time. In Revelation 4, it was in imitation of the thanksgiving of the four living creatures. Here, it is simultaneous with the four living creatures. In Revelation 4, it was about God as Creator. Here, it is about the Lamb as Conqueror and Redeemer. In this, the elders' understanding coincides with that of the four living creatures. In Revelation 4, the elders had crowns, which they cast down before the throne. Here, in Revelation 5, they have harps and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Given the timelessness of the moment—as we will see—this applies to all the prayers of all the saints throughout the ages, not just the prayers of those on earth during the period of Revelation 6-19, such as the saints against whom the beast from the sea wages war in Revelation 13. Along with their righteous deeds (the pure, fine linen), the prayers are the only thing the saints take with them to heaven. The crowns, harps, and golden bowls are given there (albeit as a reward, but they receive them there and therefore do not take them with them from earth—as is the case with the prayers and righteous deeds).

 

Verses 9,10

Bought with His Blood

“And they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood from every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign over the earth.

The timelessness of the moment is evident in the present tense of "And They Sing." Unfortunately, there are virtually no translations that correctly render the verb tenses of Revelation. The only one that did so has been discontinued since 2012 because no digital version was available. Even the Blue Letter Bible doesn't always correctly render the verb tenses, while it makes the original Greek text available in one or two clicks. It is precisely these tenses in which the verbs appear that are an important aspect of the interpretation of Revelation. The book is primarily written in the past tense to indicate the complete certainty of the situations and events that are still future. After all, God is not subject to time but produces creation in all its dynamics of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia as a single, coherent whole, taking into account trillions upon trillions of human decisions. Moreover, every second is divided into a quadrillion trillions of indivisible fractions of time. That's how great God is—unimaginably far beyond our tiny comprehension. In Isaiah, He says, "Remember the former things, from ancient times, that I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient times the things that have not yet been done, saying, 'My counsel will stand, and I will do all my pleasure.'"

 

But not everything in Revelation is in the past tense. And what is written in a different time period draws the reader's special attention (at least that's the intention). This happened in Revelation 4 with the appearance of the four living creatures, who have no rest, "day and night," and say: holy, holy, holy. Incidentally, the Greek reveals another detail: the verb form is singular. Literally, it says: "The living creatures has no rest" and "the living creatures says." This resembles what is written in Genesis 1, where it says: "In the beginning created gods," "Elohim"—God in the plural. This often refers to the triune God. But it can also refer to the four living creatures, who are attributes of God as Creator and Ruler of the universe - diverse but acting as one.

 

The homage of the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4, which is initiated by the future thanksgiving of the four living creatures, is also written in the present tense. And here, in Revelation 5, the singing of the twenty-four elders is presented in the present tense, as something that, like the uninterrupted cry of God's holiness by the four living creatures, will be heard throughout all ages—a timeless event.

 

This is the first time that singing is mentioned in heaven. At the foundation of the earth, the morning stars rejoiced (sometimes not entirely correctly translated as "sang"). In Isaiah, the seraphim, each with six wings, call out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy." In the fields around Bethlehem, the angels "said," "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." In Revelation 4, there was no mention of singing yet, only of speaking. Singing in the Bible occurs after a redemption, as is evident from the moment of the first song of praise, after the redemption of Israel from Egypt, on the other side of the Red Sea. This is also the case in Revelation. Singing occurs whenever redemption is mentioned. This will become increasingly evident later in Revelation.

 

Although one of the elders has already indicated who alone is worthy to open the book, and although the book has already been taken by the Lamb from the hand of Him who sits on the throne, it has not yet been revealed why the Lamb alone is worthy to take and open the book. It is the privilege of the elders, together with the four living creatures, to make this known.

 

Their singing is accompanied by music, the harps, and prayer, the golden bowls filled with incense. Everything they have seen of the Lamb in their lives on earth ascends as sweet-smelling incense, along with their singing, before the throne of God. The harps and the incense reveal the inner movement of the hearts of the twenty-four elders as they sing. While a song can sometimes be sung thoughtlessly on earth, in heaven the sound of the voices harmonizes with a rich inner experience.

