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3. The Immense Number of Those Called out From the Nations Standing Before the Throne of God and Before His Lamb (Revelation 7:9-17)
REVELATION 7:11-12
11 All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
When the angels saw the immense number of those who had been justified by the atoning death of Jesus, and heard the confession of faith of these witnesses of the Lamb from every nation, they broke out in jubilation and worship. They fell on their faces and loudly worshiped Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb. They were deeply impressed by the visible fulfillment of the salvation plan of God and the fruit of the cross of Jesus, manifesting itself through the sorely afflicted children of God. Heaven had never seen such a wonderful sight! A number that no one could count stood in white robes before the throne of God waving palm branches in their hands. The mass of people cheered the coming eternal king. They believed He would expand His kingdom and remove the power of Satan.
The jubilant worship of the Father and the Son in heaven should be contagious. It should drive out all pessimism from us, and encourage us to confess the Lamb's victory. There is no alternative for King Jesus Christ and His coming kingdom.
The Seventh Doxology in the Revelation of Jesus Christ: Whoever prayerfully reflects on the worship of the angels can discover precision in the leading of the Holy Spirit. In the previous chapter of Revelation, John had written down six doxologies as highlights in the historical development of salvation. These texts of worship formulate a perpetual theme, which is continually given new variation, depth, and supplement. In the seventh doxology the climax of angelic worship is reached.
John himself closed his declaration of love to Jesus, “who redeemed us from our sins and appointed us as priests”, with the proclamation: “To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 1:5-6)
With these words John put the demands of the emperors and dictators of his time in their right place, who claimed glory and dominion for themselves. John, however, turned the tables, and said: Honor and glory do not spring from dominion and power. The opposite is true. Omnipotence arises out of the glorious light of Jesus (Revelation 4:8-9; 1:5-6)!
The guardians of the throne added to the doxology of John the continuously repeating hymns of worship from their own experience: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8) In His holiness the One who sits on the throne is glorious. The all-judging holiness of God is the concealing mantle of His glory. Neither emperors, nor lords, are holy in themselves. Measured against the Holy One, all malice, lies, and guilt are brought to light. So much is valid: Whoever knows not God, knows not himself. Whoever knows the Holy One, lives in humble repentance before His eternal glory (Isaiah 6; Psalm 51).
In the third worship hymn, the doxology of the 24 elders around the throne of the Holy One glorified the almighty Creator and Lord of the worlds, who in His inexhaustible wisdom and never ending power created a wealth of stars, elements, minerals and living things (4:10-11). Therefore, to Him belong all honor and worship.
Jesus did not honor Himself, but said: “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another?” (John 5:44) Jesus honored His father at all times. John, too, testified to this foundational right of God that all glory and honor belong to Him alone. Atheists, natural scientists, and the self-exulting humanist should repent. They should honor Him alone who placed life, understanding, spirit, soul, power and hope in man.
Following this worship of God, the Almighty Creator, the angel of Revelation and John lead us to worship Jesus, the Lamb of God, at His enthronement (Revelation 5:12). All the angels rejoiced and cheered at the handing over of the sevenfold sealed scroll, because the Lamb that was slain had, as the only resident of earth, remained sinless and holy. The Lamb alone was authorized to determine the fate of the world.
In the fifth hymn of worship the angels revealed the fundamentals of Christ's authority. They confessed them to be power, riches, wisdom and strength, just as the name of God (El) means “power” and “strength”. The angels cheered that Christ had received the entire power of God, just as He Himself had testified: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).
For the sake of absolute clarity, the angels were lead to repeat the previously attested privileges and attributes ascribed to God, such as honor and glory. Only this time, they were in reference to the Lamb: Jesus Christ is God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. All Jews, Jewish Christians and Moslems should recognize that Jesus possesses the same glory as His Father.
From the readings of Jewish Torah scholars it can be seen that “glory” implies the summation of all of the Lord's (Yahweh’s) attributes and powers. This illuminates the reason why Jesus was already called “Lord” by the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. This title, a title of honor, is applied to Jesus 260 times in the New Testament (Philippians 2:6-11).
Jesus received no honor for Himself. Nevertheless, because of His being sent by the Father, He demanded that all should honor Him, just as they honor the Father. Thus, to Jesus Christ belongs not only glory and omnipotence, but also the right to praise and honor.
New in the worship of angels is the appearance of the word blessing, reflecting the concluding word and goal of the Lamb of God's worthy name. Like the high priest laid the blessing of the sacrifice upon the praying people, following his offering it up in the Holy of Holies, so the purpose and goal of Jesus’ death on the cross lay in the ensuing fullness of blessing for His followers. After the Lamb of God's presentation of His atoning sacrifice to God, His Father, He received the right and authority to pour out the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. The indwelling of the Spirit's blessing as a result of the sacrifice of Christ is the epoch-making watershed in human history. It divides the course of history: The age of law “under” Moses is replaced by the age of grace “in” Christ and His church (Ephesians 1:3).
