Revelation: Heavenly Worship

The Book of Revelation has been described as critical for the study of worship in the New Testament. While it is impossible to avoid being influenced by Revelation in our theology and practice of worship, it is curious that “the terminology of worship is not directly used to describe the response of Christians on earth to God and the Lamb.” However the songs in Revelation have found their way into Christian hymns and liturgies. John may have intended his work to be used in Lord’s Day meetings (cf. 1.3)

Heaven is depicted as a place where adoration and praise are continually offered to God and the Lamb. This heavenly worship is contrasted with the idolatry of earthly worship that denies or rejects worship of God and the Lamb. Earthly worship is rebellion against God. It is worship of the dragon and the beast (12:9; 13:1). But God’s people are called to worship the true God. Praise and thanksgiving are to be offered to God for keeping his promises. Revelation depicts scenes where all nations are finally united in praise and all forces opposed to God are finally destroyed.

The visions of heavenly worship are given to encourage endurance and faithfulness among God’s people on earth. In heaven, those redeemed from the earth sing a new song before the throne (14.3), they ‘follow the Lamb wherever he goes’ (14.4). This redemption is a call to priestly service (1:5b-6; 5:10). Priestly service is linked to Christ’s return to, and future reign on, earth (5:10; 20:6).

Heaven’s court regularly pays homage to God in physical acts of worship. These acts acknowledge God’s character and purposes. Angels, elders and saints fall before God as creator and declare his holiness (e.g. 4:8-11; 7:11-12). The same group fall on their faces and sing in worship to Christ as the Lamb in Revelation 5. Jesus is not an alternative object of worship. He shares in God’s glory on “absolutely equal terms with God the creator!” It follows that only those who recognise Jesus as such can truly worship God as creator.

(This post draws heavily on David Peterson’s Engaging God: A biblical theology of worship, chapter 9.)