Revelation 5:9
“The Elders and Creatures Worship the Redeemer”Revelation 5:8–10
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
- καὶkaiAndG2532CONJConjunction
- ᾄδουσινadousinthey are singingG103V-PAI-3PVerb Present Active Indicative 3rd Plural
- ᾠδὴνōdēna songG5603N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
- καινὴνkainēnnewG2537A-ASFAdjective Accusative Singular Feminine
- λέγοντες·legontessayingG3004V-PAP-NPMVerb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
- ἄξιοςaxiosWorthyG514A-NSMAdjective Nominative Singular Masculine
- εἶeiare YouG1510V-PAI-2SVerb Present Active Indicative 2nd Singular
- λαβεῖνlabeinto takeG2983V-2AANVerb 2nd Aorist Active Infinitive
- τὸtotheG3588T-ASNDefinite article Accusative Singular Neuter
- βιβλίονbiblionscrollG975N-ASNNoun Accusative Singular Neuter
- καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
- ἀνοῖξαιanoixaito openG455V-AANVerb Aorist Active Infinitive
- τὰςtastheG3588T-APFDefinite article Accusative Plural Feminine
- σφραγῖδαςsphragidassealsG4973N-APFNoun Accusative Plural Feminine
- αὐτοῦautouof itG846P-GSNPersonal pronoun Genitive Singular Neuter
- ὅτιhotibecauseG3754CONJConjunction
- ἐσφάγηςesphagēsYou were slainG4969V-2API-2SVerb 2nd Aorist Passive Indicative 2nd Singular
- καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
- ἠγόρασαςēgorasasYou purchasedG59V-AAI-2SVerb Aorist Active Indicative 2nd Singular
- τῷtō[the]G3588T-DSMDefinite article Dative Singular Masculine
- θεῷtheōto GodG2316N-DSM-TNoun Dative Singular Masculine Title
- ἡμᾶςhēmasof usG3165P-1APPersonal pronoun Accusative 1st Plural
- ἐνenbyG1722PREPPreposition
- τῷtōtheG3588T-DSNDefinite article Dative Singular Neuter
- αἵματίaimatibloodG129N-DSNNoun Dative Singular Neuter
- σουsouof YouG4771P-2GSPersonal pronoun Genitive 2nd Singular
- ἐκekout ofG1537PREPPreposition
- πάσηςpasēseveryG3956A-GSFAdjective Genitive Singular Feminine
- φυλῆςphulēstribeG5443N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
- καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
- γλώσσηςglōssēstongueG1100N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
- καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
- λαοῦlaoupeopleG2992N-GSMNoun Genitive Singular Masculine
- καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
- ἔθνουςethnousnationG1484N-GSNNoun Genitive Singular Neuter
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
Words in [ ] are added by the English.
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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Revelation 5:6–14. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.
Here, I. The apostle beholds this book taken into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to its being unsealed and opened by him. Here Christ is described, 1. By his place and station: In the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and of the elders. He was on the same throne with the Father; he was nearer to him than either the elders or ministers of the churches. Christ, as man and Mediator, is subordinate to God the Father, but is nearer to him than all the creatures; for in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The ministers stand between God and the people. Christ stands as the Mediator between God and both ministers and people. 2. The form in which he appeared. Before he is called a lion; here he appears as a lamb slain. He is a lion to conquer Satan, a lamb to satisfy the justice of God. He appears with the marks of his sufferings upon him, to show that he interceded in heaven in the virtue of his satisfaction. He appears as a lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes, perfect power to execute all the will of God and perfect wisdom to understand it all and to do it in the most effectual manner; for he hath the seven Spirits of God, he has received the Holy Spirit without measure, in all perfection of light, and life, and power, by which he is able to teach and rule all parts of the earth. 3. He is described by his act and deed: He came, and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne (Revelation 5:7), not by violence, nor by fraud, but he prevailed to do it (as Revelation 5:5), he prevailed by his merit and worthiness, he did it by authority and by the Father's appointment. God very willingly and justly put the book of his eternal counsels into the hand of Christ, and Christ as readily and gladly took it into his hand; for he delights to reveal and to do the will of his Father.
