Worthy is the Lamb
Session 10

Hallelujah! We have finally come to two of the most popular pieces in Handel's Messiah: "Hallelujah!" and "Worthy is the Lamb." The texts for both of these are taken from the Book of Revelation. Both, as well, are written for full chorus, a fact which may reflect this biblical context. In Revelation 5:11-12, for instance, the heavenly chorus which surrounds God's throne is described as numbering "myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice . . ." While Handel's original score would hardly have called for myr­ iads (groups of ten thousand), the texts themselves seem to call for a certain amount of extravagance. Perhaps this is why Handel festivals even relatively close to the time in which the composer lived ballooned to huge proportions. One is said to have had 3500 chorus members which very nearly drowned out the orchestra of 500 instruments! In any case, it seems clear that both text and music unite in these pieces in such a way as to make every­ body want to sing. As one critic has remarked, "The oratorios give me an idea of Heaven . . . where everybody is to sing whether they have voices or not."

Revelation as a Book of Comfort

God is in charge. That was the affirmative message of Psalm 2 which we discussed in Session Nine. It would have been very comforting¹ to the original readers of the Book of Revelation as well. Perhaps, however, it would be more accurate to describe them as "hearers," since they very probably listened to John's letter read aloud (see Revelation 1:3). Though it taxes the modem attention span to imagine it, the most likely context for such a reading would have been during a single worship service. This detail is important, because it means that they probably did not have time to dissect the words of John's apocalypse² as so many TV preachers try to do today. They would have had neither opportunity nor motive for ransacking the book for clues about the identity of the antichrist or the precise schedule of the promised end. What "clues" they did hear would have been obvious enough to pick up in this less analytical context.

This original life setting may give us some clues as to how we ought to read Revelation. If we must read it (rather than hear it), then we should try to read as much of it in one sitting as possible, not stopping to do an in-depth analysis of the things we do not understand. And as we read, we should try to visualize the pictures that John's words paint in our minds. The book is, after all, the written record of a vision. A good rule of thumb, then, for reading Revelation is: visualize, don't analyze. With that rule in mind, read Revelation 1:1-20.

The next issue moves us from form to content, and asks: what did those original listeners visualize, and why was it comforting to them? The recipients of the letter we call Revelation were being persecuted for their faith. Scholars do not agree about the precise date of its composition, but the context of persecution (or anticipated persecution) is clear.³ The fol­ lowing quote gives us an indication of just what being a Christian entailed in those days. It is an excerpt from another letter of roughly the same period and place, written by the Roman governor Pliny to his emperor, Trajan. Pliny writes:

. . . I have handled those who have been denounced to me as Christians as follows: I asked them whether they were Christians. Those who responded affirmatively I have asked a second and third time, under threat of the death penalty. If they persisted in their confession, I had them executed. For whatever it is that they are actually advocating, it seems to me that obstinacy and stubbornness must be punished in any case.⁴

It is difficult to determine what is more chilling about this quote: the matter-of-fact way in which Pliny describes putting people to death, or his complete lack of information about the faith that his victims so obstinately confessed. In any case, the question is moot. Christianity was a capital offense. Many, many people confessed it with their lives.

It is hard for most of us to even begin to imagine being a Christian in that kind of a con­ text. The closest many of us have ever come to this type of persecution is through watching old movies about Christians being thrown to the lions in Rome's famous Coliseum. This would not have been the setting in which Revelation's Christians were dispensed with, but it will do for illustrative purposes. Perhaps we can put that grim imagery to work for us as we attempt to understand Revelation's unique brand of comfort.

Imagine yourself in the "greenroom" ofRome's Coliseu;m. (A green room is a modem the­ atrical term for the room where performers wait to go on stage.) Suppose you are there with your family-your parents, your brothers and sisters, your children. You can hear the noise of the crowd. You can hear the roar of the lions. Now ask yourself, what would it take to comfort you in that situation?

Let us take a close look at the way John opens his letter. In the text of Revelation 1:4-5 printed below, certain words are in italic type for emphasis and further explanation.

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come . . . and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Who's in charge here? To the casual listener the obvious answer would have to be: the emperor, the guards, or even the lions. But that is not the answer the Christian knows to be true. God is in charge . . . God and God's anointed one, Jesus Christ. Christians know Jesus as the Christ (Messiah), but also as the witness who did not give in, who was faithful to the end. (The Greek word for witness is martus, which even then was well on its way to becoming the technical term "martyr.") They also know him as the first of many to be born again from the dead, a confession with obvious significance for those facing the death penalty. Finally, he is the King of all kings (see 19:16), who rules, not by brute force, but by love. It is because they know Jesus Christ to be all these things, that grace and peace are real possibilities (not just polite words of greeting), even in the gruesome situation in which they find themselves.

As if to help these early Christians visualize that day when "the kingdom of the world" would indeed become "the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah" (Revelation 11:15), John goes on to paint them a mental picture in Revelation1:7. "Look!" he says. "He is coming"-not in obscurity as he did the first time-but "with the clouds." This time "every eye will see him" ... every eye, "even those who pierced him," even those who laugh and curse and hoot at you. At long last, "the glory of the LoRD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together" (see Isaiah 40:5).

