Epistles

Worship in Acts and the Epistles

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The book of Acts and the Epistles reflect continuing involvement of Christians with the institutions of Jewish worship. However, with the Gentile mission and increasing separation from the temple and synagogues, the churches had to develop their own forms of common worship. Even Jewish Christians came under increasing pressure as persistent evangelism aroused the hostility of the ecclesiastical authorities.

The Temple and the Early Church

The temple figures prominently in the worship of the infant church. After the Ascension, the disciples were continually in the temple praising and blessing God (Luke 24:51–53). Part of the fellowship of the Jerusalem church was daily attendance in the temple (Acts 2:46). Peter and John healed the lame man on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer (Acts 3:1–10). Like Jesus, the apostles stood in the temple and taught the people (Acts 5:25). Later, Paul was anxious to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost (Acts 20:16). One of his first acts on reaching the city was to make his way to the temple and undergo ritual purification (Acts 21:23–26). When arrested and accused, Paul protested strongly that he had not offended in any way against either the law or the temple. The witness of Stephen shows that the early church had a strong sense of the transitoriness of the earthly temple (Acts 7:47–50). The problem of Judaizing was important at this very point, for those who attached greater importance to the temple naturally wanted the Gentiles to become Jews so they could worship there. The church, led by Stephen and Paul, came to see that this was neither possible nor right. Nevertheless, so long as the temple remained, it was for Jewish Christians a proper center of the true, divine worship, which is in faith, obedience, sincerity, and truth.

The Synagogue and the Early Church

The Christian’s relationship to the synagogue was equally strong, though the opportunity of exposition soon made the synagogue a place of contention and separation. Stephen seems to have engaged in synagogue evangelism (Acts 6:9–10). Paul made the synagogue the starting point of his missionary work in the various cities (Acts 13). He preached in the synagogues at Pisidian Antioch and Iconium and found a house of prayer at Philippi. It was Paul’s custom to attend the synagogue, and he reasoned for three Sabbaths in the synagogue at Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–2). As late as Acts 28:16 he called the Jewish leaders of Rome together—his detention probably prevented his worshiping at the synagogue—and sought to persuade them of the verity of the gospel. In most of the Pauline churches, the first converts came from the synagogues, though in no instance did a whole synagogue become a Christian congregation.

The division that took place in the synagogues through the preaching of the gospel meant that Christians were forced to hold their own gatherings. They had been prepared for this by the special times of fellowship the first disciples had enjoyed with their Lord, whether formally at meals or more informally. The first church in Jerusalem met together in the upper room for prayer (Acts 1:14; 4:31; 12:12). The breaking of bread, whether in the form of common meals, the Lord’s Supper, or both, played some part in the movement toward the church’s independent worship. Outside Jerusalem Paul (and Barnabas) apparently took steps to bring believers together for their own gatherings, which in some instances might have been supplementary to synagogue services, though there was a definite separation at Ephesus (Acts 19:9). The comparative ease with which synagogues could be formed, the pattern of worship already provided, and the conversion of leading members (cf. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, Acts 18:8) helped to make the formation of Christian congregations a smooth and simple process. Believers probably met in houses, due to the absence of church buildings, and so one reads of house churches (cf. Philem. 2). The apostles made provision for the supervision of the new assemblies (Acts 14:22). Somewhat after the pattern of the synagogue, the two chief ministers were the elder (bishop) and deacon, though it is perhaps a mistake to see too close an assimilation to synagogical forms.

What form of worship was pursued in the Christian assemblies? The New Testament gives little detailed information. From the first chapters of Acts, it may be gathered that prayer and the breaking of bread were primary. The only other detailed sources are in Acts 20 and 1 Corinthians 11 and 14. Acts 20:7 records a meeting on the first day of the week at which the disciples broke bread and Paul preached; the meeting seems to have been in the evening. First Corinthians 11 also speaks of a common meal, which is plainly the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–34), though probably in combination with an ordinary supper. First Corinthians 14 mentions a gathering at which members might contribute a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, or an interpretation, though with an emphasis on edifying and order. The injunction in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is perhaps a further hint that these assemblies were held on the first day of the week. Whether Corinth was typical cannot be decided, nor indeed whether the procedure in 1 Corinthians 14 is supplementary to more organized worship, such as at the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps the Corinthian emphasis on tongues carried with it a more-than-customary drive for freedom.

