‘And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a great voice “Worthy is the Lamb who has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing”. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them heard I saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever”. And the four living creatures said, “Amen”. And the elders fell down and worshipped.'
The number of angels parallels Daniel 7:10, but this is more an indication of John's knowledge of Daniel than evidence that this is the same scene, for it is simply a way of declaring their number as being too large to count. In the court of God are angels without number.
These angels now add to the worship of the Lamb. Their cry is sevenfold, an indication of divine completeness, and in it they acknowledge His worthiness for what He is about to do, and what as a consequence He will receive. At His ascension He was seated at God's right hand as the One Who was given all authority and power in Heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:30-35; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26; Ephesians 1:20-21 compare Daniel 7:13-14). Now will begin the full realisation of that gift, until all is put under His feet. In a sense, of course, this process began at the ascension, but the emphasis here is that the churches must see the coming troubles as specifically part of that process. They can find strength from the fact that their tribulation is taking forward the purposes of God.
The fact that He will receive ‘riches' is drawn to our attention by the fact that the word is omitted in a similar worship in Revelation 7:12. The riches He is to receive are spiritual riches (Luke 16:11) and include the ‘riches of the glory of His inheritance in God's people' (Ephesians 1:18).
Earth then gives its reply. This is, of course, in vision. And in that vision John sees every living thing on earth glorifying God and the Lamb. Nature does naturally what man will not do. The fourfold nature of their cry is an indication of the involvement of the whole earth for four is the number of earth. So Heaven and earth proclaim the worthiness of God and of the Lamb. And the living creatures say “Amen' to creation's worship, for they are the representatives in Heaven of that creation. And the elders fall down and worship, for they are the representatives of the people of God. The conjunction of the worshipping of the One on the throne with the worshipping of the Lamb is evidence of Christ's full divinity.
Notice the way in which the praise and worship commences with the living creatures and the elders, moves on to the angels, on to the whole creation, then back to the living creatures and the elders.