II.The apostle observes the universal joy and thanksgiving that filled heaven and earth upon this transaction.
No sooner had Christ received this book out of the Father's hand than he received the applauses and adorations of angels and men, yea, of every creature. And, indeed, it is just matter of joy to all the world to see that God does not deal with men in a way of absolute power and strict justice, but in a way of grace and mercy through the Redeemer. He governs the world, not merely as a Creator and Lawgiver, but as our God and Saviour. All the world has reason to rejoice in this. The song of praise that was offered up to the Lamb on this occasion consists of three parts, one part sung by the church, another by the church and the angels, the third by every creature.
1.The church begins the doxology, as being more immediately concerned in it (Revelation 5:8), the four living creatures, and the four-and-twenty elders, the Christian people, under their minister, lead up the chorus. Here observe,
(1.)The object of their worship - the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ; it is the declared will of God that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; for he has the same nature.
(2.)Their posture: They fell down before him, gave him not an inferior sort of worship, but the most profound adoration.
(3.)The instruments used in their adorations - harps and vials; the harps were the instruments of praise, the vials were full of odours or incense, which signify the prayers of the saints: prayer and praise should always go together.
(4.)The matter of their song: it was suited to the new state of the church, the gospel-state introduced by the Son of God. In this new song,
[1.]They acknowledge the infinite fitness and worthiness of the Lord Jesus for this great work of opening and executing the counsel and purposes of God (Revelation 5:9): Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, every way sufficient for the work and deserving the honour.
[2.]They mention the grounds and reasons of this worthiness; and though they do not exclude the dignity of his person as God, without which he had not been sufficient for it, yet they chiefly insist upon the merit of his sufferings, which he had endured for them; these more sensibly struck their souls with thankfulness and joy. Here, First, They mention his suffering: "Thou wast slain, slain as a sacrifice, thy blood was shed." Secondly, The fruits of his sufferings. 1. Redemption to God; Christ has redeemed his people from the bondage of sin, guilt, and Satan, redeemed them to God, set them at liberty to serve him and to enjoy him. 2. High exaltation: Thou hast made us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth, Revelation 5:10. Every ransomed slave is not immediately preferred to honour; he thinks it a great favour to be restored to liberty. But when the elect of God were made slaves by sin and Satan, in every nation of the world, Christ not only purchased their liberty for them, but the highest honour and preferment, made them kings and priests - kings, to rule over their own spirits, and to overcome the world, and the evil one; and he has made them priests, given them access to himself, and liberty to offer up spiritual sacrifices, and they shall reign on the earth; they shall with him judge the world at the great day.
2.The doxology, thus begun by the church, is carried on by the angels; they take the second part, in conjunction with the church, Revelation 5:11. They are said to be innumerable, and to be the attendants on the throne of God and guardians to the church; though they did not need a Saviour themselves, yet they rejoice in the redemption and salvation of sinners, and they agree with the church in acknowledging the infinite merits of the Lord Jesus as dying for sinners, that he is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
(1.)He is worthy of that office and that authority which require the greatest power and wisdom, the greatest fund, all excellency, to discharge them aright; and,
(2.)He is worthy of all honour, and glory, and blessing, because he is sufficient for the office and faithful in it.
3.This doxology, thus begun by the church, and carried on by the angels, is resounded and echoed by the whole creation, Revelation 5:13. Heaven and earth ring with the high praises of the Redeemer. The whole creation fares the better for Christ. By him all things consist; and all the creatures, had they sense and language, would adore that great Redeemer who delivers the creature from that bondage under which it groans, through the corruption of men, and the just curse denounced by the great God upon the fall; that part which (by a prosopopoeia) is made for the whole creation is a song of blessing, and honour, and glory, and power,
(1.)To him that sits on the throne, to God as God, or to God the Father, as the first person in the Trinity and the first in the economy of our salvation; and,
(2.)To the Lamb, as the second person in the Godhead and the Mediator of the new covenant. Not that the worship paid to the Lamb is of another nature, an inferior worship, for the very same honour and glory are in the same words ascribed to the Lamb and to him that sits on the throne, their essence being the same; but, their parts in the work of our salvation being distinct they are distinctly adored. We worship and glorify one and the same God for our creation and for our redemption.