 

The song begins with a reiteration of what we already know from one of the elders. Characteristically, the elders speak directly to God and the Lamb. We don't hear angels do that. In Revelation 4, the elders proclaimed, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory..." Here, they speak to the Lamb: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals." To get a feel for the atmosphere, click on this beautiful American Youth Choir. Immediately after the exclamation that the Lamb is worthy to take the book and open its seals, the reason why the Lamb alone is worthy finally follows: “… for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign over the earth.”

 

There we have it: People ruling over the earth. That was God’s plan from the beginning. “Rule over the fish of the sea…”, “for He has not subjected to angels the kingdom of the world we are speaking of,” “… what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You regard him… You have put all things under his feet.” That man, by listening to the devil’s lie, has submitted himself to that devil, does not mean a definitive end to God's plans. But it cost God His All to free us from the stranglehold of sin, the devil, and death—the blood of His Own. He had to become Man, and that Man had to be slain as a Lamb.

 

With His blood, He purchased. It doesn't say "redeemed," but "bought," as if it were a transaction in economics. The big question, of course, is to whom the price had to be paid. There is a false doctrine that claims the price had to be paid to Satan. This doctrine holds that God did not want the cross at all, and neither did Jesus. We must therefore ignore the prayer in Gethsemane, "Father, Thy will be done." This error holds that the devil and human evil alone brought suffering upon Him, and that by allowing this evil to come upon Him, He demonstrated the ultimate love of God and Himself. The latter is true, but the former is not. You have to delete quite a few verses from your Bible to adhere to this doctrine, such as, "Therefore does the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." The lie, as so often happens, is mixed with truth to make it look like something. This false doctrine has unfortunately recently gained a lot of attention again among Christians. It's amazing how quickly people succumb to every new wind of doctrine. But the payment of Christ's blood to Satan is too much honor for Satan. Therefore, he must be pleased with this view among Christians.

 

Although Satan is the god and prince of this age, as we have seen, that doesn't mean he was entitled to any payment. The Bible portrays the devil as (1) the liar from the beginning, (2) the murderer from the beginning. The devil accomplishes (2) on the basis of (1) - setting people against each other through lies, and behold, the result: murderous behavior. This began very quickly and led to the ultimate murder in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God. The Bible also portrays satan as (3) the accuser of the brothers. In this latter capacity, Satan, as the jurist of heavenly affairs, oversees that everything is in accordance with God's holy requirements. In this respect, he is essentially a complement to the four living creatures, with the difference that the four living creatures want everything to conform to God's holiness, while Satan wants everything to contradict God's holiness, so that he can vigorously accuse—hence: accuser.

 

Unfortunately, as an accuser, he is often right when it comes to humans. In that capacity, they cannot rule the earth. Payment must be made before they can do so. Not to Satan; he is merely an accuser. Just as an accuser does not receive money from a party who is proven wrong on earth. The money must be paid to the party who is proven right. It was God who was robbed of his honor by man, not the devil. God had created man in his image and likeness. But humanity had become a caricature of God. Therefore, it was God who had to be satisfied.

 

It is God Himself who, as a Man, became the Lamb who paid that full satisfaction to God. The Lamb in the throne makes the fulfillment of God's plans on the throne possible. The blood of the Lamb was therefore brought into the inner sanctuary, where God, not the devil, reigns. Because the human being Jesus Christ has restored to God the honor that humanity had stolen from Him, all humanity can share in the dominion that Christ receives from the hand of God—everyone who wishes to be among the redeemed through faith in Him and His finished work. People are bought by Jesus Christ and made kings and priests. As kings, they reign with Him over the earth. As priests, they appear with Him before the face of God, as is already seen here in Revelation 4 and 5.

 

For the past 6,000 years, humanity has, in a sense, ruled over the earth, but humanity itself was not free. Jesus said, "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin." Through sin, the devil had gained control over humanity and established structures in human culture that only strengthened his grip on humanity. Every act of human disobedience gave him a stronger hold on the human spirit and greater influence on the course of history. That is why the Bible calls him the god of this age, the prince of this age, and speaks of the spiritual powers of wickedness in the heavenly realms.

