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11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. ~ Revelation 5:11-14
We return to the second vision the Lord Jesus gave of Himself to the Apostle John while John was on the Island of Patmos. In this vision, everyone, not only those in heaven and those left yet upon earth, but those under the earth unite in acknowledging the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some will gladly confess it because they have understood and appropriated the death of Christ for themselves. Others will reluctantly acknowledge that He is indeed Lord. This scene has not yet occurred on earth but it will soon!
In this vision a new song from another new redeemed group will be sung. This new song comes from those redeemed during the church age. This is primarily the song of the redeemed represented by the elders, but it’s joined by the angels. The number is beyond calculation. It literally reads “myriads of myriads” or "murion of murions.
Murions or ten thousands was the largest Greek number that the Greeks had a word for. They didn’t have words for million and so forth, because they didn’t count anything that went that high. And all they had was ten thousand as a word in their vocabulary. So when they wanted to talk about an innumerable number they said ten thousand times ten thousand.
In v.11-12 we read, "11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
In this vision a new song from another new redeemed group will be sung. This new song comes from those redeemed during the church age, but it’s joined by the angels. This is the goal of all history. Every historic event for these many centuries is related to and moves toward this final event of history.
In v.12 we notice the Lord Jesus as the Lamb who was slain. This long-prophesied and awaited day has come. And, the Lord Jesus earned this deserved power, wealth, wisdom, and strength. These are kingly attributes which are needed to lead the people into battle. At the cross, the Lord Jesus paid the price to buy the slaves of sin with His own blood, and has set us free. He bought us so that we could choose to serve and worship Him.
The next three words are responses of praise. Honor and glory and praise. This is what we choose to give this king who had returned as the victor. The redeemed have had a spiritual heart transplant, and once we have His heart inside, we evaluate aright. So, if anyone were to place a stethoscope against the chest of the redeemed, they would hear the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the heart of worship. This is the heart of praise.
The angels join in the background but the ones with the harps and the bowls who sing the song are the redeemed. And, these are those who are the raptured church. And, with this being the case, it strengthens the argument for the pre-tribulational rapture.
According to v.12, Angels can only echo the song of redemption. They can not initiate it because it is not their song. Angels can glorify God but they can not sing the song of the redeemed. They can not invent it, they can only echo it.
In v.13 we read, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
Included in this group is every created thing. There is nothing left out. This includes everything: angels, men, dogs and dolphins. No created thing will be excluded. Endless praise, honor, glory, and power will be rendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole universe chimes in because the curse will be rendered void. There will be no more worry or pain or sorrow.
In v.14 we read, "The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped."
Notice the nature of this praise which is what the redeemed do naturally and spontaneously. This worship comes from deep within after we have experienced His incredible love. This praise is not forced. It is not laborious. It erupts from within us. This praise is natural and organic. And the “Amen” means “let it be and make it happen.”
In Revelation 4, we see God upon His throne. He is praised because He is God and because He created us. God’s first great gift to mankind was creation. At the beginning of Revelation 5, we endured the despair and hopelessness of a world that was broken beyond repair. We have wept due to the pain and suffering in our lives. But, the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ rose up and went forth to conquer sin and death. And now, He is poised to defeat Satan, and in so doing, He will provide for the redeemed the broken penalty of sin, the broken power of sin and the broken presence of sin and Satan. Oh, what a day that will be!
