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Revelation 5:9, "And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"
This morning, man continually desires "new things." One of the easiest ways for
a politician to perk the ears and minds of potential voters is to promise
something new, change, or progress. One of the easiest ways to fall prey and
victim to false doctrine and/or practice is to be excited about something that
possesses a novelty to it. Unlike most of my peers, I prefer the things that I
am comfortable with. My favourite clothes are the old, broken-in ones that I am
accustomed to wearing. My favourite movies are those that I have seen multiple
times and can quote most of them extensively. Yet, even I have been enamoured at
times by things that were new to me. In God's house, there is no room for new
things as the old things - given by God at the hand of His Son and through His
apostles - are what is necessary for us today. Indeed, progress should be made
in personal endeavors, but the structure of beliefs and practices that God's
house has always had are still sufficient and nothing else is acceptable.
Many questions arise about what heaven is going to be like. Most of these
queries that are directed my way are met with the standard answer, "I don't
know." Sometimes I prove how much I really do not know, and other times, I
simply state it. But, what can we know about heaven? What is there from
Scripture's pages to glean about the experience? John's vision in the book of
Revelation speaks about many wonderful and mysterious things, but chapter 5
gives a concise description of what John sees in that heavenly portal. The
details given are perhaps the most striking and vivid of anywhere else in
Scripture, and what they leave for us on record is enough to sustain us here
about heaven's experience and leave the rest of our idle curiosity and
imagination alone.
One of the first points to make about heaven's experience, from our verse above,
is that it will be inhabited by precisely the exact number of persons that it is
intended to contain. Our verse above teaches - very succinctly - the doctrine of
election. When we look at this lovely band that is gathered around the throne of
God, we see a group that comes from many different places and situations. There
are different families there (kindreds), different nationalities (nations),
different backgrounds (languages), etc. Heaven is not populated by one ethnic
race group or nationality of people. Rather, heaven's population is comprised of
people from all different types of nations and tongues. While the gospel is
quite absent from many of these places today, heaven will not be absented from
those that God loves regardless of the gospel ever reaching them.
Notice that the verse does not speak about every nation being redeemed. Nor does
it say that every language or family is redeemed. Rather, it says that there is
a people "out of" all of these different groups. Election is God's choice of
people out of these different classes without respect to the class that they
derive from. Natural Jews are not more or less elected than Americans. Spanish
speakers on earth are not more or less elected than Greek speakers. While
certain natural families have been blessed to have many generations press into
the gospel kingdom as members of the Lord's church, they are not any more
elected than those that have never heard the gospel. Yet, this favoured band of
people are there simply by God's choice upon them and nothing more. (Ephesians
1:3-6, Matthew 1:21, John 1:12-13)
Furthermore, John describes this scene later in the succeeding verses as being
an innumerable host. While the innumerable host is from John's eyes (certainly
the number is known by God), John could not begin to describe the count as he
could only say they were 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of thousands.
(Revelation 5:11) Looking at all those in heaven, how could one say that
election is a "scarce doctrine?" Often, opponents of the doctrine of election
will say, "Well, if what you say is true, then there is this circle with all the
elect in it. What about someone not in the circle that wants to be in the
circle, but they can't because they are not elect?" My simple, and sometimes
infuriating answer to them, is, "That shows you are smaller than God as your
circle is not big enough." God's circle of election and love to His people is
large enough to encompass all those that He intended to be there, and if you
find someone that wants in, they are already in. One of the simplest
explanations of Biblical doctrine that I have ever heard is, "If somebody
doesn't have it, they can't get it. If they want it, they've already got it. If
they've got it, they can't lose it."
So, John describes heaven in reference to election and the great scope of it
(more than he could number). John also speaks of the unity of it. Heaven is the
most unified and harmonious place there is, for all these people from different
places, lands, tongues, and families are all joined regardless of their natural
distinctions into one harmonious chord. There will be no white/black, old/young,
wise/foolish, husband/wife/child/, or language distinction in heaven. John
saw fit to describe them as one group of redeemed people that came from
different places but all inhabited the same, equal, and identical state and
situation.
But perhaps one of the most refreshing elements to this scene that John
describes is the glorious practice of heaven. So often I hear, "What will we do
there forever and ever?" John simply says that we will be singing world without
end. What we sing will be sung forever for it deserves to be sung forever. The
redeemed band sings in heaven what John describes as a "new song." What does he
mean by this? There have been times in God's house where I had to learn a new
song as I had never sung it before. However, after learning the piece, it was
not new anymore. Sadly, the shine of the song sometimes comes off after repeated
singings.