 

There is wickedness in the invisible realm, and humanity is dominated by it in all its facets. That is why the Bible speaks of the slavery of corruption, from which creation must be liberated into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom.8:21). The twenty-four elders sing about this in Revelation 5. They praise the Lamb, who brought about this liberation by the shedding of his blood. God's demands have been met in every respect. Thus, the accuser is silenced forever and his grip on humanity is broken. Instead of ruling under the occult influence of the deceiver, the liar, and the murderer from the beginning, from the moment of assumption of all power by Christ, as recorded in Revelation 6-19, man will rule openly under the dominion of the Lamb. No one can say it better than Paul: “For if by one man’s trespass death reigned through one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

 

Verses 11, 12

Angels

“And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and their number was ten thousand ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’”

After the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders following them, have sung "You are worthy" to God as Creator, and then sung "You are worthy" to the Lamb as Redeemer, it's the angels' turn. There aren't four or twenty-four of them. There are millions (? x 1,000 x ? x 1,000) and hundreds of millions (? x 10,000 x ? x 10,000). Replace the question mark with a three, and we arrive at approximately 1 billion. It is an unparalleled revelation that John receives here. We also read about angels in the Old Testament, but nowhere do we see such an innumerable multitude. Only at the birth of Christ in Bethlehem does it appear that there is "a multitude of the heavenly host." And during the arrest in Gethsemane, Jesus speaks of "more than twelve legions of angels." That would be more than 12 x 6,000 = 72,000. But as many as are mentioned here in Revelation, who could ever have imagined? It shows how great God is as Creator, just like the enormous dimensions of the universe, which humans can barely imagine.

 

The number of angels is so great that John hears and sees "the voice" of angels. And if a single angel can sound like the noise of a crowd or a trumpet, then this must be a deafening spectacle. Especially since they also use a loud voice. It is so voluminous that John not only hears the voice but also sees it. The angels are seen at a greater distance from the throne than the four living creatures and the elders. They stand around it, an immense multitude. There is a Japanese choir with ten thousand members that performs the chorus from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Just look at that and imagine that a chorus of angels will arise, not humans, but angels, ten thousand such gatherings. It is an unimaginably grand event, dwarfing anything humans can organize on earth.

 

They do not address the Lamb directly. It is not "You are worthy." That honor is reserved for the four living creatures and the elders. We humans fail to grasp the enormous privilege we have been given to address God and the Lamb directly. Any prayer addressed directly to God, no matter how simple, elevates a person above the level of the angels. The angels say (not sing): "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain..." Again, it is about the worthiness of the Lamb. But there is a difference. The elders sing of His worthiness in taking the scroll and opening its seals, in being slain, in having purchased it with His blood—in short, the immense redemption He provides for all who trust in Him and, on that basis, to fulfill God's plans for His creation. But the angels mention other things He is worthy of. It is a seven-fold value that they pronounce:

“Worthy is the Lamb to receive: (1) power (2) and riches (3) and wisdom (4) and strength (5) and honor (6) and glory (7) and blessing.”

The angels’ praise goes beyond everything previously mentioned in Revelation and beyond everything that follows. In the opening of the letter, the apostle John ascribes to God (1) power and (2) glory. In Revelation 4, the four living creatures ascribe to God “(1) glory, (2) honor, and (3) thanksgiving.” The twenty-four elders say that God is worthy to receive “(1) glory, (2) honor, and (3) power.” The song of the twenty-four elders concerns the Lamb's worthiness to "take the book and open its seven seals," based on his moral glory, evidenced by the enormous price of his blood, which He paid for his own so that He might work toward dominion through his own, together with Him, according to God's purposes for his creation.