The sources do not indicate that a recognized structure had emerged at this period. Nevertheless, even at Corinth the constituent features of worship—prayer, praise, exposition and perhaps reading of the Scriptures, and the Lord’s Supper—are evident. The materials of the liturgy are also present. The Psalms would be the Old Testament Psalter, and readings involved a fixed form of words. Paul gives a simple order for the Lord’s Supper. Part of the general content of prayer is suggested in 1 Timothy 2:1–3. The prayer of Acts 4:24, though extemporaneous, uses liturgical phrases obviously drawn from the Old Testament. Even the sermons recorded in Acts are not without patent similarities of wording and structure. Since the primitive church is heir to the rich tradition of the Old Testament and Judaism, it would be strange if this were not so. The new spirit and power lie in the new understanding of the old forms, the fashioning of new forms out of the old, rather than in formlessness.

Personal Devotion and Piety of Early Christians

Individual piety finds no less expression in the life and teaching of the apostles than in that of the Lord. Paul is a good example. He practices (1 Thess. 2:1) and urges (1 Thess. 5:17) unceasing prayer. He calls for prayer in support of his ministry (Eph. 6:18). In many passages, he indicates the content of his own prayers, which in the Epistles at least are largely intercessory in character (Phil. 1:4–11; Col. 1:9–12), though a passage like Philippians 3:8–11 becomes almost a prayer of aspiration, and his first Christian prayer (Acts 9:11) was almost certainly a prayer for forgiveness and enlightenment. The indication of content is even more extended in Ephesians 3:14–21, which seems to have been dictated by the apostle quite literally on his knees in the gesture of individual prayer (Dan. 6:10). This prayer of petition characteristically moves to a doxological climax that expresses the confidence of faith and that sees in all God’s work fulfillment of the first request of the Lord’s Prayer. Steeped as he is in Old Testament and Jewish forms, Paul adopts quite naturally a liturgical language that is a free adaptation of existing phrases. The intensity of his faith and devotion, allied to extensive biblical knowledge, produces a perfect blend of dignity and fervor.

In addition to prayer, Paul commands a diligent study of the Scriptures, whether by reading or by committing to memory (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Eph. 6:17). He also calls for a life of self-discipline, which may include celibacy if this is the divine command (1 Cor. 7:1–8), but which certainly includes a subjection of the body for the sake of better service (1 Cor. 9:24). The discipline of fasting is not neglected (2 Cor. 11:27). Thanksgiving is also to be the constant attitude and exercise of the believer (1 Thess. 5:18). The grave and sober conduct expected of bishops and deacons (1 Tim. 3) do not specify a personal exercise of piety, but it is implied. Timothy, as a man of God, is exhorted to pursue godliness (1 Tim. 6:11). While the worship of the individual merges into that of the fellowship, and also into general uprightness of life and conduct, the personal exercise of religion is an important aspect of worship in the New Testament.

Covenant Worship in the New Testament

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In the New Testament, the concept of covenant is often subsumed under other metaphors that describe the relationship between the Lord and his people. The most important of these is the “kingdom of God,” which was the primary theme of Jesus’ teaching and preaching. The new Israel is also called God’s temple (Eph. 2:21; 1 Cor. 3:16–17), Christ’s body (Rom. 12:4; 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:12–27; Eph. 2:16; 4:15–16), and the city of God (Matt. 5:14; Rev. 21–22). The numerous references to God as Father, to believers as brothers, and to the church as a household portray the church in terms of a family. There are, however, many references to the covenant itself. The brief covenant formulary of the Old Testament—I will be their God and they shall be my people—is applied to the church by several New Testament writers (Heb. 11:16; 1 Pet. 2:10; Rev. 21:3).

