Everybody sing!

 

Sing, make a joyful sound! 

Sing, life in Christ is found. 

Wages of sin and death, He paid them all! 

Sing, make a joyful sound! 

Sing, life in Christ is found. 

Now in my heart he reigns. 

Sing! Sing! SING!

 My father and I used to have this running debate.  I would sing a favorite hymn, usually during the Christmas season, and it would reference the angels singing over the manger, or to the shepherds.  He would point out that the scripture in Luke 2:14 does NOT say that the angels sang "Glory be to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace, goodwill toward men."  He would point to the text in verse 13, that says "A heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and SAYING..."  His conclusion was that angels, unlike men, cannot sing.

In my study of Revelation, I have found that my late father was wrong.

And when he (the Lamb) had taken it (the scroll), the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.  Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth."  Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.  They encircled the throne and the living creatures and elders.  In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the see, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"  The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. --Revelation 5:8-14

I purposely lumped all of these verses together in this study, because they follow an overarching theme.   First we see the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures singing a song about Jesus, the Lamb of God, being worthy to open the scroll.  In earlier blog postings I went over who the elders represent: probably the believers of the Old Testament (represented by Twelve Tribes of Israel) and the believers of the New Testament (represented by the Twelve Apostles) together.  I also explained what I think about the four creatures (the Lion, the Man, the Ox and the Eagle--see post entitled "What's Your Sign?")  You will remember in the first part of Revelation chapter five, no one was found worthy to open the scroll or break its seals.  John was so upset at this news that he wept.  But now that the Lamb has stepped up, and has been found worthy, the whole church is so happy that they sang a new song about it.  This song is an outpouring of contemporaneous praise.  They were so excited that they just had to sing.

Have you ever been so excited that you extemporaneously broke into song?  Maybe you got some great news, and suddenly you broke into your own version of "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters.  Or maybe you just started chanting the good news, and the chant turned into a sing-song rhythm, and you added the melody from "Ring Around the Rosies".  Go on, admit it.  You sang "I got the promotion" or "I got into college" with that simple four-tone melody.  That's how I imagine this scene unfolded before John's eyes and ears.  The elders and creatures representing mankind started declaring the worthiness of the Lamb, and before long it became something spoken in unison, then a chant, then a song.  They sang about the redemption of mankind through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  They sang about how that great work of redemption changed them from sinful creatures worthy of death into a kingdom of priests who serve God and will reign on earth.  What a transformation!  No wonder they were so happy.

Second, John says he saw multitudes of angels, and they sang their own song.  Remember, the angels know nothing of redemption.  They were created to serve God, and those who fell away were cast out of Heaven with Lucifer.  There is no way for a demon to change into an angel--they follow their nature.  Even so, they wanted to join in the celebration of praise to the Lamb.  So they sang their own song.  Sorry, Dad.  They sang of what they knew: that the Son of God is worthy of power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise--everything that they have to give is due to Him.  Let's repeat that: everything that they have to give is due to Him.  Are angels powerful? Yes, more powerful than humans.  Are angels wealthy? Well, they do walk on streets of gold, past walls made of every precious jewel.  Are angels wise? They know that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.  You get the picture, I don't need to go on.  The point is that they worship God with their entire being.

Third, John hears a song sung by every living creature ever made--those in heaven, those on earth, and those everywhere else that God may have created beings.  I'll confess I don't know whether "under the earth" means creatures of the sea, or souls in hell who ultimately acknowledge the Son of God, or even aliens from other galaxies yet undiscovered by men (hey, it could happen--we might not be alone in the universe, but if there are others, God made them, too.)  What I do know is that John heard everything that God has made sing his praises.

Let's go a bit deeper into the passage.  We know that God likes music, and that music is an integral part of worship.  Verse 8 says that the elders and the creatures all had harps.  Revelation 15:2 says that God had given them the harps: "They held harps given to them by God."  Apparently God likes harp music.  But we also see in verse 8 that God likes prayers.  He likens prayers to incense.  Psalm 141:2 says, "May my prayers be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."  Many religions use incense in their worship.  Your church may not, but when God first taught the children of Israel how to worship Him, he instructed them to use incense.  And revelation says that our prayers are like an offering of incense, pleasing to God--the sweet savor of adoration; the smokey scent of confession; the pleasant perfume of thanksgiving; and the fervent fragrance of supplication.  A secondary translation of Revelation 8:3-4 says, "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, consisting of the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand."  So God wants us to pray to him.  Prayer is an integral part of worship.

God also likes creativity and originality.  The elders sang to him a new song.  This phrase is seen elsewhere in Scripture:

• Psalm 33:3 "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy."
• Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."
• Psalm 96:1  "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."
• Psalm 98:1  "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him."
• Psalm 144:9  "I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you." (Note: this is probably what John meant in Revelation when it says God gave all of them a harp--a small, hand-held instrument, not a big concert harp.)
• Psalm 149:1  "Praise the Lord.  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints."
• Isaiah 42:10  "Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them."
• Revelation 14:3-4  "And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.  No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.  These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.  They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.  They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb."

There are songs in my heart that you will never hear, but God hears them.  There are songs on the hearts of men more holy than I, who live lives more closely attuned to His will; I will never know those songs.  But I can still sing, and I can make a new song in my heart to God.