The cry by the angels of worthiness for the Lamb connects with the last point: that the Lamb will set his efforts on the work for the dominion of a humanity that is redeemed by Him. If we analyze each of these elements of value, which the angels attribute to Him, according to the meaning of the root words, we get the following:

(1) Dynamis: (a) strength inherent in one's nature and which one exercises, (b) power to perform miracles, (c) moral strength of perfect character, (d) financial strength, (e) strength inherent in numbers and resources, (f) strength inherent in armies
(2) Ploutos: (a) abundance of possessions, (b) fullness, (c) something with which one is endowed
(3) Sophia: (a) absolute, supreme intelligence of God and of Christ, (b) wisdom in forming and carrying out counsels in the governance of creation
(4) Ischys: (a) ability, power
(5) Timè: (a) Honor associated with one's rank or position, (b) reverence
(6) Doxa: (a) excellence or majesty of a supreme ruler, (b) absolute perfection of God, (c) the perfect inner perfection of Christ
(7) Eulogia: Praise, honor, blessing, praise

If we list these elements of the worth due to the Lamb, we see the unfolding of the kingdom, about which the twenty-four elders already sing: “…and we will rule over the earth.” How the establishment of that government takes place is evident from the order of the praise expressed by the more than one billion angels. Therefore, the loud voice of the angels immediately follows the singing of the elders. There is a (chronological) order.

 

The establishment of the Kingdom of God by and in people of His good pleasure begins with “dynamis,” (1) power, arising first from the ultimate power of His Personality, but subsequently also power to perform miracles and power due to unlimited resources. We see the exercise of this power taking place from Revelation 6 onward, after the breaking of the sixth seal, after the rapidly increasing chaos on earth. When seal six is broken, all creatures suddenly crane their necks, looking around in terror, as they say to each other, "Wow, what was that?" It is a massive earthquake, no longer measurable on the Richter scale, accompanied by the unleashing of cosmic forces unparalleled in history. It is the first manifestation of this "dynamis," the gigantic power of the Lamb. Because of the widespread dissemination of the Bible and Christianity throughout the centuries, everyone on earth is deeply aware that this can be none other than the Lamb, something they admit with fearful voices as they try to hide from his face in the caverns of the earth.

 

From that moment on, we see in the trumpet and bowl judgments a series of angelic exercises of pure "dynamis," based on the power of the Lamb. The appearance on the earthly stage of the Lamb Himself, in Revelation 19, brings an abrupt end to all God-dishonoring, God-hostile, and God-challenging opposition from players we will yet encounter. The Lamb accomplishes this again through the exercise of irresistible dynamis.

 

After the "dynamis" comes (2) the "Ploutos," abundance. Under the blessed rule of the Lamb and his followers, an enormous wealth will spring forth from the earth, which has been present there for all those thousands of years but has never been explored due to the devil's deception and human sin. The book of Revelation strongly emphasizes the "dynamis" and briefly reviews other aspects of Christ's dignity at the end of the book, when the image of the twenty-four elders is replaced by the New Jerusalem, the entirety of all those purchased by the Lamb. The enormous size of the city and its building materials reveal something of the immense wealth reserved for the reign of the Lamb.

 

Following the "Ploutos" is (3) the Sophia, wisdom in the execution of all God's counsels. The Lamb is the lamp of the New Jerusalem, so that the government of the earth will be carried out with wisdom.

 

Then follows (4) the Ischys, the possibilities and the power that will bring an end to all curses. The leaves of the tree of life, growing by the river of the water of life that flows from the throne in the New Jerusalem, will be for the healing of the nations.

 

Then follows (5) the honor and (6) the glory that will be brought into the New Jerusalem by the nations of the earth. The nations of the earth will finally be freed from the devil's deception, of which the organization of the "United Nations" now represents the sad nadir, surpassed only by the tyranny of the beast. The time will come when the nations of the earth will bring their honor and glory to the New Jerusalem.

Finally, (7) follows the praise that will be expressed by all creatures. We read about this not in the final chapters of Revelation, but in the remainder of chapter 5. Therefore, this chapter seems to extend much of the rest of the book unto the end of the present creation - that is: till Revelation 20:11 - 'And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them'.