Covenant in the Gospels and Acts

The Gospels narrate the coming of the Servant. In some cases they explicitly state that the stories they tell verify Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy; at other times, they simply recount events that make it obvious. In his teaching, Jesus appears as a spokesman for the covenant in much the same way as Moses is portrayed in the Pentateuch. For example, in response to a questioner he states the basic requirements of the covenant in language borrowed from Moses (Deut. 6:4; Lev. 19:18); the stipulations to love the Lord with one’s entire being and to be loyal to one’s brother servant of the Lord lie at the heart of the concept of the treaty-covenant (Mark 12:30–31).

The Gospels present the events of Jesus’ passion and crucifixion in order to make the point that he fulfills the old covenant and institutes a new one. On the night of his arrest, Jesus offers the new covenant to his disciples in the upper room. The Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, is the Christian “Passover,” or covenant meal (Matt. 26:26–29); it calls to the remembrance of the new Israel its deliverance by the sacrifice of Christ, the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). As Christians eat the body and drink the blood of the sacrifice, they reaffirm their covenant relationship with the Lord in an act of worship.

At Jesus’ death on the cross, the rending of the temple veil discloses the absence of the ark of the covenant in the temple; the Lord of hosts is no longer with the old institutions but with his new people of the kingdom. Clearly, the Gospel writers intend to emphasize that Jesus fulfills all the Old Testament prophecies that relate to the coming of the Messiah, or anointed Servant, in whom the covenant of the great King is fully realized. This theme is continued in the preaching of the apostolic church. In his sermon after the healing of the lame man, Peter tells the Jews gathered at the temple that all the prophecies from that of Samuel onward were fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Servant of God (Acts 3:24).

Covenant in the Epistles of Paul

Paul’s letters are replete with references to the covenant; indeed, his working out of the theology of salvation through Jesus Christ cannot be adequately understood apart from an understanding of covenant terminology.

Romans. From the outset, Paul’s letter to the Romans has the covenant as its underlying theme. Worship, the acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over all things, is a requirement laid upon all people; those who refuse to give thanks to God are given up, or excluded from the covenant, becoming subject to its curses (Rom. 1:21–24). Paul picks up the imagery of marriage with Yahweh, which the Israelite prophets used as an analogy to the covenant, in order to explain the end of the old economy and the onset of the new. A marriage, he tells the Romans, is in force only as long as both partners are alive. If one dies, the other is free from his covenant and can legitimately marry another. A person who has acknowledged Jesus as Lord has identified with him in his death, becoming, as it were, dead along with Christ, in order to be raised with him into a new life. Thus Christian baptism, as an act of worship, has profound covenantal foundations. The death of the believer with Christ renders him free from the old covenant and places him within the new covenant nation, or bride of Christ (Rom. 7:4). The old covenant was not able to produce righteousness, being only a picture of the new, in which Jesus Christ, who embodies the covenant, becomes righteousness for the believer. This righteousness, the life that embodies the covenant, shines through the church to the world, as God’s people “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4 kjv).

Paul uses the olive tree as a figure for the blending of the old and new covenants in Jesus. Gentiles who acknowledge Jesus as Lord are grafted into the tree alongside believing Jews. Together they make up the people of God under the new covenant. Blindness has come upon part of the Jewish people until the full proportion of Gentiles can be grafted into the olive tree. “And so [that is, ‘in this way’] all Israel [both Jews and Gentiles] will be saved” (Rom. 11:26, italics added). Using an image taken from Old Testament symbolism of the exchange of clothing in a covenant, Paul urges his readers to “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,” as one wears a garment (Rom. 13:14). He summarizes by admonishing both groups to receive one another and be like-minded in order to glorify God as one people (Rom. 15:5–12).

Corinthians. The remarkable passage in 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, which appears to break the continuity of thought in its context, may be a fragment from an earlier letter of Paul’s, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9. The thrust of this passage is that Christians are to separate from unbelievers. Paul presents this admonition in the form of a prophetic declaration of the covenant, in the name of “the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:16–18), which makes use of a chain of quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. Here the Lord declares that he will dwell among his people, citing the covenant formulary—I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Lev. 26:12; Ezek. 37:27). He then summons his people to separate from uncleanness and to be gathered to him (Isa. 52:11). Extending the language of the Davidic covenant to all his people, the Lord declares that he will be their Father (2 Sam. 7:14), and they shall be his sons (Hos. 1:10) and daughters. Paul’s Corinthian readers would have understood the covenant terminology underlying this passage, for (contrary to what is often said) the Corinthian church was mainly a Jewish congregation (cf. Acts 18:1–17).