We see how the church that began the heavenly anthem, finding heaven and earth join in the concert, closes all with their Amen, and end as they began, with a low prostration before the eternal and everlasting God. Thus we have seen this sealed book passing with great solemnity from the hand of the Creator into the hand of the Redeemer.
Historical interpretation
Six Centuries of Reception
8 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
If I remember not that it is I who have served Him, how shall I ascribe glory to God? How sing to Him "the new song," if I am ignorant that it is I who owe Him thanks? But why is exception taken only against the change of the flesh, and not of the soul also, which in all things is superior to the flesh? How happens it, that the self-same soul which in our present flesh has gone through all life's course, which has learnt the knowledge of God, and put on Christ, and sown the hope of salvation in this flesh, must reap its harvest in another flesh of which we know nothing? Verily that must be a most highly favoured flesh, which shall have the enjoyment of life at so gratuitous a rate! But if the soul is not to be changed also, then there is no resurrection of the soul; nor will it be believed to have itself risen, unless it has risen some different thing.
"Twenty-four elders and four living creatures, having harps and phials, and singing a new song." The proclamation of the Old Testament associated with the New, points out the Christian people singing a new song, that is, bearing their confession publicly. It is a new thing that the Son of God should become man. It is a new thing to ascend into the heavens with a body. It is a new thing to give remission of sins to men. It is a new thing for men to be sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is a new thing to receive the priesthood of sacred observance, and to look for a kingdom of unbounded promise. The harp, and the chord stretched on its wooden frame, signifies the flesh of Christ linked with the wood of the passion. The phial signifies the Confession, and the race of the new Priesthood. But it is the praise of many angels, yea, of all, the salvation of all, and the testimony of the universal creation, bringing to our Lord thanksgiving for the deliverance of men from the destruction of death. The unsealing of the seals, as we have said, is the opening of the Old Testament, and the foretelling of the preachers of things to come in the last times, which, although the prophetic Scripture speaks by single seals, yet by all the seals opened at once, prophecy takes its rank.
And they sang a new song. For the song sung to God incarnate is new, having never before been brought forth prior to the incarnation. What was the song? Worthy are You, it says, "to bring this salvation to mankind, you who were slain for us and by your blood have redeemed many from under the heavens."
And he certainly spoke very securely from every tribe and language and people and nation. For he did not acquire all, for many died in unbelief, but from all those worthy of salvation. The prophet also said: "Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall judge all the nations; indeed, you will not condemn all the nations." (Ps. 81:8)
Christ wrote a new song by the harmonious truth of both Testaments. This he did when he, remaining the Word which was in the beginning, was born by a new sort of birth through the Virgin. This he did when he as God put on man in a new manner. This he did when he gave himself over to his killers by his own power. This he did when he was wondrously made alive from the dead and when at a time of his own choosing was ascended beyond the heavens. And this new song he bestowed upon all those who belong to the church which he acquired, that it might be sung continually, and that in this [the church] might rest secure as it awaits in hope the coming judge, that “we might walk in the newness of life.” As he said, “If any one wishes to be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Through this passage it is revealed that the elders, both those in the Old Testament and those in the New Testament, were well-pleasing to God, and that on behalf of the whole world they bring forth a [hymn of] thanksgiving to the Lamb of God who was slain and redeemed us. It is a “new song,” which we have been taught to sing, who from every tribe and tongue have been freed from the antiquity of the letter and through the Spirit have received light. He says that these will rule the new earth, which the Lord promised to the humble.
And they sang a new song, etc. They celebrate the sacraments of the New Testament, which are completed in Christ, praising His very dispensation, which they confess belongs to Christ alone.