Let's look at the new song that was sung by the elders in God's presence.  In verse 9 they sing that the Lamb is worthy "because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God."  Hebrews 9:12 says, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."  He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, not repeatedly year after year as did the Levitical high priests.  Christ's sacrifice was perfect, because it was completely effective and did not need to be repeated.  After he had obtained eternal redemption, Christ ascended into the true heavenly sanctuary.  Years ago singer/songwriter Andre Crouch wrote these words:

The blood that Jesus shed for me, 

Way back on Calvary, 

The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 

It will never lose its power.   

It reaches to the highest mountain.   

It flows to the lowest valley.   

The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 

It will never lose its power."

That blood was used to purchase us for God.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says "You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore glorify God with your body."  Christians in all stages of life should realize that their ultimate allegiance is to Christ, who bought them with his blood.  1 Peter 1:18-19 says, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect."  In the Bible, to redeem means to free someone from something bad by paying a penalty, or a ransom.  Likewise, in the Greek world, slaves could be redeemed by the payment of a price, paid either by someone else or by the slave himself.  Similarly, Jesus redeems believers from the "curse of the law" and "all wickedness".  The ransom price is not silver or gold, but Christ's blood.  The result is the "forgiveness of sins" and "justification."

And to think, that blood that redeems us from sin was offered willingly by our Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Makes you want to sing, doesn't it?

Sing praise to God who reigns above, 

The God of all creation. 

The God of power, the God of love, 

The God of our salvation. 

With healing balm my soul he fills,  

And every faithless murmur stills: 

To God all praise and glory! 

What God’s almighty power has made 

His gracious mercy keepeth. 

By morning glow or evening shade 

His watchful eye ne'er sleepeth. 

Within the kingdom of His might, 

Lo! All is just and all is right: 

To God all praise and glory! 

The Lord is never far away, 

But, through all grief distressing, 

An ever-present help and stay, 

Our peace and joy and blessing. 

As with a mother’s tender hand 

He leads His own, His chosen band: 

To God all praise and glory! 

Thus all my toilsome way along 

I sing aloud his praises, 

That men may hear the grateful song 

My voice unwearied raises. 

Be joyful in the Lord, my heart! 

Both soul and body bear your part: 

TO GOD ALL PRAISE AND GLORY!

Agnus Dei

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. --Revelation 5:6-7

 Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to read its contents?  The victorious Lamb of God!  He is pictured as the sacrifice for sin, and as the mighty conqueror, bearing the marks of its slaughter.  Many references in the Bible allude to the Son of God in this way:

• He was born in a humble setting, where animals were stabled, and was laid in a manger.  The Lamb of God born among livestock, because there was no room for him in more auspicious quarters.
• He was foretold by the Scriptures.  Genesis 22:6-8 says, "Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?'  Abraham replied, 'Yes, my son.'  Isaac said, 'The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'  Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the offering, my son.' "
• He gave himself up willingly to be the sacrifice for our sins. Isaiah 53:6-7 says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."
• He has fulfilled his divine mission.  John 1:29 says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' "  It may be that John chose this unique way of referring to Jesus' mission to point both to the sacrificial offering that Jesus would become, and to his subsequent conquest of all evil powers--the two ways by which he "takes away the sin of the world."
• He alone gives us access to a holy God.  1 Peter 1:18-19 says, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

John describes this vision of Jesus appearing as a Lamb, alive but looking as if it had been killed.  Maybe its white wool was stained red; maybe its body bore the scars of the sacrifice it had endured.  But there it stood, standing on the throne where God sat, taking a place of victory over death.  Surrounding him were the four creatures--the ox, representing strength; the eagle, representing freedom; the lion, representing power; and the man, representing reason--and joining them were the twenty-four elders, representing the Twelve Tribes of the Old Testament and the Twelve Apostles of the New Testament.  All were looking up toward the Lamb of God.

John adds three attributes of the Lamb, each described as seven-fold.  Three is the number of divinity--The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Seven is the number of completeness (three represents God, and four represents Man; added together, they make seven).  So when John said the Lamb had seven horns, it means He is all-powerful.  When he says the Lamb had seven eyes, it means He is all-knowing.  When he says He is like the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth, it means He is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time).  John has just described the attributes of God, yet he is giving this description of the Lamb, who is Himself God.

The image above shows the Lamb in possession of a cross.  A similar image is used by the Moravian Church, showing the Lamb standing and carrying a cross and a banner.  In our text, John says the Lamb took the scroll, that no one else in all creation was worthy to possess.  He had earned the right to stand in the middle of the throne, and to take the scroll, because of the cross He bore.  According to Church tradition, the banner he carries signifies victory.  2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."  We who join him in His battle over evil will share in his victory.

But what of those who do not join the Lamb, and who do not enjoy the victory which was purchased by His blood? Revelation 13:8 says, "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have been written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain."  So the Lamb is also in possession of the Book of Life, and that Book has had your name written on it from the beginning of time. And because God is all-knowing, He already knows whether you will be covered by the blood of the Lamb, or whether you will instead worship the Beast.  We humans do not have the mind of God--we do not know beforehand who will live or who will die; who will be saved or who will be lost.  But God in his wisdom has given us free choice, to accept Him or not.  The only soul you can control is your own.  I urge you to commit your soul to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  "For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The Latin phrase for Lamb of God is Agnus Dei.  This phrase has been in the Church liturgy for centuries.  You may have heard the older, more traditional hymn of this name, or you may be familiar with the more contemporary chorus below.  But the message has meaning, and I urge you to meditate on the meaning of the words of this song:

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Holy
Holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

You are holy
Holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Amen

Imagine a whole host of heavenly beings singing this song to the Savior, and you get the gist of what John was trying to say in Revelation chapter 5.