Galatians. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes a particularly strong statement about the old and new covenants. Certain teachers who would require Christians to return to the old covenant were creating problems in Galatia, and Paul writes to address the subject. He uses the terms “the Law” and “Book of the Law” to refer to the old covenant and says that it cannot bring people into relationship with God. Even those who are born Jews, he asserts, cannot come to the Father except through Christ; how much less those who are Gentiles to begin with (Gal. 2:15–16).

Paul goes on to refer to Abraham, who was justified, or placed in a covenant relationship with the Lord, through faith and not through observing regulations. The law that came later could not invalidate God’s covenant with Abraham, which promised that in him all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gal. 3:17). The promise was made, Paul explains, to Abraham’s “seed” and not his “seeds,” and that “seed” (singular) is Jesus Christ. The old covenant was to serve only until the Seed came (Gal. 3:19), but it was not the promised blessing. The Seed comes to both Jews and Gentiles, because both are under sin and need the anointed Servant to be the covenant on their behalf. When a person is baptized into Christ, he or she is clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27); here Paul again refers to the exchange of clothing in the enactment of a covenant. As a result of being clothed with Christ in the new relationship, no physical distinctions remain, whether of race, gender, or social status (Gal. 3:28–29). Paul uses the analogy of Hagar and Sarah to illustrate that the children of the promise are those who are born into the covenant relationship through faith, while the earthly Jerusalem and its old covenant inhabitants are children of the slave girl and will not inherit the promises (Gal. 4:21–31).

Ephesians and Colossians. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul adopts the style of the Hebraic blessing, a form of worship ascribing honor to the Lord; the hymnic quality of the opening passage is marked by the recurring refrain “to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12, 14; cf. 1:6). He reminds the Ephesians that the people God has chosen to create and adopt are those redeemed by Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles together. Both groups are in need of God’s life-giving power. Jesus Christ himself has broken down the wall between Jew and Gentile and united them in a new creation. This created people is the mystery that Paul has been commissioned to make known; this was God’s plan from the beginning, “his eternal purpose which [God] accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11). The church, or “new man,” is the culmination and crown of the new creation, just as mankind was in the old. It represents God’s ultimate and eternal purpose in the earth. As he concludes, Paul uses the image of the exchange of weaponry between covenant partners; he presents his readers with a listing of the armor of God and admonishes them to wear it in their battles against the enemy (Eph. 6:10–17).

Paul assures the Colossians that they exhibit the sign of the covenant, a spiritual circumcision made evident by water baptism (Col. 2:11–15). They should not submit to the regulations of the old covenant, which is only a shadow of the reality that is Christ (Col. 2:16–23).

Covenant in Hebrews

The letter to the Hebrews is dedicated almost entirely to a discussion of the new covenant (see especially Heb. 8:1–13). The writer identifies Jesus as the one who has appeared “in these last days” (Heb. 1:2) and has been appointed heir of all things. He is the “firstborn,” or King (Heb. 1:6, 8), who has “provided purification for sins” (Heb. 1:3) as the covenant sacrifice and is the anointed Servant (Heb. 1:9) who was promised. He calls those in the new covenant “brothers” (Heb. 2:11–18); he is the seed of Abraham (Heb. 2:16) and the builder of God’s house (Heb. 3:1–6). He embodies the Sabbath, the rest that is promised to God’s people (Heb. 3:18–4:11). Jesus is our high priest (Heb. 5:1–8:6) who administers the new covenant (Heb. 8:6ff.). This new covenant is the one of which the prophets spoke, wherein all its adherents would know the Lord (Heb. 8:8–12). It takes the place of the old covenant, completely absorbing and superseding it (Heb. 8:13ff.). Christ is the covenant sacrifice (Heb. 9:24–28), removing by his death the need for animal sacrifices under the law (Heb. 10:1–22). Again and again the writer of Hebrews contrasts the two covenants, emphasizing that the new is far superior to the old and has taken its place; by it one enters “Mount Zion,” the “heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God,” to an assembly of angels and of one “firstborn,” to God the judge, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:18–24). Neither are the sacrificial ceremonies of the Jewish sanctuary relevant (Heb. 13:10–14); in place of animals, new covenant people are to “offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb. 13:15).