 

If we compare the praise of the angels here in Revelation 5 with that in Luke 2, at the birth of our Lord and Savior, there are clear differences. There, the familiar chorus, so often heard at Christmas, resounded: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among men of his good will." The important word missing in Revelation 5 is "peace." This has to do with the enormous resistance that humanity, in following the devil for 2,000 years, has shown against a government by Christ. In chapters 2 and 3, this hostility is evident in everything, not only from the world that has rejected Him, but even from a Church that professes to serve Him. That Church—as we saw in Revelation 2 and 3—despite all the renewal that God's Spirit repeatedly provides, slides completely into a Laodicean state, given over to the worldwide delusion of zionism, and so lukewarm that Jesus has to spit it out of his mouth. Much of church history has been characterized by the apostate Babylon of Revelation 17. It will end as deceptive fig-leaf of the empire in Revelation 18 and will go down forever.

 

With such a deeply sunken humanity, there is no "peace," but a thorough purification through an enormous manifestation of power. Essentially, the angels' song in Revelation is: "Power in the Man of God's good pleasure, and glory on earth to the Man of God's good pleasure." For ultimately, there is One Man of God's good pleasure, Jesus Christ, and "we are made acceptable in Him." (Eph.1:6)

 

Verses 13, 14

Every Creature

"And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the power forever and ever.' And the four living creatures said, 'Amen.' And the elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever."

These two verses of Revelation are among the most difficult in the entire Bible. The book is primarily structured chronologically. But chronology is almost inevitably abandoned here. The praise of “every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and upon the sea, and in the sea” stands in stark contrast to what follows in chapters 6 through 19. There we read of witnesses who are cruelly killed for their testimony and for the word of God; of people who, despite all of God’s judgments on earth, do not repent of the works of their hands; of earthlings who rejoice over the death of two witnesses; of a beast that blasphemes God and everything that pertains to Him; of a beast that deceives the whole earth and forces the whole world to worship that first beast; of people who go along with that worship, and who will be tormented for it, whose smoke ascends forever and ever; of people who blaspheme the name of God because of the plagues, and who do not repent to give Him glory. And at both the beginning and the end of the millennial reign of Christ there is conflict. While that struggle is short-lived, it exists and points to fierce resistance against “Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb.”

 

The key to understanding these verses lies in what precedes them: the unparalleled worship of billions of angels. This worship, which originates in heaven, subsequently engulfs all of heaven and then all of the earth, and so on. But the worship of the angels anticipates the victories of the Lamb. It begins with his power. That power manifests itself in the judgments that will precede the Kingdom of God. In connection with this, humanity's fierce resistance to God is described, which we read about in chapters 6 through 19 of Revelation—even to the point of blasphemy. But then follow riches, wisdom, strength, glory and honor, and finally, praise. That praise is unleashed by everything the Lamb will accomplish, and then no creature can ignore the fact that God is “worthy to receive.”

 

That chronology is abandoned here can be inferred from the fact that John, after describing the immense angelic choir, does not begin with "and I saw" or "and I heard." Instead, he begins to indicate the scope of what follows: "And every creature in heaven..." and only then follows: "I heard saying." John is, as it were, overwhelmed by the enormous applause the angelic choir receives from all of creation, a vast, all-encompassing sound reaching his ears from a distant future, initiated by the angels and by the breaking of the seals with which the unleashing of the Lamb's power will start.

Two important questions arise when reading these final two verses of Revelation 5:

(1) How extensive is the scope of the praise offered?

(2) When is the praise offered?

 

The praise to which the hundreds of millions of angels are summoning, is answered by a cry of praise from an unimaginably large multitude. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord," declares Psalm 150. But here it's not just "everything that has breath" but "everything." Every created thing. Every creature. The word for "creature," used here, appears only once more in this form: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." This is referring to the eating of food. When even inanimate nature begins to praise God, it is an event of enormous proportions. Jesus may have been referring to this when, during His entry into Jerusalem, He said to the Pharisees: Luke 19:40, “I tell you, if these were silent, even the stones would cry out.” This worship is also more expansive than what Paul means when he writes that “at the name of Jesus every knee bows, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Not only those with knees and a tongue, but every creature—everything participates in the worship at the end of Revelation 5. Moreover, Revelation also mentions “on and in the sea.” The worship referred to at the end of Revelation 5 is not only comprehensive in the types of creatures that participate, but also in its spatial extent:

