Chapter Fifteen/"Who Is Worthy to Open the Scroll?"

A New Song

A melodic son now rings forth.  It is sung to the Lamb by his priestly associates, the 24 elders:  "And they sing a new song, saying:  'You are worth to take the scroll and open it seals, because you were slaughtered and with your blood, you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.' " (Revelation 5:9)  The expression "new song" occurs several times in the Bible and usually refers to praising Jehovah for some mighty act of deliverance.  (Psalm 96:1; 98:1; 144:9)  Thus, the song is new because the singer can now proclaim additional wonderful works of Jehovah and express renewed appreciation for His glorious name.  

Here, though, the 24 elders sing a new song before Jesus rather than before Jehovah.  But the principle is the same.  They praise Jesus for the new things that he, as God's Son, has done in their behalf.  By means of blood, he mediated the new covenant and thus made possible the bringing forth of a new nation as Jehovah's special possession.  (Romans 2:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 7:18-25)  Members of this new  spiritual nation came from many fleshly nations, but Jesus united them into one congregation as one nation.  -Isaiah 26:2; 1 Peter 2:9, 10.  

When Jehovah formed the Israelites into a nation back in the days of Moses, he made a covenant with them and promised that if they would remain faithful to that covenant, they would become a kingdom of priests before him.  (Exodus 19:5, 6)  The Israelites were not faithful and never experienced  the realization  of that promise. On the other hand, the new nation, formed by virtue of the new covenant mediated by Jesus, has remained faithful. Its members therefore get to rule over the earth as kings and also to serve as priests, helping righthearted ones among mankind to be reconciled  to Jehovah.  (Colossians 1:20)  It is just as the new song expresses it:  "And you  made them to become a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth." (Revelation 5:10)  What joy those 24 elders have in singing this new song of praise to the glorified Jesus!

Next time: Chapter Fifteen/"Who Is Worthy to Open the Scroll?" - A Heavenly Chorus 

From the book of Revelation