REVELATION 5:11-14
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of
many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the
number of them was myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud
voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
And every created thing which is in
heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in
them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be
blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
And the four living creatures kept
saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped (NASB).
INTRODUCTION
I. THE VISION OF ANGELIC WORSHIP OF THE LAMB VV. 11-12
After John had witnessed the worship
of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders (v. 10), he looked
again and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and
thousands of them. In this vision, John sees multitudes, innumerable, infinite
angels. What John is telling us is that the angelic hosts that he saw in the
vision cannot be counted. This makes the atoning death of Christ all the more
remarkable and something we are forever to be grateful. You recall when the
soldiers were coming to arrest Jesus and Peter drew his sword and cut one man’s
ear? After Jesus healed the ear of this man, Jesus told Peter to put his sword
in its sheath and said to him, if I were to fight, I could call legions of
angels to come to My defense. The vision of John here reveals that Jesus was
not bragging or exaggerating when He said that He could command angels to come
to His defense, but His death was a divine necessity for our sins. Here we see
angels worshiping Jesus, who was rejected by the religious leaders. We see
angels worshiping Jesus who was blasphemed by the Pharisees. We see angels
bowing before Jesus who was spat upon. We see angels falling down before Jesus
who was ridiculed by opponents. We see angelic hosts paying obeisance to Jesus
to whom they said, “He saved others but cannot save Himself.” We see infinity
of angels worshiping Jesus who was scourged, whose beard was pulled, and
finally nailed to the Cross. This passage is a vindication of the Lordship and
Kingship of Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian and you are entertaining some
doubts in your Christian life, pay heed to what the Book of Revelation is
teaching you. Jesus is worthy and deserves your loyalty and worship.
John’s eyes that had seen Jesus spat
upon, slapped, scourged, stripped, and crucified were now the eyes that were
seeing the millions of angels encircling the throne of the King of kings in
adoration and worship. The same ears that had heard Jesus blasphemed, falsely
accused, mocked, and convicted of blasphemy were now the ears that heard the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders join the millions of angels in
thunderous praise of the Lamb Who alone is worthy! Hallelujah!
If Jesus alone is worthy of all
praise—and He is—why do we seek praise for ourselves? Why are we offended when
others do not give credit for what we have done?
Ann Graham Lotz tells a story about a beautiful
woman who spoke dynamically and with humor for one hour and forty-five minutes
about herself. When she finished, the tired audience politely applauded as she
went to her seat. The master of ceremonies stepped into the pulpit, motioning
with her hands for the audience to rise for the benediction. The speaker did
not see the MC’s gesture, and thought the audience had risen to give her a
standing ovation! So she stepped back up to the pulpit to take the bow!
How many times do we do privately what
that speaker did publicly? We seek to bask in the limelight, craving the
applause of men, accepting an ovation that in reality is not ours. Those who
cash in on God’s glory will experience a “power shortage” and ultimately wind
up cheating themselves and others of the fullness of His blessing.
In verse 12, John states the content
of the praise and worship that are going on in the presence of the exalted and
enthroned Christ. The angelic hosts extol the worthiness of the Lamb to receive
"power and wealth and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing." These seven attributes leave
nothing wanting in the ascription of praise to the Lamb. All that belongs to
God the Father also belongs to the Lamb because of His redemptive work. The
first four of the seven attributes are qualities the Lamb possesses. The last
three express the attitudes of people to the Lamb. Let us break them one by
one. Power and wisdom—The Scripture
says, “But to those who are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24 ). Wealth—“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might
become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Strength—“Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10 ). Honor—“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace
of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). Glory—“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth” (John 1:14 ). Blessing—“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes
in the name of the LORD!” (Mark 11:10 ).
III. THE UNIVERSAL WORSHIP OF THE LAMB VV. 13-14
In verse 13, now all creation joins with the angelic hosts
in praise and worship of the Lamb. Verse 13 is a poetic language that should
not be taken to mean that the devil and his demons were also praising and
worshiping Christ. John is describing the universality of the redemptive work
of Christ. Sometimes if you want to share your faith with somebody he would say
something to this effect; “Why should someone who died thousands of years ago
affect my salvation?” If you reject the death of Jesus on the cross for you,
you have cut yourself completely from God’s saving grace. It is only the
finished work of Christ on Calvary ’s cross
that gives you the hope of eternal life when you receive Him as your Lord and
personal Savior. For if you reject Jesus’ offer of salvation for your life; you
have the devil for a friend and your doom is sealed. These days not every
tongue confesses Jesus as Lord. These days not every knee bows before Him but a
day is coming when “at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil.