In heaven
On earth
Under the earth
On the sea
In the sea

In heaven, on earth, and under the earth, no one could be found worthy to open the book and its seals. Only the Lamb could do that. After the Lamb has done this, and first the elders and then the angels have shown the foundation and purpose of the Lamb's worthiness, everything in heaven, on earth, and under the earth comes into view again. For everything that ever existed, nothing remains but to praise the One who alone could bring God's plans to fulfillment.

 

The word for "heaven" here is the same as throughout Revelation 4 and 5. It refers to the dwelling place of God and the angels. Although it has already been said that billions of angels cry out, "Worthy is the Lamb," here again every creature "in heaven" is referred to. The billions of angels were seen surrounding the throne. They are in the unimaginably large throne room of God. But heaven may have more rooms, chambers, and compartments. We have no idea of the vast expanse of invisible reality. Here, a glimpse of the veil is briefly lifted. The angels, elders, and all who populate heaven participate in the final universal praise. But also everything on earth, understandably, and then "under the earth", less understandably. This refers to things like the abyss, a very low place in invisible reality, where fallen angels are held captive and where Satan will be imprisoned. The demons begged Jesus not to "send them into the abyss." Even the demons join in this universal praise - "every creature". It is a continuation of what the disciples first saw when they said, "Lord, even the demons are subject in your name." It is reminiscent of the demons' cries when they are cast out by Jesus: "You are the Holy One of God" and "You are the Christ, the Son of God." They are fallen angels who once cried out to God, "Holy, holy, holy!" Seeing Jesus and his victories, something of that ancient glory returns to them.

 

The question is where the universe, the vast expanse of space with its billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, belongs. It isn't even mentioned here, but it could be understood as "in heaven," since angels are linked to stars more than once in the Bible. It's possible, but that's speculation, that the visible universe is nothing more than a shadow of the thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in the invisible heavenly realm. That the sun, moon, and stars are included in this cosmic worship can also be seen from Psalm 148: "Praise the LORD from heaven! Praise Him in the highest places! Praise Him, all His angels! Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon! Praise Him, all the stars of light!" Praise Him, O highest heaven, and waters above the heavens." This Psalm also calls for praise of the sea monsters, all deep waters, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, wild animals and cattle, creeping things and winged birds, kings, princes, judges, men and women, young and old. In short: the praises for the Lamb at the end of Revelation 5 will be universal in the broadest sense of that word, one can imagine.

 

The second question concerns the moment when this creation-wide worship will begin. We have already seen that the praise offered by the angels is a very brief description of the millennial reign of Christ. It begins with a tremendous explosion of power in the judgments against the system that Satan has established in God's creation. At the same time, all instruments that Satan has used will be eliminated. The reign of Christ ends after a thousand years with the destruction of the last enemy, death. After that, Christ will return dominion to God and be subject to God. God will, with the people saved by Him, make all things new, and then God will be all and in all, forever and ever.

 

Two things in the praise of Revelation 5 indicate that the universal praise of the last two verses still concerns the old creation, after it has been subjected by God to the Son and after the Son has destroyed all enemies—except death. These two things, which point to an old, not a new, creation, are the creatures on and in the sea and the creatures under the earth. First, we look at creatures on and in the sea. At the end of the history of heaven and earth, John sees a great white throne. Before the One who sits upon it, earth and heaven flee away, and no place is found for them. All that was hostile to God is destroyed in the lake of fire. Shortly thereafter, John sees a new heaven and a new earth, "for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away." "And the sea was no more." In the new heaven and earth, there is no more sea. If there is no more sea, there can no longer be any creatures on or in the sea.