And you have redeemed us to God by your blood, etc. Here it is further declared that the creatures and elders are the Church, which has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and gathered from the nations. It also shows in which heaven they are, by saying: And they will reign on the earth. And I saw and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and the creatures, and the elders.
And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to take the book, etc. Christ sang a new canticle by preaching it in words and following it in acts. Now what does it mean to say, Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, if not “Compared to our victories, thy victory alone is considered one, by which we were redeemed from the prince of death and the malediction of the law?” By the fact that the four living creatures and the twenty-four ancients say they have been redeemed out of every tribe, and tongue, and nation, it is clearly shown that by them is represented the universal Church.
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This verse
Heaven sings a new song that the Lamb is worthy to open the book because he was slain and by his blood bought people for God from every kindred, tongue, people and nation.
“And they sung a new song, saying,”
The beasts and the elders sing a song never sung before, for a salvation greater than every earlier deliverance.
“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:”
This answers the angel’s question in Revelation 5:2. The Lamb alone may carry out God’s plan.
“for thou wast slain,”
The reason for his worthiness is his sacrificial death, the word used for slaughtering a sacrifice.
“and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood”
He bought us, and the price was his own blood. We now belong to God.
“out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
Four words together cover the whole human race, and the promise to Abraham’s seed reaches all of them (Genesis 12:3).
Passage studyRevelation 5:8–10
The New Song to the Lamb Who Was Slain
Summary
The Lamb has just taken the sealed book from the hand of God, and heaven answers at once. The four beasts and the twenty-four elders fall down before him, holding harps for praise and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of saints. Then they sing a new song. The Lamb is worthy to take the book and open its seals because he was slain, and by his blood he has bought people for God out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation. He has made them kings and priests unto God, and they shall reign on the earth. In these three verses we see Jesus at the centre of heaven’s worship, his death as the ground of his authority, our prayers kept before God’s throne, and a people from every nation who will share in his reign.
What leads up to this worship
The scene begins earlier in the chapter (Revelation 5:1–7), straight after John’s vision of God on his throne in Revelation 4. John sees in God’s hand a book sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1). The book, biblíon, is a scroll, and it stands for God’s sovereign plan for history and his judgments. To John’s first readers a sealed scroll would have called to mind a legal document such as a will or a title deed. Its seals, sphragís, kept it secure and showed that only a rightful claimant could open it.
A mighty angel asks, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” (Revelation 5:2). No one in all creation is found worthy, and John weeps. Then one of the elders tells him that “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David” has prevailed to open the book (Revelation 5:5). When John looks, he sees a Lamb “as it had been slain”, standing in the midst of the throne (Revelation 5:6), and the Lamb comes and takes the book (Revelation 5:6–7). The Lion who conquers is the Lamb who was slain, and he wins his victory by giving himself.
Verse 8 opens the worship that answers this moment. It begins with the beasts and the elders and widens until every creature joins in (Revelation 5:8–14), and the whole of Revelation 5 is given to the Lamb and the book.
Heaven falls down before the Lamb
The moment the Lamb takes the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fall down before him. To fall down, píptō, is to lie prostrate, the body brought low in reverence and submission. It is the worship given to one whose authority and worthiness are supreme, and heaven gives it to the Lamb as he takes up the work of carrying out God’s purposes.
Who are the four beasts and the four and twenty elders?
The “beasts” are better called living creatures. They are first seen around God’s throne in Revelation 4:6–8, and they are often understood as standing for the whole of creation in its worship of God, as guardians of his throne and as voices for all he has made. The elders sit on thrones round about God’s throne, first seen in Revelation 4:4. Believers differ on exactly who they are. Many of us take them to stand for the redeemed people of God, twelve for the tribes of Israel and twelve for the apostles, so that the whole people of God under the old covenant and the new is there, glorified and reigning with Christ. Either way, creation and the redeemed together bow before the Lamb.