Covenant in the Revelation

The Revelation to John is a covenant document of the first magnitude, a dramatic portrayal of the enactment of the curses inherent in the covenant against the unfaithful. The proliferation of sevens is a clue to the book’s covenant content, a reminder of the taking of a covenant oath, which in Hebrew is literally “to seven oneself.” The Revelation is also a picture of covenant worship in the response of God’s new people to his mighty acts of deliverance on their behalf. John has given the church a pattern to follow in his descriptions of the twenty-four elders falling down before the Lamb, the white-robed saints playing harps, and the great congregation shouting, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” (Rev. 19:6–7). In the worshiping church, “the holy city, new Jerusalem,” the covenant finds fulfillment: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them” (Rev. 21:3).

Jesus Is the Covenant

Summarizing the witness of the New Testament authors, we see that Jesus himself takes on all the elements of the covenant in order to keep it for those who are “in him.” He is Servant (Phil. 2:7), Lord (Phil. 2:11), and Shepherd (Heb. 13:20–21). He is the witness to the covenant (Rev. 1:4–5). He is the covenant sanctions, the blessing (Eph. 1:3) and the curse (Gal. 3:13). He is the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14), the text of the new covenant in a language able to be understood, now deposited in the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:19–22). He is the sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7) and the covenant meal (John 6:48–54), which enact the covenant. He is the garment put on in token of the covenant (Gal. 3:27). He is the sign (Luke 2:34), our peace (Eph. 2:14), and our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). He has formed his people (Eph. 2:10) and named them in order to establish ownership (Eph. 3:15). In grateful recognition of God’s covenant blessing in the person of Jesus Christ, the church as his royal priesthood is commanded to demonstrate loyalty to the covenant through worship that brings glory to the Lord (1 Pet. 2:9–10).

The Covenants Compared

From Genesis to Revelation, the covenant theme shines through the Bible, sending out a clear light for the believer’s walk with God. The covenant is the basis of God’s dealings with creation in general and with his created people in particular. The old covenant with its regulations was a guardian over God’s chosen people until Jesus came. Christ, the “last Adam,” entered into covenant with the Father and keeps it on behalf of those who trust in him. All who are identified with him are also in covenant with God, having Jesus’ righteousness imputed to them.

Under the Israelite covenant it was Moses’ faithfulness through which Israel had access to Yahweh. Moses was the one who entered the presence of God, spoke with him face to face, and interceded for his rebellious and unfaithful nation (Exod. 32:1–14). This picture is fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus as mediator of the new covenant. His faithfulness ensures the covenant for those who remain in him. As Moses interceded for Israel, so Jesus intercedes for his church, he himself being the sacrifice that makes the intercession acceptable (Heb. 10:1–10).

Response to the Covenant

The covenant people are called to acknowledge God’s kingship and to respond with worship. When Israel violated the covenant by abandoning the worship of Yahweh and turning to idols, God rejected his treaty with them and abandoned them to defeat and captivity. Covenant blessings were withdrawn, and curses were released on the people (Ps. 78:21–22, 58–64). When they worshiped in song and dance before the Lord, he brought prosperity and victory over their enemies (2 Chron. 20:18–22).

In giving the covenant, the Lord delivered instructions for worship, which was to have been the chosen people’s special ministry to him. In fact, it was his original intention that the whole nation and not the tribe of Levi alone be a worshiping priesthood (Exod. 19:3–6). Although they drew back out of fear (Exod. 20:18–21; Deut. 5:23–27), the Lord instituted for Israel a system of worship by which they maintained their identity as his covenant people and through which they were to reflect his glory to the nations.