 

Then the praise of Revelation 5 also speaks of creatures under the earth, which could refer to the abyss where demons are imprisoned. Satan, too, will be cast into this abyss at the beginning of the millennial reign of the Lamb. We don't know when Satan will also utter the praise of Revelation 5. But that it will happen is certain. It says here: "every creature under the earth." But then it can't be referring to the new heaven and the new earth, because at their creation, Satan is in the lake of fire. Not only will there no longer be a sea, but certainly no place "under the earth." There will be no more "abyss." Incidentally, the abyss, the place under the earth, is connected to the sea. The first few times we encounter the expression "under the earth" are in connection with the commandment not to make images of creatures, including those "in the waters under the earth." The "beast from the sea," in Revelation 13, is said in Revelation 11 and 17 to come up "out of the abyss." In the new creation, Satan and his demons have no place whatsoever, not even "under the earth."

 

The tone of the praise is flat and matter-of-fact. In Revelation 4, the four living creatures called God: "Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come." In Revelation 5, the angels called the Lamb: "the Lamb that was slain." But in the last two verses of Revelation 5, it only says, "Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb." These are highly official designations. It strongly resembles the pronouncements, especially of the great influential people on earth, who are terrified by the tremendous earthquake that followed the breaking of the sixth seal. Then they say, "...hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb..." Here in Revelation 5, John hears the praise that will flow from these same creatures after all the wrath of the Lamb has raged and the Lamb has undeniably triumphed. No creature can "get around God," nor "around the Lamb," so complete is the victory the Lamb has achieved in God's name. Worship is forced upon creatures who, up to that point, have not willingly submitted to God. It's like after a tennis match, where the loser has thrown several rackets to the ground and has shouted curses at the umpire, but ultimately can't resist briefly shaking hands with the winner over the net and and then to quickly disappear into the locker room. Psalm 66 applies here:

"Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing praises to His glorious name,
give Him praise and glory. Give Him praise and glory.
Say to God: How awesome are You in Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power, Your enemies feign submission to You.
Let all the earth bow down before You and sing praises to You,
let them sing praises to Your name. Selah"

 

The praise of all creation begins where that of the angels ended, with praise. It's almost the reverse order: praise, honor, glory, and power. What is lacking compared to the praise of the angels is "riches" and "wisdom." This may be because these riches and wisdom are already everywhere visible—in the millennial reign of the Lamb. Honor and glory are aspects of praise that can be given to God—at least in part—by people of their own free will, and these are given to God and the Lamb by the nations in the millennial kingdom. The praise ends with "power" with which the angels began their song of praise. But instead of the other three Greek words in the creation-wide praise this Greek word is different: 'Kratos' instead of 'Dynamis'. 'Kratos' is not so much the power in the sense of "force" - to bring about change in form or direction - but in the sense of "dominion" - the vastness of that which is being controlled. How appropriate. The change has already been accomplished by "Dynamis" and only the enormity of Christ's reign is still relevant; "Kratos"

 

Finally, the moment has arrived when, through the work of the Lamb, all existing creation has come under the blessed rule of God Himself. The kingdom of God, for which Jesus had already taught his disciples to pray, has finally arrived. All who resisted God to the end have been overcome and must admit that all power belongs to God and the Lamb. All earthly mortals who ever possessed power, have been corrupted by that power to a greater or lesser extent. The effect of power on humanity is so strong that it establishes a rule: "power corrupts." Finally, power belongs to God and the Lamb, who will never allow power to have even the slightest influence on their holy character. The praise ends with "forever and ever." Literally, it says: "ages, ages." This expression appears twenty times in the New Testament. The term seems to indicate an endless series of successive ages. Just as the thousands of thousands and tens of thousands of tens of thousands referred to countless groups of angels. Never, in any future age, will praise, honor, glory, and power be lacking to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

 

After the praise offered to God by all creatures, we hear the four living creatures say "Amen." The four living creatures, who in Revelation 4 "had no rest day or night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come,'" see the holiness of Him who sits on the throne fully confirmed, and instead of "Holy, holy, holy," they can say "Amen" to the praise from all creation. Through the work of Christ and its glorious results in the redemption of creation, all the demands of God's holiness have been met. Finally, the elders are mentioned. By God's grace, they have insight into God's counsels, and they worship Him.