Harps for the new song
Each of them holds a harp, kithára, an instrument of praise and celebration in Israel’s worship, which the psalmist calls on God’s people to use in praising the LORD (Psalm 33:2). Harps are heard in heaven again later in the book (Revelation 14:2). Here they accompany the new song of the next verse, so the worship given to the Lamb is joyful as well as reverent.
The prayers of saints in golden vials
The elders also hold “golden vials full of odours”. A vial, phiálē, is a broad, shallow bowl or saucer, the kind used for pouring out drink offerings or for holding incense. Being golden, these bowls are precious and pure, fit for the presence of God. The “odours”, thymíama, are incense, from a word meaning to burn incense. In the tabernacle and the temple, fragrant incense was burned on the altar of incense before the LORD (Exodus 30:1–10), and David prayed, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2). John’s first readers would have recognised at once what the picture meant.
John explains it himself: these odours “are the prayers of saints”. The word for prayers, proseuchḗ, means prayer to God, speaking to him and making requests of him. The saints are God’s people, and the bowls hold the prayers of believers from every age. Prayers that seemed to go nowhere when they were prayed are gathered, kept in gold and brought before the throne as a fragrant offering that pleases God. Later in the book an angel offers incense with the prayers of the saints before the throne, and they go up before God (Revelation 8:3–4). Our prayers, then, have a real part in the worship of heaven and in the unfolding of what God is doing.
They are acceptable because of the Lamb who stands at the centre of this scene, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He is our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14), who ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25), and through his merit our imperfect prayers become a sweet aroma to God. That is why we can come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Why the song is called new
“They” who sing are the four beasts and the elders. Their song is a new song, in Greek ōdēn kainēn. The word kainós means new: fresh, unused, never heard before, and also new in the sense of better than the old. The Psalms call God’s people to sing a new song (Psalm 33:3), usually for a fresh act of deliverance. This song is new because its subject is new. It celebrates the Lamb’s death and the people he has bought for God, a salvation greater than every earlier deliverance, which opens the new covenant and will be sung for ever.
Why is the Lamb worthy to open the book?
The song answers the angel’s question from verse 2: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.” The Lamb alone is fit to carry out God’s plan for history, and the song gives one reason for it: “for thou wast slain”. His worthiness rests on his sacrifice. Through it he paid the price to redeem his people from sin and death, and showed his love, his power over evil and his right to unfold God’s purposes (Revelation 5:6–7).
The verb for slain, spházō, means to slaughter, and it is used for killing an animal in sacrifice or for food. It speaks plainly of a violent, sacrificial death, the brutal reality of the cross, and the Lamb in heaven still bears its marks. That death fulfils Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant who bears the sins of many (Isaiah 53:5–7). Here is the paradox of the whole chapter: Christ’s triumph comes through his suffering.
Bought for God at the price of his blood
“And hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.” To redeem, agorázō, is to buy or purchase, and in Scripture it is used figuratively for redemption. It is a word of the marketplace, where in the Roman world people as well as goods were bought and sold. Christ bought us out of the slavery of sin and death, and he bought us “to God”, so that we belong to God and are brought back into fellowship with him.
The price was his blood, haîma. In Scripture blood stands for life, and it is at the heart of atonement, because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). “Thy blood” is Christ’s own life-blood, shed on the cross as the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. Paul writes that in Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), and that God has delivered us from the power of darkness into the kingdom of his Son, in whom we have redemption (Colossians 1:13–14). Peter says we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19).
Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation
The Lamb’s people come from everywhere. The song names four kinds of human grouping, family and clan, language, people and nation, so that together they take in all of humanity. The last word, éthnos, means a nation or people, and in an extended sense it is used for the Gentiles. The empire John’s readers lived in was made up of many peoples and languages, and the song tells them that Christ’s redemption reaches across every one of those divisions.
This is the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), and the goal of the commission Christ gave his church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). Heaven’s choir is one family, gathered from the whole earth and united by the blood of the Lamb.
