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Revelation 5:8
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6 And I looked,1 and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood aa Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and bseven eyes, which are cthe seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand aof Him who sat on the throne.  

Worthy Is the Lamb

8 Now when He had taken the scroll, athe four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the bprayers of the saints.  
9 And athey sang a new song, saying:
b“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And chave redeemed us to God dby Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 
10 And have made1 us akings and1 bpriests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”  
Commentaries:


No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Revelation 5:8.

Revelation 5:8

Probably what happened was that when the new bread was set out on the Sabbath, they put the cup or spoon on top, and put incense in there, and let it burn until it was consumed. But it was this offering, it says here, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as part of the consecration of the new bread. More than likely, this is what happened.

Symbolically, incense represents a person's reverent allegiance and dependence upon God. And when it is burned, it makes a perfect illustration of prayer. If you would go to Revelation 5:8, you would see, it is told there very specifically, that the incense is the prayers of the saints.

So, what do we do when we pray? Well, we are obviously showing our reverent allegiance and dependence on God, because we affirm to Him that we are of His body, that we are His people, and we ask Him for things. That is what prayer does. And so, incense indicates a person's reverent allegiance and dependence on God.

It is very fascinating to our senses because not only would the smoke go up, but it would also produce a wonderful smell - a balsamic sort of fragrance.

So, the inside of the tabernacle was a fragrant place - it smelled good. Not only was incense burned over the bread, but the incense altar was used both morning and evening showing the prayers of the saints going up before God's throne.

Excerpted from Approaching God Through Christ (Part 4)

Revelation 5:8

So, here we see the one-on-one nature of David's prayer with God. The incense signifies prayers. And in the New Testament, we find the same picture being portrayed in the throne room portion of Revelation chapters 4 and 5.

So, we are looking at the same figure both in the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The burning of incense represents our prayers before God.

Excerpted from Approaching God Through Christ (Part 6)

Revelation 5:2-14

As we read through this, keep in mind what we saw in Daniel 7. I propose to you that this vision in Revelation is a magnification of what happened when the Son of Man ascended and was brought before the Father, resulting in the Father giving Him dominion and glory and a kingdom. Notice how well it matches up:

Excerpted from Jesus Christ's Ascension

Revelation 5:8

Notice the prayers of the saints - you get the idea of saints in your mind.

Excerpted from Psalms: Book Four (Part Two)



Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Revelation 5:8:

Leviticus 2:2
Hosea 14:6-7


 
<< Revelation 5:7   Revelation 5:9 >>

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