Read with Me
Revelation 5:13-14 (NET)
Then I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing:
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling authority forever and ever!”
And the four living creatures were saying, “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground and worshiped.
Listen with Me
The chorus of praise for the Lamb of God has been swelling. It started among the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders surrounding God’s throne. From there it had spread to myriads of angels who were first noticed by John when the thunderous roar of their voices joined the song.
Now, the voices of all creation joined together with the heavenly host in praise of the Lamb who conquered by His death and resurrection. Some might take issue with the idea that seahorses and amoebas are suddenly given voices to speak human languages. But like most of this vision, there are many things that are symbolic. In this case, the song of all creation and all creatures in it is symbolic of the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus did far more than provide redemption for lost humanity. It began the process of redeeming all creation which had been broken by the original sin of Adam and Eve (Romans 8:19-22).
The song chanted by all creation is directed not just to the Lamb, but also to God the Father, the One who sits on the throne of heaven. This is a recognition and declaration that the death of the Lamb at the hands of sinful and rebellious people was not an unforeseen tragedy that God was somehow able to turn into a benefit. Instead, it was a perfectly planned step in the divine plan to provide redemption and salvation to all humanity and restoration to the whole created order.
This part of the song, as a continuation of the song that had begun in verse 9, focuses on four entitlements of the Godhead. Because of the success of Their plan, They are worthy to receive praise, honor and glory from all They have created. And They are also to be recognized as Those who are worthy to rule over all creation. Not only did They create all things (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-4), but They are actively in the process of redeeming the creation that was broken.
For John, this reality had powerful implications. He and his fellow Christians were suffering not at the hands of some blind fate, but at the hands of spiritually broken human beings who were part of the sin-broken universe. But God was even then in the process of setting things right, of making all things new.
At this declaration those who had begun the praise put their seal of approval on it. The four living creatures intoned a solemn “Amen”, declaring it to be the absolute truth, while the twenty-four elders fell on their faces before God’s throne in worship.
Pray with Me
Father, there are many who wonder why, if You have provided all that is needed for the healing of our broken world, indeed of our whole broken universe, why is everything still so broken? That’s not an unreasonable question. But the answer is hard for us to hear. We, Your people, are the stick in the spokes of Your plan. We have been commissioned to take the salvation, the spiritual renewal and wholeness that we have received ourselves and proclaim it to all people. Paul tried to help us to see that unless we are willing to do that, millions, billions who You want to be saved will not hear and will be lost (Romans 10:14-15). If we (not just pastors, evangelists, and missionaries, but ALL your people) are not willing to go, share, and save, then the brokenness will continue and will grow as our carefully hidden light slowly goes dark. Lord, help us to see how important we all are to the completion of Your plan. Help us to understand that our role is not to lay low and pray for Your return, but to continually sow the seed of the gospel everywhere we go, so that the wholeness You bought and paid for can become a reality. Amen.