Revelation 5

“When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you redeemed people for God by Your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom, and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.”  Revelation 5:8-10 (HCSB)

As a musician, I am overjoyed by the fact that there are instruments in Heaven because I’ll likely have a job! I love music and how it resounds with us emotionally. Alongside prayer, music is a natural human conduit for worship. When people feel happy, they sing. When they are sad, they sing. When celebrating victory, mourning a loss, or in the heat of competition, people look to music to facilitate the experience.

As a songwriter, I am glad to know there is songwriting in Heaven. The apostle John describes a “new song” being sung in the Heavens as God’s prophecy unfolds. It makes sense because if singing is a natural form of worship, then each time God reveals something new about Himself, we respond with a “new song.”

I used to live under the assumption that once people enter Heaven, they are somehow immediately fully aware of everything about God. I don’t know why, but I believed everyone would be eternally frozen in a perpetual state of worshipful awe. Obviously, they aren’t because John describes some varied activities that he witnessed going on in Heaven.  

Perhaps that is a glimpse of what our time in Heaven will be like. Instead of standing in a circle, frozen in worship, maybe eternity with the Lord will be more…kinetic, with God revealing facets of His infinite greatness to us. I would assume that we would continually sing a new song in response. Either way, we’ll know when we get there, and we’re sure that we’ll get there if our faith is in Jesus’ atoning righteousness!  

In a sense, the experience of God’s revelation happens to us already. Paul said that before Love and Spiritual Gifts, we should seek prophecy. (1 Corinthians 14:1) That is to say that we should seek that God would reveal Himself to us through His Word, the Bible, so that we could worship Him deeper and share Him with others.  

Just when we think we have God figured out and we’ve fathomed the depths of the Bible, He reveals something new about Himself. Then we’re blown away all over again. Now, there is something new to sing about!