As in the covenant of Israel, so in the Christian covenant it is incumbent upon the recipients of God’s covenant love to worship him. In describing life under the new covenant, Isaiah declares, “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations” (Isa. 61:11). The first act of the newborn church on the day of Pentecost was a spontaneous outpouring of praise, with the disciples “declaring the wonders of God” (Acts 2:11). Jesus told the Samaritan woman that God seeks worshipers (John 4:23). As the people of Israel expressed their praise and thanksgiving to God through joyous festivals, the church celebrates in the Christian Eucharist, or “thanksgiving” feast. Peter writes that the body of believers has been made into a people for the express purpose of “[declaring] the praises of him who called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9). The worship of the covenant people delights the Lord, as the psalmist writes:

Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. (Ps. 149:1–4)

Words Relating to Visionary Worship in the New Testament

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In addition to the vocabulary of worship actually being offered in the church, the New Testament contains references to worship that may be described as “visionary”; that is, worship is described in images that seem to transcend the actual practice of the nascent church and which place its worship in an eternal and glorious context.

Visionary Worship in the Epistles

Paul, commending to the Philippians Christ’s attitude of humility, declares that his obedience even to death on the cross has led to his exaltation; God “gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9–11). Here, in words partially borrowed from Isaiah (Isa. 45:23), Paul portrays the universal sweep of the covenant as all people swear allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ; the word confess (exōmologeō) translates Isaiah’s nishba‘, which means to swear an oath of covenant faithfulness. In 2 Corinthians 3:12–18 Paul speaks of the veil of Moses, which conceals the glory (doxa) of God. But when a person turns to Christ, the Spirit of the Lord removes that veil, so that “we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory … ” (2 Cor. 3:18). Paul goes on to refer to the Christian’s inward experience of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). That worship is the background for this thought is clear when we recall that the manifestation of the glory of the Lord was a high point in Israelite worship, reflected in many of the psalms and in other passages, such as the account of the dedication of Solomon’s temple; the Sinai covenant was initiated by just such a manifestation or “theophany.”

The writer to the Hebrews also carries covenant worship into the visionary realm, declaring that his readers have come not to an earthly place of meeting with God but to the true and spiritual Mount Zion, “and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant … ” (Heb. 12:22–24 NASB). In such language the distinction between the earthly assembly (panēguris, “festival gathering”) or worshiping church (ekklēsia) and the heavenly city of God, the angelic Jerusalem, is lost; the concepts merge as one and the same new covenant reality.

Worship in the Revelation

It is the Revelation to John that is the supreme worship book of the New Testament. Composed in the form of a great drama of the victory of Christ, it begins with letters addressed to Christian assemblies in seven cities of Asia Minor and ends with a vision of the new Jerusalem in which God himself dwells among his people (Rev. 21:3), in fulfillment of the Israelite prophets’ capsule formulation of the covenant, “I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jer. 31:33). This new Jerusalem is a spiritual reality, described in rich symbolism drawing on themes from the Old Testament; for example, there is no temple in the city, for “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22); the foundation stones of the city are precious stones corresponding to those that adorned the breastpiece of the high priest, which in turn stood for the twelve tribes of Israel (Exod. 28:15–21). It seems clear that a statement is being made about the church as the embodiment of the true worshiping Israel; it is, as Hebrews says, the “heavenly Jerusalem” to which Christian believers have already come (Heb. 12:22), the free “Jerusalem above,” which Paul calls “our mother” in contrast to the present Jerusalem with its temple (Gal. 4:25–26, alluding to Ps. 87:5–6). This worshiping church is the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9), who joins the Spirit in the invitation to genuine life: “the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ ” (Rev. 22:17).

