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The new song in Rev 5:9–10 is a theological pivot that embraces important theological issues in the book of Revelation. A literary analysis of Revelation 4–5 focused on “setting,” “plot,” “character,” and “point of view” will reveal the immediate New Testament context of the new song. After this synchronic reading, a diachronic study is necessary that will focus on historical backgrounds in the Old Testament and in extra-biblical writings that relate to the new song in Revelation 5. The diachronic study shows that the new song in Rev 5:9–10 continues the tradition of singing song in response to the Lord's salvific intervention. This tradition is rooted in the exemplar of the Song of the Sea in Exod 15:1–18 and is preserved in the Old Testament new song passages of Psalms 33, 40, 96, 98, 144, 149 and Isaiah 40–66. It also exists in the Targums, Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and rabbinic literature. Moreover, by evaluating the verbal, thematic and structural parallels between texts, I conclude that the Song of the Sea in Exod 15:1–18 is not only the root of the tradition, but also stands behind and is the primary influence of the new song of Rev 5:9–10. The theological implication of the new song of Rev 5:9–10 is monumental. In the new song, John, without denying the significance of the old Exodus from Egypt, focuses on Jesus' death and sacrifice as the means to redeem mankind from sin; after they are saved, mankind then serves God in the eternal priestly kingdom. Thus, Jesus' sacrifice is the supreme sacrifice, the eschatological completion of the pascal lamb of the old Exodus, and the redemption accomplished by this new sacrifice is the eternal new Exodus. John eternalizes the historical Exodus in his new song. Therefore, the theme of the new song highlights the crowning completion of God's will in redemptive history and indicates that the fulfillment of God's salvific action is initiated through the redemptive death of Jesus.
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