I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” Revelation 5:11
Christensen claimed: “The whole portrayal of the church’s struggle finds its culmination in the triumphant prayer and worship of the Book of Revelation.”[1]
In chapters Revelation 2 – 3, there is dismal news about the sad state of the church. And in chapter 6, there is war, famine, plague and death throughout the earth, along with a proliferation of martyrs. In the middle of these scenes is a glimpse into heaven.
There, the music plays. There, angels and elders worship. There living creatures and eventually all of earth joins in worship. The ceaseless prayer and worship in heaven focus on God’s holiness (4:5). It honors him as the Creator (4:11). It rehearses his redemptive action, his crucifixion and enthronement (5:9-10). It anticipates the consummation of all ‘power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing’ (5:12) in Christ. The descriptors compound here – power, riches, wisdom, etc. Nothing will be beyond his reach. All things are committed to him.
The final prayer-song is a celebration of sovereignty, “To Him who sits on the throne. And to the Lamb, forever and ever” (5:15). These five prayer songs review the cycle of history – 1: The holy God (4:8); 2: … is also the Creator (4:11); 3: … and he has redeemed mankind and elevated sinful men to the status of kings and priests, with the promise of the earth itself, remade as a holy kingdom (5:9-10); 4: … He is worthy, being alive, yet having been slain. He overcame death – as a ‘the Lamb,’ the ultimate sacrifice for man (5:12); 5: … and now He is enthroned.
The conflict is over. The battle has been won. The Father and the Lamb are forever reunited (5:13). Here is the whole redemptive story – the holy God, the Creator, is also the redeemer. He was slain, and yet death could not hold him (5:5-6). He lives, enthroned and one with God.
O God, may we join heaven’s prayer song. Despite the comprised state of the Church and the anti-Christ spirit in the world – may we be the people heard singing! Help me – to sing-along with Heaven. Redemption is certain. Heaven is already celebrating.
[1] Christensen, “Prayer,” Julius Bodensieck, The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1966), HI, 1973.
