Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.  – Revelation 5:11‭-‬14

Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand – that’s a whole lot of angels.  The ‘heavenly host” was encircling the throne where the mysterious “man” and scroll also reside.

This celestial crowd of angels was articulating the message of the Messiah – the Lamb of God “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

The heavenly host is then joined by an earthly host, “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them”.  Pretty much all of creation is Chiming in here to say “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

It is unclear whether the earthly host is implicitly saying that the “man” on the throne and the Lamb are different and distinct or they are one in the same.  Either way God’s presence is there and those present respond by saying “amen” and falling down to worship.

The last part of this passage strikes me as the nugget of wisdom here.  We rarely experience God’s presence in a tangible way while we toil about in this land of oblivion.  There are times when I feel drenched by the presence of God like an ice bucket challenge, but there are also times when I feel thirsty and parched yearning for God’s presence like deer pant for water.

This passage is a reminder that when we do find ourselves in God’s presence our response should be a bold “amen” and a pause to praise and worship the Lamb who was slain and takes away the sins of the world.

Prayer: God help us to pause when we find ourselves in your presence so that we can give you praise and worship.