Kings and priests unto our God
The song goes on to what the Lamb’s death has done for his people: “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests.” The verb, poiéō, means to make or to do, and it has a very wide use. Here it describes a new standing that God gives through the Lamb, received as a gift and given “unto our God”, for his service and his glory. The KJV’s “hast made” speaks of something already done.
A king, basileús, is one with authority to rule. A priest, hiereús, is one who serves God, offers sacrifices and stands between God and others. God said this of Israel at Sinai: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Isaiah promised that his people would be named the priests of the LORD (Isaiah 61:6). Peter applies the same words to the church: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). In Christ’s church God’s old promise has come true.
All of this comes from Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16) and our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14). We reign because he reigns, and we come near to God because he has opened the way.
Who are “us” in this verse?
“Us” are the people the Lamb redeemed by his blood in verse 9, gathered “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation”. The promise belongs to all believers of every time and place, the whole church, the body of Christ.
How are believers kings and priests now?
Believers already hold this standing, though its full display is still to come. As priests we have direct access to God through Christ, our great high priest, and need no other mediator (Hebrews 4:14–16). We offer him the sacrifice of praise and the sacrifices of doing good and sharing (Hebrews 13:15–16), and we pray for others. As kings we share in Christ’s victory: God has delivered us from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and seated us with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), and we live under his rule as his representatives wherever he places us. All of this is a foretaste and a pledge of the reign to come.
When shall we reign on the earth?
“And we shall reign on the earth” looks ahead. John’s first readers were most likely believers in Asia Minor who suffered under Roman rule, possibly in the time of the emperor Domitian, and who felt the pressure of earthly kings and of the worship of the emperor. To them this line gave great hope. The people those kings despised will reign, under Christ, and God will vindicate them.
Believers differ on when this reign comes. Many connect it with the thousand years of Revelation 20:4–6: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). Others see it in the new heavens and new earth, where God’s people dwell with him and serve him for ever in a restored creation (Revelation 21–22). We all agree that the Lamb’s people will reign with him, that their reign shares in his own, and that the verse places it on the earth God made and will make new.
Our part in the worship of heaven
The worship in these verses centres wholly on Jesus, and ours can too. Every prayer you offer in his name is gathered before the throne in a golden bowl, so you can keep praying with confidence and patience. When you sing to him, you join a song that began in heaven and is about his blood and his people. Believers of every language and nation are your brothers and sisters in that song now, and they will stand beside you before the throne. And because he has made you a priest, your praise, your service and your prayers for others are offerings God receives with delight, while you wait for the day when you will reign with him.
Revelation 5:8
“And when he had taken the book,”
The Lamb has taken the sealed scroll from God’s hand, the act that sets all of heaven worshipping.
“the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb,”
The living creatures of Revelation 4:6–8 and the elders of Revelation 4:4 lie prostrate before him in reverence and submission.
“having every one of them harps,”
The kithára, the harp of Israel’s praise, ready for the new song.
“and golden vials full of odours,”
Broad, shallow golden bowls of incense, like the incense burned before the LORD in the tabernacle.
“which are the prayers of saints.”
John gives the meaning himself. The prayers of God’s people rise before him like incense (Psalm 141:2, Revelation 8:3–4).
Revelation 5:9 This verse
“And they sung a new song, saying,”
The beasts and the elders sing a song never sung before, for a salvation greater than every earlier deliverance.
“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:”
This answers the angel’s question in Revelation 5:2. The Lamb alone may carry out God’s plan.
“for thou wast slain,”
The reason for his worthiness is his sacrificial death, the word used for slaughtering a sacrifice.
“and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood”
He bought us, and the price was his own blood. We now belong to God.
“out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
Four words together cover the whole human race, and the promise to Abraham’s seed reaches all of them (Genesis 12:3).
Revelation 5:10
“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:”
The redeemed are given a royal and priestly standing as a gift, for God’s service, as Israel was once called “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6).
“and we shall reign on the earth.”
Their reign is still to come, and it will be on the earth, under Christ and with him (Revelation 20:6).
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