In the sixth hymn of worship to God and His Lamb, sung by all creatures, blessing precedes all other words in the list of exaltation (Revelation 5:13-14). Every creature had recognized that justification of the sinner through the blood of Christ was the indispensable requirement for the new birth of the redeemed. The indwelling of the Spirit's blessing in the followers of the Lamb was the goal of His glory and omnipotence.
When the angels saw and recognized the innumerable throng to be born-again Christians out of all nations, tribes, people and languages, they broke loose in stormy jubilation. They knew of the suffering, persecution and torture these had born because of their love for God and His Son. Their cry of joy led into the seventh hymn of worship to the holy and almighty One and His Lamb (Revelation 7:11.12). The salvation of God and His Lamb had become tangible through the presence of the great multitude.
The angels repeated in this seventh doxology all previous titles of worship. They again began their worship with blessing, arising from the sacrifice of the Lamb. They ended their worship with a word of thanksgiving, befitting the Father and Son. This summons to offer thanksgiving should strike us all in heart and conscience. Many believers incessantly ask for blessing, strength, leading, protection and grace from the fullness of Christ. But where is our thankfulness? We are stingy in expressing gratitude. Whoever memorizes Psalm 103 enters into the school of thanksgiving. The Lord testifies: “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23). It is the Holy Spirit who drives us to give thanks, to think, and to worship. Thankful people are joyous people within themselves.
Two of the seven hymns of worship were meant for Him, who sits on the throne, three were meant for the Lamb alone, and two were meant for both. The Common theme of all the doxologies is the great glory and omnipotence of God and His Lamb.
The New Song of the Lamb: At the center of the seven hymns of adoration stands the fourth hymn of worship (Revelation 5:9-10). It represents the theme of all New Testament worship. The 24 fathers of faith sang a new song, which the angels and other creatures had not known until then. They sang, with the accompaniment of harps, “the song of the Lamb”, who had been slain in our place. The Lamb had, by His own blood, purchased us for God, and freed us from all enslavement to sin, kindred, law and judgment. In a godless world He had appointed us to be priests, kings and servants.
This hymn deviates significantly from the other six worship hymns. The elders neither repeated the shouts of cheer nor exalted all the majestic attributes of God and His Lamb. Much more, they described the work of Christ the Savior on the cross for His church, the justification of sinners, and their call to the service of God. They expanded the testimony John had already given at the beginning of his book (John 1:5-6). It was to become the ever valid victory cry of the servants of God and His Christ. The theme of their new song has become the golden thread connecting the songs in our songbook. New Testament inspired songwriters mirror even today this inspiration.
The 24 elders testified to the worthiness of the Lamb, who alone was qualified to open the seven seals of the book mapping the course of this world's history. Only His love is able to bear the burden of God's judgments. His victory on the cross, His resurrection, and His pouring out of the Spirit justify His worthiness to rule.
The Holy Spirit does not Glorify Himself: In view of the seven hymns of worship a hidden question can be asked: In the worship hymns why are only God, the Father, and His Son, honored, and not God, the Holy Spirit? The seven lamps burning day and night before the throne are the Holy Spirit (Revelation 1:4; 4:5). So, too, the seven eyes of the Lamb of God that behold everything are the Holy Spirit (Revelation 3:1; 5:6). The church composed of born-again believers is also the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). In the “born-again” as well as in their song of praise the Holy Spirit is present. This Spirit does not honor Himself. He glorifies the Lamb of God (John 16:13-15), just as Christ did not honor Himself, but always glorified His Father. The Spirit of the Father and of the Son is omnipresent in the throne room of God. He does not exalt Himself. The song of the Lamb is His song, and the glorification of the Creator is His worship.
Strangely, core concepts like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are not found in the seven glorifications of God and His Lamb (Galatians 5:22). Neither the humility of Christ, nor His birth, nor His miracles, nor His resurrection are mentioned. All these are rays of His “glory”. They are all contained in this one central word of worship. If holiness is the hidden mantel of the glory of God, then His love is the heart and radiance of His glory.
The majority of the sovereign concepts in Revelation appear only in these seven songs of praise! It is different with the concepts of power, strength and might. These words appear in later chapters of Revelation and are also attributes of Satan and his antichrist. In the worship of the Lamb these sovereign attributes also pave the way for the preparation and execution of the final battle, involving Satan, the Son, and the Spirit. The victory of Jesus Christ is resplendent in His life, His love, His deity, His glory, His omnipotence, as well as in His humility.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we fall on our faces and worship You with all the angels and elders in heaven because Your Son was born in the midst of adulterous peoples and carried the believers of them from sin to holiness, and from death to life. Fill our hearts with thankfulness and praise that we may not sink in pessimism, but overcome hopelessness and misery by worshipping You and the living Jesus.
QUESTION:
- How many words and characteristics can you find in this magnification? Why is “blessing” mentioned first in it and “might” at the end?