Setting the pattern for the worship of the Creator are the twenty-four elders (presbuteroi); their number combines the twelve tribes with the twelve apostles, a representation of the fullness of the worshiping Israel of both old and new covenants. Like the chorus of a Greek drama, the elders, and the larger choir of which they are a part, appear at strategic points in the unfolding drama of the gospel. As the judgments of the Lamb against the unfaithful are revealed, they interject their commentary in the form of powerful declarations of praise, falling down to worship God (proskuneō, Rev. 5:14; 11:16; 19:4) and singing hymns (Rev. 4:8b, 11; 5:9–10, 12, 13b; 11:15b, 17; 15:3–4; 19:6–7), which seem to press the vocabulary of worship to its very limits. The elders sing antiphonally with four “living creatures,” an image drawn from Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of the Lord (Ezek. 1) and whose number may signify the universal adoration of the Creator by the created order, the earth or land. At the outset, the living creatures take up the seraphic hymn of Isaiah, “Holy [hagios], holy, holy, is the Lord God, Almighty” (Rev. 4:8). The elders echo with a similar-sounding word: “You are worthy [axios], our Lord and God … ” (Rev. 4:11), also uttered three times, as the elders’ acclamation is taken up by a widening chorus, first of angelic beings (“You are worthy … ” Rev. 5:9) and then of all creatures (“Worthy is the Lamb … ” Rev. 5:12). These anthems pile declaration upon declaration, with ascriptions of “glory and honor and power” (hē doxa kai hē timē kai hē dunamis, Rev. 4:11), “praise and honor and glory and power” (hē eulogia kai hē timē kai hē doxa kai to kratos, Rev. 5:13b) to the Lamb.

At that point in the drama that narrates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (under the figure of the two witnesses; Jesus is the “faithful witness” [Rev. 1:5]), the chorus joins in a massive declaration of the kingship and dominion of the Lord and of his Christ (Rev. 11:15b), to which the elders respond, “We give thanks” (eucharisteō, Rev. 11:17b). Significantly, it is here that “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant” (Rev. 11:19); this corresponds to the gospel narrative of the Crucifixion, when the veil of the temple was torn, with similar theophanic manifestations (Matt. 27:51), to reveal the emptiness of the earthly sanctuary. In Israelite worship, the ark was the symbolic throne of Yahweh the King and played an important part in the covenant cult of Israel. With this imagery, as with so much else, the Revelation takes us into the realm of covenant worship, making the point that the covenant is renewed through the death and resurrection of Christ.

At the dramatic climax, when the seven final plagues of judgment are about to be released, the chorus of the overcomers sings “the song [ōdē] of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb ‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.… For you alone are holy.… for your righteous acts have been revealed’ ” (Rev. 15:3–4). In the Old Testament, the Song of Moses (Deut. 32) is the conclusion of a curse liturgy invoking the sanctions of the covenant against an unfaithful people. In the Revelation, the “song of Moses and of the Lamb” stands in a similar place, preceding the outpouring of judgment against the apostate harlot “Babylon,” the persecutor of the prophets and saints (Rev. 18:24)—a description that fits Jerusalem far better than it fits Rome. Finally, after the destruction of the city, come the “Hallelujahs!” of chapter 19, culminating in the great affirmation, “For our Lord God Almighty reigns” (Rev. 19:6b).

The Revelation to John is a work of dramatic and liturgical art, based on symbolism drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures. How far the worship in the Revelation corresponds to actual worship in the New Testament church is an open question, but the book was written to first-century Christians who may be expected to have had a definite frame of reference by which to interpret the symbolism of the events narrated, including the descriptions of the worship of the Lord God and of the Lamb. Although “visionary,” in the sense that John includes it with the transcendent imagery of his drama, it is not heavenly worship, as is often claimed, but the worship of the “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), the new Jerusalem created “for rejoicing, and her people for gladness” (Isa. 65:18 NASB).

Establishment of the Epistles

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Paul wrote letters during his travels to give counsel or comfort when he was unable to visit the churches he had organized. Some of these were composed principally of practical admonitions and reminders of his presence with them. Others contained discussions of religious convictions and cautions against false ideas. The earliest of Paul’s epistles was very likely the letter to the Galatians. He had made his first missionary journey here after he had been commissioned at Antioch. He was disturbed by the report that Judaizers had been at work trying to make the Gentile Christians believe that they must obey Jewish laws, and he reminded them forcibly that he had given them a gospel of liberty and showed the grounds of their freedom. Perhaps his greatest letter was sent in anticipation of a visit to Rome. In Romans, he explains the great doctrines of Christianity including justification, sanctification, and the freedom of the Gospel. Paul’s letters reveal that he was an affectionate pastor, a great and confident leader, and a man fully inspired by God.

Impact: Paul’s letters established much of the framework upon which Christian doctrine is built.