It is a very vivid picture. But it needs to be if it is to obliterate the intolerable reality with which those early Christians were faced. If it sustained them, then it will most certainly sustain us, both as individuals and as the Church, no matter how intolerable our reality may be or may become.

Revelation as Prophecy

In addition to being a vision, John also identifies his work as a "prophecy" (see Revelation 1:3 and 22:7). Modem use of this word is sometimes misleading. We tend to use it as a syn­ onym for "prediction." For instance, if someone remarks that a statement is "prophetic," they generally mean that it accurately foretells or predicts the future.

In both the Old and the New Testaments, however, the word "prophecy" has a much broader meaning. The prophet's role was that of intermediary. Standing between God and God's people, the prophet was often called on to speak "the word of the Lord" to particular situ­ ations (see Jeremiah 7:1-4). Sometimes, prophets also interceded with God on the people's behalf (see Jeremiah 7:16, where the lack of intercession is part of the people's punish­ment). While the prophetic word did sometimes function predictively, it was primarily con­ cerned with the present and immediate future.* When the word from the Lord was a harsh one, the prophets—like angry grandmothers—took people by the ear and told them to straighten up, or else. (When my grandmother said this to me I never got the impression that "or else" referred to the distant future!) When the word was gentle, they—like loving grandmothers—took the people onto their laps and murmured that everything was going to be all right. Either way, however, the focus was on the present and the very near future.

In the prophecy of Revelation, you can almost reach out and touch this sense of immediacy. "The time is near," John says in 1:3. Christ's return is imminent. Indeed, that is part of this prophecy's comfort. Not only is Christ coming; he is coming soon (see Revelation 22:7, 12, and 20).

"But wait, "we may well say. Christ has not come. We are still waiting. Does that invali­ date the message of Revelation? Not at all. Elsewhere, John acknowledges that only God knows the appointed times. In Revelation 5:1-14, only the Lamb is worthy to break the seals on the scroll which contains God's intentions for the future. The most important thing for us to know is that Christ will come and that our "times and seasons" rest securely in God's hands.

Here is an illustration of the way in which the Book of Revelation speaks to the present and immediate future of its original audience. We often hear TV preachers making elaborate analyses of the book. In doing so they invariably find hidden references to modem polit­ ical and social scenarios. By decoding these, the preachers seek to demonstrate the ways in which this ancient book has successfully predicted events of our own day.

There may well be "hidden references" in Revelation. Yet if its prophecy is true to the bib­ lical form, we should expect that these references would have more to do with their own day than with ours. We should also expect that these would be simple enough for the orig­ inal listeners to decode with a minimum of effort. Let's test these expectations on an example.

Read Revelation 13:11-18. A horrible beast is making war on the saints (that is, the Christians). This beast has a number: 666. We have all heard ominous speculations as to the identity of this beast, even predictions of how its number will soon begin to show up on our credit cards, etc. Yet scholars suggest that there is a fairly obvious way to decode this number. Not surprisingly, the result has more to do with the first century than our own.

In Greek and Hebrew, each letter has a numerical equivalent. For example, the letter "b" corresponds to the number "2," the letter "d" to the number "4," and so on. When we take the letters of the name of the evil emperor, Nero, and add up their numerical equivalents, they total—you guessed it—666.** This may sound complicated to us, but it really would not have been that difficult in a culture which was used to letters doing double duty as numbers.

Why would the author want to put this reference to Nero in code? The answer is simple if we imagine ourselves as persecuted Christians in the first century, C.E.Ifwe wanted to say something derogatory about the emperor-and the description of the beast in chapter 13 is far from flattering-it would hardly be in our best interest to come right out and say it. Instead, we would try to couch our criticism into some sort of code. We might even put some semantic markers around it so that our listeners would know that it required special atten­ tion. This is exactly what Revelation 13:18 does when it says, "This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person."

Why did John refer to Nero and not Domitian (since Domitian was the emperor who was in power at the time Revelation is thought to have been written)? Perhaps that was part of the scheme as well. If the Romans figured out the "numbers game," John could always have claimed that he was merely insulting a dead emperor. He and his listeners would know, however, about the rumors that Nero, who had persecuted the Christians with such vicious imagination during his reign in 54-68 C.E., was going to return. The reappearance of this "beast" would mean a renewal of persecution and would signal that the end was near.

All this is to say that we should exercise a great deal of caution as we read, listen to, and interpret the Book of Revelation. As one commentator has put it, "Revelation has a mes­ sage to our time, but it does not make predictions about it."*** If we insist on looking for ref­ erences to current political leaders, we will probably be disappointed. On the other hand, if we look for references to first-century caesars, our chances will improve dramatically.

Listen

Chorus ("Hallelujah!") (3.48 mins)
Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and he shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah.

Revelation 19:6b;11:15b, and19:16b (modified)

Hallelujah!

