A NEW SONG IN HEAVEN
Text: Revelation 5:8-14 W. Max Alderman
INTRODUCTION: The worthy Lamb has taken the book that He alone could open. Immediately upon His receiving of the book the atmosphere changed. The weeping has now turned to singing. The tense environment that had marked the place before, that seemed to spell tragedy, now spells triumph. The Apostle John is only beginning to write what he will be seeing. The mood and the temper will be changing almost immediately from one scene to the next. The thunder and lightning that had been described as being around the throne could symbolize the events soon taking place just as the lightning and thunder signals a violent and an angry storm. The only thing, no storm will be anything like that which John will be describing while the Lamb is pouring out His judgment against sin.
The scene now is not that of judgment being poured out upon the saints, but extreme gratitude by the saints for having been spared. The twenty-four elders are picturing the saints as they fall down before the throne with harps and golden vials full of odours, “which are the prayers of saints”. When I saw the latter expression, “which are the prayers of saints”, I began to yearn for the Lord to give me the proper interpretation of this passage. I had been taught that this was the bottled prayers of the saints of all ages, but this teaching did not satisfy me, not that the prayers of all the saints are not precious and valuable to the Lord, but within the context of what is taking place there seems to be something different taking place. I read a paragraph in Donald Grey Barnhouse’s commentary on Revelation that seemed to drive my thinking in the direction of finding a proper interpretation. Listen to what he says, “It should be noticed in passing that there is incidental teaching concerning prayer. The literal translation is that the golden vials are full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints. Today, prayer consists of confession, intercession and worship. When we confess, we are occupied with our sins; when we intercede, we are occupied with human needs, others; and ours but when we worship, we are occupied with him alone. The day will come when prayer will be emptied of its need for confession. There will be no more laver. Prayer will be emptied of its need for intercession. There will be nothing remaining but that which may be symbolized under the bowls of incense, and all our prayer shall be praise and worship.”
Just as the twenty-four elders symbolize all of the redeemed; it seems that the vials having the prayers of the saints would be the prayers of worship. The previous prayers of the saints while on earth would have contained the prayers of confession of some wicked deed, or the failures confessed while living in sin. There would be also intercessory prayers that were prayed for someone else who may have been living in deep sin. These prayers will no longer serve any purpose. The incense, which is the prayers of the saints, will be the prayer of worship and praise that will be prayed throughout eternity.
Thank God, We will not need to pray for one more lost person or person with cancer nor will we ever need to pray for the backslidden. In heaven, both the prayer of intercession and confession will serve no purpose.
I. THE SONG WAS A UNIQUE SONG. (Vv. 8-10)
Singing is a very common means of expression. We sing songs just as we recite our poetry. Poetry has a message that is communicated in words with the emphasis upon both the sound and the meaning of the sounds. Not all poetry contains rhyme and meter but poetry is basically the work of the poet, just as a song is the work of the singer. Here is Merriam-Webster’s definition of poetry, “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm”. The reason for which I give you this definition is that much of the singing in the Bible is in poetic form. Yet our Text speaks of a “new song” being sung. In the Old Testament, we have an entire Book of the Bible that is a songbook. The early church for the purpose of retention especially sang the Psalms. Any student of the Scriptures can detect the poetic quality of the Psalms. The Psalms have a spiritual purpose to be served when they are either read or sung. The Psalms are inspired, as is any other part of the Bible. The Lord used confluent inspiration just as He did with the rest of the Bible. Confluent inspiration just means that God used the personality of the writer when inspiring the Word. Likewise, He did the same with the Psalms. The new song in heaven is not from the Psalms nor were they taken from the Hymns that were sung upon the earth.
One purpose of the Psalms is to instill Truth by the repeating of and the remembering of the lines. We could very well say that the singing of the Psalms would be the singing of old songs. John is not describing the singing of old songs but the singing of a new song. The new song is being sung to absolutely describe experiences that have never before been known. What John is describing is a very joyous but a previously unknown experience and the saints are expressing this joy with a new song. When the sinner is saved the Lord puts a new song into his mouth. He sings expressing that new experience. The new song of heaven is expressing the newest of experiences. There have never been any experiences as John the writer of the Revelation Prophecy describes here. This may be the reason that this new song is being given this special significance; for no event has ever been like what the elders are singing of and John is writing about.
