Variety: Revelation 5v11–13

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 honour 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 honour and glory and power,
for ever and ever!’

Revelation 5:11–13

The gift of the cross is eternal life (Romans 6:23). Have you ever tried to picture life after death? When I was a small child I didn’t want to go to heaven because I thought it would be a floaty, wispy place echoing with choral alleluias which sounded boring at best, creepy at worst.

Revelation tells us we are not going to heaven at all; rather heaven is coming here (21:1–3). The earth will be remade and God will dwell here with us. In these verses, Christ the Lamb is at the centre of the vast circle of worshippers. Who are the worshippers? Well, verse 11 lists angels and the mysterious many-eyed and winged ‘living creatures’ and elders – perhaps who most people would expect at such a gathering. But then verse 13 adds ‘every living creature’ to the praise party.

These are underground creatures like worms and beetles, sea creatures like fish and whales, land creatures like donkeys, bears, and rabbits. The Greek word translated here as ‘heaven’ (οὐρανῷ) was just as commonly used for the sky, so there will be birds, bats, and bees. Every habitat gets a mention – the biblical picture of our eternal future is incredibly biodiverse. My childish understanding of heaven could not have been further from the truth. Everything God spoke into being and declared ‘good’ gives him glory and has its place around the throne, where its very nature is to worship. As the theologian Richard Bauckham expressed it, ‘the creation worships God just by being itself, as God made it, existing for God’s glory.’

This is more than a heartwarming vision for animal-lovers and avid birders. It is a statement about the value and purpose of all living creatures in God’s eyes. They are our fellow-worshippers in eternity. That should impact everything on our frontlines from the treatment we expect of the animals that become the meat we eat, to the kind of cleaning products we buy, to whether we squish the spider in the bathtub or respectfully transfer it outside. This is God’s world and the living things who share our home are fellow worshippers.

London Institute for Contemporary Christianity