Revelation 5 Study Notes
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5:8 Believers’ prayers are described as filling golden bowls before the throne of God. The gold emphasizes their reality and exceeding value to God. The word saints means “holy ones.” These are not elite and exceptional Christians. Instead, the NT uses this term for all believers in Christ (Rm 1:7).
5:9-10 The new song sung in heaven about Christ is inspired by his redemptive work, the shedding of his blood on the cross. The target group for redemption (described as every tribe . . . nation; cp. 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15, where the same terms are used in differing order) is the same group that is identified in the Great Commission: “all nations” (Mt 28:19). The reference to Christ’s shed blood and the phrase a kingdom and priests echo Rv 1:5-6 and may be partially fulfilled in heaven in 7:15. The promise that they will reign on the earth is fulfilled in 20:6.
5:11-14 On the living creatures, see note at 4:6-7. On the elders, see note at 4:3-4. This scene looks ahead to the time when “every knee will bow . . . and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Php 2:10-11).