It is an interesting study to study the different places that the new song is used in the Scriptures. There is a special uniqueness about this song, meaning that there is none like it. Let us notice some of the ways that the new song is used in the Scriptures. The law of first mention states that the first appearing of a word gives a clue as to how that word will be used throughout the Scriptures. The first time that new song is used is as follows: Psalm 33:3 “Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.” New song as used here means fresh, adapted to the occasion and that meaning may be applied here in the same way that the words new song are used originally in Psalm 33:3. There is no previous happening that relates to this scene that is being described by John. For this reason this song will sing of this event with words that could not have been applied at any time before this time. It is indeed a “new song”.
A. It Was A Unique Song Because Of Who Was
Singing (V. 8)
Among those who were singing were the redeemed as symbolized by the twenty-four elders. This is a very unique setting because never before had the entire family of the redeemed been gathered together as they are here. The rapture has taken place and the saints are gathered to sing the new song of redemption. To me this is a strong argument that teaches against the church saints going through the tribulation. This is the major reason for them singing this new song that describes a new event in their lives. They have been spared the awful agony of having to go through the great tribulation.
Another argument that comes to my mind as I am thinking of why the church will not go through the great tribulation is that there is no mention of the Gospel of the grace of God being preached. Instead, the kingdom Gospel and the everlasting Gospel is being preached during the tribulation. The kingdom Gospel tells of the good new of Christ’s kingdom being set up. The everlasting Gospel is the good news that speaks of Israel’s deliverance. In both of these Gospels it is good news for Israel, not the church. The good news for the church is that the church has been caught up to be with Jesus. The saints who assemble during the tribulation will be doing it in much the same way as in the Book of Acts. Out of necessity, there will likely be smaller groups meeting to carry out the work of the Lord.
If they are smaller groups that are worshiping, there will still be a large number of conversions because 144,000 male virgin Jews will be evangelizing having special powers similar to the powers enjoyed by some of the Apostles. We will look at this more closely when we get to our study involving the 144,000.
B. It Was A Unique Song Because of What Was Sung.
(Vv. 9-10).
The family of the redeemed was saved out of every cultural group. In our own particular groups, we may start thinking that we are the only ones who Jesus dies for; that is a blatant and arrogant form of pride. Jesus died for “Whosoever”. I have been privileged to preach in over 25 foreign countries and have found believers in each place that I preached. The Scriptures tell us in our Text that the Lord “hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation”. This means that people have been saved in every people group.
There are people that chose to reject that our Gospel is a “Whosoever” Gospel. I was in Saint Lucia and was witnessing to a Rastafarian and was told that Christianity was a “white man’s” religion. I am sure that such a statement hurt the Lord when this verse plainly tells us that He came to redeem all who would come to Him.
1. It Was Unique as it Told of the Person of Redemption. (V.9b)
The word Thou directs the focus in the song. Thou is whom the song is about. Thou speaks of the Lamb who was slain. Thou speaks of the Lord who was worthy to open the book and Thou also speaks of Him who redeems. It would, indeed, be a profitable study to study the word and name Thou as it appears in the Scriptures relative to Deity. The word thou appears in the Bible over 5000 times.
John saw the Redeemer as the one who was slain. Redemption as required by God could never have taken place without the Lamb being slain. Hebrews 9:15 illustrates this great and precious truth. “And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” The eternal inheritance is what is being finalized at this event in heaven. The blood of the Lamb was the price; the receiving of the book was the legal transaction. Hebrews 9:12 shows how Christ entered into the holy place to gain the redemption that we enjoy. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].”
None of those benefits involving redemption that Hebrews describes could have been obtained without there having been first the slaying of the Lamb.