2:10-11).
Those who refuse to bow before Jesus Christ today will be
compelled to bow before Him on that day. Whether they like it or not, they will
bow before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The sad thing is that
although these unbelievers will bow before Christ, it will be too late for them
to have a place in the Kingdom
of God
The White Supremacist, the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazis, the
Black Panthers, and all racists will be excluded from this assembly of joyful
worshipers, because they cannot stand this multicultural, multi-racial, and
multi-national worship. Heaven will be an international community in a real
sense. The worship that John describes for us in this chapter is an assurance
that through Christ, God will restore order and peace to His fallen universe.
The majestic song of creation is addressed both to God the Father and to the
Lamb, “To Him who sits upon the throne
and to the Lamb.” Revelation 3:21
reminds us that the exalted Christ with His Father has sat down upon His throne.
Here the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is even more evident. The Lamb (Christ)
is with God and is God (John 1:1).
With thrilling crescendo, the climax and grand finale of
the worship is reached. Not only do the four living creatures, the elders, and
the angels unite, but all creation joins in adoration and praise to God and to
the Lamb. The chapter concludes with a great “Amen!” as the elders fall down in
worship. The entire universe rocked in praise! The entire universe roared in
acclamation of the Lamb Who alone is worthy! Because the One Who is unequaled
in position and undisputed in power also receives universal praise. It is
noteworthy that the four living creatures kept saying “Amen” and the elders
fell down and worship. These were the ones who began the worship in the first
place.
Do you recall when Jesus and the disciples were returning
from the Garden
of Gethsemane
The question is what individual do you know who has set
himself or herself against Christ? What school or business? What organization?
What nation has set itself against Christ? What political leader or religious
leader has set himself/herself against Jesus? What religion opposes Christ today? One day
the entire world will set itself against Christ! But sooner or later, those who
set themselves against Him will find themselves on their faces before Him,
because God gives you and me the right to choose Jesus as Savior or reject Him.
However, God does not give us the right to choose whether or not we will
acknowledge Him as Lord. One day everyone will acknowledge Him, whether they
want or not, and the entire universe will resound with thunderous praise of the
One who alone is worthy as the sovereign Lord and the all-sufficient Lamb!
Therefore, with these glorious affirmations of the goodness
and mercy of God Almighty and of the Lamb ringing in John’s ears, he can endure
every persecution with confidence, despite the terrors about to be let loose on
the world described in chapters 4 and 5 of the Book of Revelation. The purpose
of the Apocalypse (Revelation) is not so much to describe the worship of
heaven, as to give hope and a sense of victory to His people on earth in the
struggles that lie ahead.
In the beginning of Revelation 4, I told you that chapters
4 and 5 are essential for the understanding of the Book of Revelation. Chapters
4 and 5 proclaim in vivid and confident terms that the world’s destiny is not
under the control of some blind fate. It is not under the control of Cho Seung
Hui the mass murderer of Virginia Tech, Usama bin Laden, or the terrorists who
are terrorizing our world today. The destiny of the world is not in the hands
of Boko Haram, ISIS, Hezbollah, or Al-Qaida. We are in the hands of a loving Father
and a Savior who died for us. He is in perfect control of the universe.
Are you discouraged by the evil that we are witnessing
today? Are you discouraged by the natural disasters that are taking place at
rapid rates? Are you discouraged by the killings and burning of Christians by
Boko Haram and ISIS? Are you discouraged by the pervasiveness of pornography
today? Are you discouraged by gang activities and bullies in schools today?
Then fix your eyes on Jesus and turn your heart to worship Him and open your
mouth to praise Him. The vision of His glory gives us hope that one day, the
godly minority will join the rest of the universe and become a majority of
those who praise and worship the Lamb forever and ever and ever! If you would
like to give your life to Christ, all that you need to do is to admit that you
are a sinner and cannot save yourself. Acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and
Savior. Believe in your heart that He died for you on the cross and ask Him to
forgive your sins. Drop me a note when you do that.
