We’re in heaven today with our short reading from the book of Revelation. Billions of angelic beings are singing the praises of the Lamb who was slaughtered and yet stands before them, the crucified Christ who is risen beyond the power of death. Every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth and in the sea echoes their songs.
And even though the answer may seem obvious, we ought to ask, “Why?” Why is the Lamb worthy to receive the full-voice accolades that angels offer?
We’re now in the Easter season, a time in which the dominant theme of the church is celebration of Christ’s resurrection, the victory of life over death, hope over despair and forgiveness over condemnation. It’s natural for our hymns and our whole worship to express thanks and praise for that. But the book of Revelation wasn’t written just for Easter worship. The lectionary includes readings from Revelation for the rest of the Sundays of this Easter season, and this is a good opportunity to get a picture of what’s happening there.
The book of Revelation comes from the late first century of our era, when Christians in the Roman Empire were being persecuted, and it was written by a Christian named John in exile on an island off the coast of modern-day Turkey. In the first chapter, he describes an overpowering vision of the risen Christ who told him to write letters to seven churches in the area, commending the steadfastness of some, reproving others and encouraging all to greater faithfulness. The contents of these letters, included in chapters 2-3 of Revelation, help us to understand how early Christians were living in a dangerous time.
Then John is invited to come up to heaven to see “what must take place after this.”1 Suddenly he is in heaven and sees One whose appearance is like glorious gems upon a throne, the seven spirits of God, and 24 elders around the throne. Four six-winged living creatures, “glorious beasts with many eyes Exult
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