2. It Was Unique As It Told Of The Price Of Redemption. (V. 9c).
Without the shedding of His blood there is no remission of sin. When Christ Jesus shed His blood, He offered the acceptable sacrifice to the heavenly Father. It was the holy recognition on the part of the family of the redeemed that caused them to sing as the Lamb stood up and took the book. Notice the way Lehman Strauss worded this great event in his Revelation commentary. “When the Lamb with the death wounds in His body stood up, turned to the throne of Him who held the book in His right hand, and took the book, every redeemed person-millions of them-burst into a song that never had been sung before. This act of the Lion-Lamb guaranteed the subjection of this wicked earth including Babylon, Antichrist, the dragon, and the host of others who spurned the love of God as it was shown in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He died the death of the cross to pay the debt of sin, Christ had every right to take the book and thus complete the work of redemption by rescuing this forfeited earth for the dominion of the devil. He can claim the title deed because He both created the world and redeemed it. Little wonder all the redeemed of all ages took their harps and played and sang the praises of the Redeemer! The odor of this united praise to the Lamb filled Heaven with a sweet fragrance.” Let there be no question about who paid the price of redemption. “Jesus paid it all” as the song says.
3. It Was Unique As It Told Of The People Of Redemption. (Vv. 9d. -10).
Angels are created beings that will never personally experience redemption. Redemption is a benefit that belongs to the human family only. Though the angels did not experience the redemption they were able to sing about it. One of the things that caused heartfelt singing was that the redeemed were made kings and priests unto God. There are wonderful benefits and blessings that come to the family of the redeemed that will certainly be worth singing about.
II. THE SONG WAS A UNIVERSAL SONG. (Vv. 11-13).
John could not number this choir that he was listening to. The voices were coming from everywhere as verse number 13 strongly indicates, “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever”. There is no human way to word and to describe what is taking place that John was privileged to witness.
A. Every Creature Was Heard As They Sang. (V. 11).
This congregation involved both the celestial and the terrestrial. There were those who had their creation existence in heaven and formed part of this heavenly choir. Then there were those who had their birth existence upon earth who were also there. All of creation was focused upon this great moment before the seals were opened. I do not know whether I fully grasp what is being described in verse number 13 when it says that all of creation is joining in to praise the Lamb, but it is very exciting to even imagine what is going on.
There are seven ways that only God the Father could extol His Son. Philippians 2:5-11 describes the manner in which only He highly exalts His son. Notice this passage: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the hearth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. This passage of Scripture almost parallels with our Revelation Text. Such exaltation is what John is describing here.
B. Every Creature Was Honoring As They Sang. (Vv. 12-13c).
We have learned that this is a new song being sung. It is a song of praise that gives honor to the Lamb who hath prevailed. He is the victorious conqueror who is being honored. Our Text lists the seven ways of describing the result of the Heavenly Father exalting the Son. Again, this is a number that shows completeness. He was slain to receive power. The first thing mentioned is Power. The Lamb had the power to come forth from the grave as the victorious conqueror and also has another power that is a governing power. We call this power His authority as described in Romans chapter thirteen. The power here according to Strong’s is an inherent power. This is the way the word power is used here according to Strong’s. Strength, power, ability (these words show) a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth b) power for performing miracles c) moral power and excellence of soul d) the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth e) power and resources arising from numbers f) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts.
The second thing mentioned in our Text is Riches. We must be mindful that as the Redeemer, Christ is regaining all that had been lost to the curse of sin. Here is Strong’s definition of how the word riches is used in our Text. Riches: a) abundance of external possessions b) fullness, abundance, plenitude c) a good i.e. that with which one is enriched. In the Book of Ephesians we are shown the way Christ’s’ riches will be expressed throughout eternity. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places In Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6, 7). Think now about all of those who are assembled around the throne. They have literally been raised up to “sit together in heavenly places” to enjoy His riches for all eternity. They are praising Him because of this.
The Third thing mentioned in our Text is Wisdom. This is the divine intelligence that belongs to the Lord alone. This is the way that Strong’s defines it. b) Supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God. 1) To Christ. 2) The wisdom of God as evinced in forming and executing counsels in the formation and government of the world and the Scriptures. This word wisdom is used to indicate that the Lord has all of the knowledge to form and execute His own government or Kingdom. The redeemed are recognizing as they sing their new song that the Lord is intellectually capable of totally governing His own creation.
