October 4, 2023
Author: Pastor Bernard Ibrahim
October 04, 2023
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a
scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I
saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open
the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or
under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I
began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll
or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more;
behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered,
so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the
throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb
standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was
seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each
holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take
the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood,
you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and
they shall reign on the earth.””
Revelation 5:1-10
This passage, like all of Revelation after the first few chapters, is
full of metaphors. And I find it interesting how prayer is portrayed
both here and in Revelation 8. If you look at verse 8 in this passage,
the same metaphor, if you see it there, the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb, and they have two things they each are holding, a harp
and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Our prayers, the prayers of all the saints are likened to incense.
Now
incense, as you know, is some kind of herb, wood, spices that are
burned and when they're burned they smell good. They have a beautiful
aroma. You can describe it as sweet. Often when we smell incense we
think of a holy place and this bowl of incense is being used in a holy
place. It's the throne room of God the Father and we see also God the
Son. It's the prayers of the saints. That's what they're likened to,
like incense in a place of worship before God, they're there in God's
throne room.
So what are they likened to? The metaphor is their
incense. These golden bowls, precious containers for a precious thing.
And though there may be a lot of discussion or controversy, because
we're not told what the harp is or who the twenty-four elders are, most
commentators agree that these twenty-four elders represent us the
church, the people of God, there in the throne room of God with the
prayers of the saints and the harp representing musical worship; worship
and prayer there in the throne room of God. And notice where they're
found, they're found in the hands of these twenty-four elders. These
golden bowls, or vials or vessels depending on your translation, golden
bowls with incense burning and they fall down in worship when Christ
appears to take the scroll and to sit down at the right hand of the
Father.
Matthew Henry notes that prayer and praise, he's
referring to the harp and the bowls with incense, should always go
together in worship for our God. So it gives you a picture, it gives me a
picture when we pray, when we give thanks in prayer, when we praise
God, when we put our petitions in prayers, it is precious in the
sight of God. So precious and important that it's in his throne room.
Our prayers. And you have to think, out of this whole picture, the
things that we do, that is what's found before the throne of God, our
prayers tumbling, an amazing thought to think that God prioritizes our
prayers.
I hope this encourages you. It encourages me every time
I think about when we pray, what are we really doing? And what does God
think of it? And here in Revelation 5 and in Revelation 8 we're given a
picture of what God sees in our prayers there in his throne room, how
he values our prayers. So as we come to pray, new fresh encouragement to
strengthen our faith, to think highly of our prayers before the Lord
and Jesus Christ in their throne room.
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