Heaven falls down before the Lamb in total worship when this great moment finally happened: He has taken the book/scroll! Living creatures and angelic elders bring praise together; there is no difference in the manner in which they do so. This is yet another reason to consider the twenty-four elders to be angelic beings rather than glorified people. The other angels will soon join them (v.11). The ‘kinnor’ or harp was the traditional instrument to accompany praise in Israel. ‘Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song!’1 ‘Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the Lord, the King…For He comes to judge the earth.’2 He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. John sees and hears the zither and the harp as Heavenly musical instruments as well.3
They have golden bowls too—golden bowls with incense are the symbol for the prayers of the saints. ‘May my prayer be set before You like incense.’4 “And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers were praying outside.”5 The altar of incense stood in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle. It was made of gold, the symbol of celestial glory6—gold covering acacia wood: celestial Glory covering human weakness, pointing symbolically to Christ in His true humanity and divine glory, revealed in the flesh.7 In this way every Christian, every child of God, may be clothed with Him and become the righteousness of God in Him,8 ‘for I betrothed you to one Husband so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin’.9
Special incense was burnt on the altar of incense in the Tabernacle10—the prayers of the saints and praise, thanksgiving and worship; the sacrifice of praise of our lips.11 It must be the holiest, total love from our heart for Christ, and rise up to God as a sweet smelling fragrance, just as Mary’s pure nard was poured out on Jesus’ feet and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.12 Purified prayers, divested and cleansed of all egoism, are brought before God and the Lamb—the prayers of the saints, holy in Him, set apart and consecrated. Later, the angel will bring a lot of incense, with the prayers of the saints, onto the golden altar before the throne.13
Believers are called saints. But saints are not without sins. Paul was unable to forgive himself for having persecuted the saints,14 the Church of God, Jewish Christians, whom he regarded as backsliders and blasphemers. But by his prayer of repentance he was forgiven and cleansed. It surely was among the prayers sacrificed on the golden altar which is before the throne of God. As all our prayers are! Although Paul never forgot what he had done. He says about himself in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.” Prayers of repentance will be accepted by God. Read Psalm 51. Verse17: “My sacrifices, O God, are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” The prayers of us human beings are heard in Heaven. They are even present in Heaven. The first thing that John mentions of that was he sees of human beings are our prayers in Heaven. Prayers like: Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
• ‘Saints’ is the usual expression for believers, for all Christians. The bride, the Lamb’s wife, may clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean—being the righteous deeds of the saints.15 The saints are referred to repeatedly: Revelation 8:3–4, 11:18, 13:7 and 10, 14:12, 16:6, 17:6, 18:20 and 24, 19:8 and 20:9. Paul also uses this expression very regularly.
• According to some expositors the saints who are persecuted by the beast in the great tribulation (13:7 and 10) and martyrs (17:6) and finally redeemed by God (18:20) are not the Church, but converted Israel, because the Church will have been ‘raptured’ in their opinion at the beginning of that tribulation. Many disagree with that theory. The word tribulation. The word ‘saints’ is used in general for believers of both Jewish and non-Jewish origin, i.e. for the whole Church so the expression cannot only be limited to Jewish Christians.
Bible References:
1.Psalm 33:2–3 2.Psalm 98:5–6,9 3.Revelation 14:2, 15:2 4.Psalm 141:2 5.Luke 1:10 6.Exodus 30:1–9 7.1 Timothy 3:16 8.1 Corinthians 1:30 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 9.2 Corinthians 11:2 10.Exodus 30:34–38 11.Hebrews 13:15 12.John 12:3 13.Revelation 8:3 14.Acts 26:10; 1 Corinthians 15:9 15.Revelation 19:7–8