The fourth word that we must consider is the word Strength. This word means ability with the proper exercising of force. God will know just how much force to be employed during the great tribulation while exercising His entire purpose and program.
. The fifth word is the word Honour. This word means that one is reverenced because He is qualified by reason of rank and state of office. Who is any greater and more worthy than He? There is none worthy of the honor that is His alone. He is the pre-eminent one. The new song is being sung to express such high honor, for it was He alone that could take the book and loose the seals.
The sixth word is the word Glory. There is something that belongs to God alone and no one else. It is His glory. The word glory means: the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity. (Strong’s). Philippians says that Christ is “highly exalted”. This is such a wonderful way of describing His glory. This is another attribute that will be greatly recognized at the throne.
The seventh word in this list is the word Blessing. This word comes from the same word that we get our word eulogize. It means to show praise or laudation. Often when we eulogize someone we do so after the death of that person. That person lived, died and then was eulogized. In the case of Jesus Christ, He lived, then died and lived again to be eternally eulogized. The truth of the matter is, there is only one person who is worth of eulogy in the form of praise and laudation.
III. THE SONG WAS AN UNCHALLENGED SONG. (V.14).
The heavenly host agreed that the Lamb was the worthy one. This agreement was signified by the word Amen. A dear preacher Brother did a study on the word Amen that I very much appreciated and I received permission to use the introduction from his study. Many thanks to Al Hughes for this excellent study: “There are four words that are the same in every language: “Amen,” Hallelujah,” “OK,” and “Coca-Cola.” “Amen” is one of the most widely known words in human speech.
“Amen” is a transliterated word. It is originally a Hebrew word (am-ané / aw-mane), which means truly or so be it. It was first transliterated into Greek, then into Latin and English and many other languages. A transliterated word is not a translated word.
• A translated word is when you take a word in one language and find another word in a different language that means close to the same thing.
• A transliterated word is when an entire word in one language is transferred into another language to form a new word that means the same thing.
• For example: “Baptism” is a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo.”
The word “Amen” occurs 78 times in a King James Bible. No word is used more in devotion than “Amen.” It means more than just a way to end a prayer.
• It means “to confirm or make firm,” “true / faithful,” “so be it.”
• It is an _expression of approval, support, acknowledgment and certainty.
• To say “amen” is to give our endorsement to whatever has been said or decreed.
• “Amen” is another way of saying “yes,” “that’s right,” or “that’s the way it is.” When saying “Amen” at the end of a prayer, we are really saying, “May the Lord make it so.”
In the 30 times “amen” is used in the OT, it nearly always occurs as a affirming response to what has just been spoken. By responding with an “Amen” the people accepted what had just been said as if they had said it themselves.
• For example, notice where “amen” is FIRST MENTIONED in Scripture—Numbers 5:22—“… the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.” Instead of formally repeating all the words of an oath, a Jew would merely say, "Amen," – “That is what I say too.” The repeating of the word was designed as an evidence of the woman’s innocence, and a willingness that God would do to her according to what the curse said.
• Deuteronomy 27:15–26 (where “amen” appears 12 times) the people responded with “amen” after each statement of a curse directed toward those who disobey God. Deut. 27:15-16 —“Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.”
“Amen” is one of the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Amen” describes something about the character of Christ. The Lord Jesus is the Amen. He is the Ultimate Authority, the Finality of all things, the “Bottom Line,” the Last Word.” (Hughes)
The elders when they said Amen around the throne, this meant that they absolutely did not challenge the truth that the Lamb was the only one who was worthy to take the book. They also by saying Amen said “So be it”. All of the creation will acknowledge that the Lamb of God is completely in charge and is worthy of such an honor.
CONCLUSION: Chapter five ends and so begins chapter number six. The seals will be opened and the tribulation events will begin to unfurl. We should now have a most healthy understanding that Christ is completely in control of all that will transpire. This chapter just studied was carefully laid out with the intention of showing just how qualified and worthy Christ the Lamb was to perform and do all that He will be doing during the tribulation. It has been the intention of this writer to show how Christ is being revealed more clearly in this Revelation Book. May we indeed see Him as we should.
