Revelation Chapter 5

Worthy Is the Lamb

“Just as we saw the 24 elders and the 4 beast fall down and worship God in Rev 4:9-11, in turn they witness that Christ is now able to open the book and to be worthy of worship. This next verse, in symbol, is saying that wisdom, justice, power and love, through all the scriptures, are going to testify positively about the Lamb and the salvation that he has won for us. From this point on, we find that many of the descriptions that originally applied to the Heavenly Father will now also apply to Christ. This is not to say that God and Christ are the same person, but only that God has now given authority to the son, so that he has the ability to carry out his plan.” (Revelation Notes Southern Wisconsin)

Now from the New Albany Notes on Revelation:

VERSE 8 “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

NOW WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE SCROLL, THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES AND THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS FELL DOWN BEFORE THE LAMB: I

In acknowledgment of the magnitude of the event of Rev 5:7 (the Lord being able to take the scroll from the hand of God), the prophecies and attributes rejoice that the time has come that the ONE who will manifest God’s attributes and prophecies has taken control of the plan and it’s unfolding. Thus, eventually, will all creation likewise respond.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.” (Phil 2:9, 10)

EACH HAVING A HARP: This probably refers only to the Elders, not the Living Ones. The harp is an instrument of harmonious music. Each prophecy has a song to sing about the Lamb.

“Each of the 24 elders had a harp, which is what they use to sing the new song of Moses and Lamb. These harps are the harmonious message of truth, which the 24 elders or scriptures are able to sing or reveal to us. Each elder or Old Testament book would have slightly different notes or message, but all of these notes or messages come together to make one harmonious new song, or message. We see the new song and harps, again later in Revelation (Rev 14:2, 3; 15:2, 3).

The 144,000 (representative of the true Church) all learn and sing this new song, of both Moses and the Lamb, all who will be considered faithful. Moses song represents the Old Testament message, and the Lambs song would represent the New Testament message, the message for the Gospel and Millennial age. (Of course there’s more to it, but we will get to that later.)” Revelation Notes Southern Wisconsin

AND GOLDEN BOWLS FULL OF INCENSE:

Incense is what preceded the (typical) sacrifice into the Most Holy of the tabernacle. It was symbolic of the love and devotion, which prompted the sacrifice.

Bowls represent vehicles of delivery and are virtually the same symbolically as CUPS. When Jesus said he would drink of the cup which His Father had poured, he was saying he would accept the experience needful to his victory. (As we had learned in our study on The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Part 4).

Out of experience come lessons or development. Even the Seven Plagues (Chapter 16) arrive in bowls —divinely ordained events to force a lesson or result on Babylon. But here (in Rev 5:8) it is the 24 Elders who have golden bowls –divinely appointed experiences for their development and for their effective service to Him.

These bowls are full of incense —that is to say, by living up to what God appointed for them, the Old Testament faithful ones manifested the love, faith, and devotion (incense) which would later be used by us as examples (Hebrews 11). These Old Testament heroes are the “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) which forms the faith examples for the Church. Thus this verse is telling us that all which the prophets sacrificed was worthwhile because the object of their service (pointing forth the Lamb) was now a reality. Their harmonious testimonies (harps) and their exemplary services (golden bowls of incense) do homage to the Lamb.

WHICH ARE THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS:

It is possible, as many feel, that this refers to the prayers of the Church. After all, our prayers ARE based on the promises of the prophets. (Rev. 12:1) BUT, and this is a BIG “but,” since saints merely means “holy ones” and is often used to refer to Old Testament faithful ones (Compare  Matt. 27:52), it seems more likely in this CONTEXT that this is a reference to the PROPHETS who wrote the O.T. prophecies.

Does not the advent of the Lamb ANSWER the prayers and fulfill the sacrificing incense of the prophets?

A further look at our text as it is explained in The Keys of Revelation.

“For generations prior to the First Advent of Christ, the twenty-four elders (that is, the books of the Old Testament), “every one of them,” both individually and collectively prophesied either directly, allegorically, typically, or symbolically of a coming Messiah to bring deliverance to mankind. Each elder or book has its own verbal message or content (voice); its own stringed instrument of musical intonation (harp); and its own emotional theme (vial of fragrance). In short, each has its own individual as well as collective role to play in the overall anthem of praise to the dear Redeemer.

What is this new refrain? It is none other than that which they are about to acclaim; namely, not only the arrival of the prophesied One, but the successful conclusion of the primary objective at his First Advent: the laying down of his life as “a ransom for all” (John 10:15–18; 1 Tim. 2:6).

The elders posture in Verse 8 (on their knees) is one of grateful acknowledgment and adoration of Jesus for his faithful performance in doing the Father’s will in strict conformity to the written Word—for not having disappointed them, in view of their having previously spoken (prophesized in advance) of him in such glowing terms in their predictive utterances. The four living creatures or attributes are pictured as likewise concurring with these same sentiments, for the Savior did all things in absolute obedience to the principles of divine government.

One of the prophetic pictures spoken of by the twenty-four elders is in regards to the millennial age and the Day of Judgement; it’s not quite the picture the professing church paints it to be, viz.

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth.” (Psa 96:11-13)

Thus showing that Judgement Day is not to be dreaded as is commonly taught.

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm [Jesus] have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations (Compare Isa 11:9). He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” (Psa 98:1-9)

“Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” (Psa 150:6)

Attention should be called to the fact that the golden bowls full of incense…are [the same as] the prayers of [the] saints.”

One might ask in what sense could the prayers of the saints be found in the Old Testament. In response, are not Christians given a comprehensive insight into the innermost thoughts of Jesus at the time of his crucifixion, and are not also some of the very words he uttered in his death agony on the Cross explicitly forecast in advance of their occurrence (Psa 22)?

Jesus’ heart attitude and his audible submission to the Father’s will—“Lo, I come . . . to do thy will”—were recorded in the Old Testament more than a thousand years before being written in the New Testament (Psa. 40:7; Heb. 10:7).

The thoughts, feelings, and prayers of the saints are also shown in the Old Testament. For example, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psa 23); “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet” (Psa 119); etc. Such expressions of the obedient are indeed a sweet fragrance in the nostrils of God and are equally pleasing to the risen Lord.”

We will proceed on to Verse 9 in our next post.