This song is one in which the "shine" will never be sung off of it. The word
"new" has connotations of recent, fresh, unworn, or a new kind. Certainly, this
song will be a new kind of song for us as it will be sung perfectly (something I
have never been able to do here on earth). My old clod of flesh gets in the way
of perfect praise and perfect song to my Lord here on earth. There will be no
sin, no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, no death, and no tears in heaven to keep us
from the perfection that His praise deserves. As we awake with His likeness in
complete satisfaction (Psalm 17:15), our frame will be like a perfectly tuned
harp that is perfectly strung to make sweet melody forever and ever. While I do
not expect to literally have a harp of gold or any other metal in heaven, I do
expect (from this verse) to have a constitution or frame (body, soul, and
spirit) that will behave more harmoniously and melodically than the best of
instruments here on earth. My heart and voice will never warble or waver but
continuously sing in perfection in a new kind of way that I find myself failing
to do here on earth.
Some of the other connotations of the word "new" is that it is fresh or unworn.
Whenever we look at the word "fresh" we think of relevance. If food is not
fresh, we find it irrelevant to our nourishment on earth. Old, rotten food will
not do our body any good. God's Book is always fresh and vibrant for our daily
life, which makes it relevance unceasing while we are here. Will this song ever
cease to be relevant in heaven? Will we ever sing it enough? The simple answer,
that the hymnwriter understood so well is, "And oh eternity's too short to utter
all Thy praise!" While not having the proper language to describe eternity,
10,000 countless ages into the future of eternity will never come close to
touching the fulness of the relevance of singing to the Lamb of His redeeming
love through His precious blood.
Finally, that song is new in that it is "unworn." Unlike songs that lose their
shine here with repeated singing, that song will be just as vibrant, shiny, and
glorious with every effort of ours to sing unto Him. The reason that the shine
will never come off the song is because the shine will never come off that
precious blood that purged our sins (Hebrews 1:3), washed us from our sins
(Revelation 1:5), and presents us spotless before God in the righteousness of
Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:22) His blood will look just as "new" in the sense
of being unworn 10,000 years from now as it does today in heaven where they are
currently singing this song. There is a song that I dearly love that used to
bother me somewhat based on the language of one of the verses. However, after
coming to understand what the refrain was saying, I came to love the song even
more. Verse 3 of "Sweet to Rejoice in Lively Hope" says, "Shall see Him wear
that very flesh on which my guilt was lain. His love intense, His merit fresh as
though but newly slain."
Dear friends, when we see Him, we will see Him wearing that very flesh on which
our guilt was lain. However, it will not look scarred, torn, ripped, or
mutilated. I do not expect to see Him in glory wearing the very wounds that man
gave Him. Nor do I expect to see Him in glory under the marred visage that He
underwent for me. (Isaiah 52:14) But, I do expect to see Him glorified in that
very body that was prepared for Him, slain for me, and now raised up with all
glory, power, honour, might, and excellence with all His/my enemies put under
His feet. While the body itself is glorified, the intense love that He exercised
by standing my just place and the merit that it freely bestowed on me will be
just as fresh as the day He purchased it for me. My redemption will not be "old"
in the sense of time after Calvary. Nor will it be old in the sense of election
from all eternity. Rather, it will be just as new, fresh, and shiny (unworn) as
it has ever been.
As that intense love and merit stays fresh, so will the song stay fresh and
glorious with every sweet refrain from the song. Who is worthy? He is worthy.
Who was slain? He was slain. Who was it for? For us the redeemed that sing it
forever. There is no mention of anyone else specifically. There is the group
(us) and Him. One song, one band of singers, and one worthy Recipient of the
worthy song from worthy instruments and vessels. You will not have to worry
about learning the song or how to sing it. You will be perfectly and wholly
strung to sing it with all the rest. You do not have to worry about the language
of the song, for you will know perfectly the language of heaven. You will not
have to worry about fitting in with the other songsters, for you will look
redeemed as the rest do. Finally, you will never get tired, get old, get down,
or wonder what else you may do. Perfect satisfaction will be had by all there
present as this position and practice will be all that our soul desires world
without end. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
In Hope,
Bro Philip |