On Earth as in Heaven

On Earth as in Heaven May 22, 2015

When John goes into heaven (Revelation 4-5), he enters a worship service. Four living creatures and twenty-four elders are engaged in a cycle of praise, including a version of the Sanctus and a proclamation of the worthiness of the Creator. 

When the Lamb appears and takes the book, the worshiping angels kick it up several notches: They break out the harps and begin to sing of the worthiness of the Lamb. 

Later in Revelation, the saints sing the songs of Moses and the Lamb while standing on the fiery sea of the firmament (Revelation 15) and sing Hallelujahs when the Lord overthrows the harlot city that has been drinking holy blood (Revelation 19).

We don’t know a great deal about heaven, but we do know this: Heaven is a place of liturgical song. And we also know some of the songs they sing. We don’t know much about the life of the age to come either, but we know that it too is a world of music.

We pray that God’s will would be done on earth as in heaven. When we sing, we become the answer to our own prayer, because in a very literal sense what is happening on earth mirrors the activity and sounds of heaven.


Browse Our Archives