"Hallelujah" is a Hebrew word meaning, "praise God!" That is exactly what is happening in the two texts from Revelation on which the "Hallelujah" Chorus is based. Read Revelation 11:15-19. Here the last of seven trumpets sounds and signals what Psalm 2 anticipated, namely, that "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah" (verse15). The wonder of what has happened here is summed up in the tense of the verbs. In a direct reference to Psalm 2, John can talk about how "the nations raged" (verse 18). What was always woefully present is now permanently past. Even more exciting, however, is the way in which the future tense is now taken over with the present. God has indeed "begun to reign" (verse 17). The usual formula for God as the one "who is and who was and who is to come" (Revelation 1:8) is now without its future member; God is addressed as you "who are and who were" (verse 16), but there is no reference to the future. That is because the future is now. We have prayed, "Thy kingdom come," and it has.

Now review Revelation 19:5-16. The marriage supper of the Lamb is celebrated. More will be said about the figure of the Lamb in a moment, but for now it will suffice to say that the Lamb represents Christ. The Lamb's bride is, of course, the Church. Once again, the tense is blissfully present and the text replete with praise. "Hallelujah" echoes like a refrain throughout the chapter, its imperative praise taken up by multitudes so plural that their cries seem to John "like the sound of many waters" and "mighty thunderpeals" (verse 6; see also 7:9, 10).*

The imagery shifts in verses 11-16 and Christ is depicted as both warrior and judge. In language borrowed directly from Psalm 2, Christ is described as ruling the nations "with a rod of iron" (verse 15). His name identifies him as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (verse 16). Paradoxically, the Prince of Peace is also the Lord of hosts, commanding the armies of heaven (verse 14). Yet, those familiar with Psalm 2 are used to this type of juxtaposi­ tion. The last two verses of that psalm outline the options for this passage as well:

Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.

The LORD of hosts is not to be trifled with. To those who trust him, however, he is a mighty fortress.

Who's in charge here? That was the question the author of Psalm 2 was asking. It was the question on the lips of the persecuted Christians of John's day. It was and is the question inscribed on the hearts of every suffering Christian throughout the ages. And if rocks and trees and rivers could talk, they would be asking it, too.

Revelation's answer is as unequivocal as that of Psalm 2. The Lord of hosts and this Lord's own anointed one are in charge-not the rulers of this world, not the powers of death and sin. Hallelujah, indeed!

Listen

Chorus ("Worthy is the lamb") (7:46 min)
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood,
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Blessing and honour, glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:12-14a (modified)

Here's a "worthy" alternative, a powerful contemporary presentation by a prolific composer Pepper Choplin. This one gives me goose bumps and brings tears to my eyes.

Worthy is the Lamb

Read Revelation 5:1-14 now. As if there had ever been any doubt, this passage informs us that only this slain and risen Lamb is worthy to open the scroll upon which is written the world's future. Only this Lamb is worthy "to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing" (verse 12). Jesus Christ is, of course, the Lamb that was slain—a reference to Christ's death on the cross in the language of Old Testament sacrifice. In fact, it is striking how much of the language of this passage does derive from the Old Testament. It bears witness to the way the early church understood who Jesus is. Who is this worthy one? He is the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" and "the Root of David" (verse 5; see also Isaiah 11:1, 10). He is the Suffering Servant. He is the Messiah.

What can one say to all of this but, "Amen" (verse 14)? It is a small word, but it signifies a great deal. It means, "so be it." When we say it we signal our assent to what has gone before. In this passage it functions as an affirmation of Christ's role in the unfolding drama of Revelation. But is also functions—for John, for the elders, and for us—as a way of affirming our trust and confidence in God. It says that we are open to whatever God has in store for us. That is no small confession of faith under the circumstances of any age. We might prefer to know exactly what is ahead before we set off on a journey into eternity. Yet we can set off on that journey with confidence not because we know what is ahead but because we know who we are with. Finally, we agree to go because we know that God—our God—is in charge. The kingdom of this world will indeed become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah. He will reign forever and ever. Knowing that is enough. It is enough to enable us to take the first step on our journey and all the steps thereafter. It is enough to enable us say with joy and confidence, "Come, Lord Jesus." It is enough to enable us to sing with Handel, over and over again, "Amen." So be it.

Memory Bank

Revelation 5:11-14: ¹¹ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ¹² Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. ¹³ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. ¹⁴ And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Revelation 11:15-18: ¹⁵ And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ¹⁶ And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, ¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Revelation 19:5-8, 11-16: ⁵ And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. ⁶ And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. ⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Research

1. Find out more about the persecution of early Christians by looking up "persecution" and "Nero" in a Bible Dictionary or a history of the Christian Church.

2. Read the introduction to Revelation in a good study Bible, such as the Oxford Annotated Bible, or in a one-volume commentary, such as Harper's Bible Commentary.

Reflection

1. Are you looking forward to Christ's coming? Why or why not?

2. How have you heard the Book of Revelation depicted in the past? In what way has this session confirmed or changed your views?

3. What are some moments in your own faith journey that have prompted you to say, "Hallelujah! Amen!"?