saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
17. Lord God Almighty ] See on Rev 1:8.
which art, and wast ] Omit and art to come, as in Rev 16:5. It is not, however, likely that any importance is to be attached to the omission of the full expression we had in Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8, Rev 4:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
17, 18. thou hast taken thy wrath is come ] It is hypercritical in the N. T., and in this book particularly, to attempt to distinguish regularly between perfects and simple preterites: but here it is perhaps worth observing that all the verbs (after the first) are in the same tense: “Thou hast taken Thy great power, and didst reign: and the nations were wroth, and Thy wrath came,” &c. Cognate words are used to express the wrath of the nations and of God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Saying, We give thee thanks – We, as the representatives of the church, and as identified in our feelings with it (see the notes on Rev 4:4), acknowledge thy goodness in tires delivering the church from all its troubles, and having conducted it through the times of fiery persecution, thus establishing it upon the earth. The language here used is an expression of their deep interest in the church, and of the fact that they felt themselves identified with it. They, as representatives of the church, would of course rejoice in its prosperity and final triumph.
O Lord God Almighty – Referring to God all-powerful, because it was by his omnipotent arm alone that this great work had been I accomplished. Nothing else could have I defended the church in its many trials; nothing else could have established it upon the earth.
Which art, and wast, and art to come – The Eternal One, always the same. See the notes on Rev 1:8. The reference here is to the fact that God, who had thus established his church on the earth, is unchanging. In all the revolutions which occur on the earth, he always remains the same. What he was in past times he is now; what he is now he always will be. The particular idea suggested here seems to be, that he had now shown this by having caused his church to triumph; that is, he had shown that he was the same God who had early promised that it should ultimately triumph; he had carried forward his glorious purposes without modifying or abandoning them amidst all the changes that had occurred in the world; and he had thus given the assurance that he would now remain the same, and that all his purposes in regard to his church would be accomplished. The fact that God remains always unchangeably the same is the sole reason why his church is safe, or why any individual member of it is kept and saved. Compare Mal 3:6.
Because thou hast taken to thee thy great power – To wit, by setting up thy kingdom over all the earth. Before that it seemed as if he had relaxed that power, or had given the power to others. Satan had reigned on the earth. Disorder, anarchy, sin, rebellion, had prevailed. It seemed as if God had let the reins of government fall from his hand. Now he came forth as if to resume the dominion over the world, and to take the scepter into his own hand, and to exert his great power in keeping the nations in subjection. The setting up of his kingdom all over the world, and causing his laws everywhere to be obeyed, will be among the highest demonstrations of divine power. Nothing can accomplish this but the power of God; when that power is exerted nothing can prevent its accomplishment.
And hast reigned – Prof. Stuart, and shown thyself as king – that is, hast become king, or acted as a king. The idea is, that he had now vindicated his regal power (Robinson, Lexicon) – that is, he had now set up his kingdom on the earth, and had truly begun to reign. One of the characteristics of the millennium – and indeed the main characteristic will be that God will be everywhere obeyed; for when that occurs all will be consummated that properly enters into the idea of the millennial kingdom.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. O Lord God Almighty, which art] This gives a proper view of God in his eternity; all times are here comprehended, the present, the past, and the future. This is the infinitude of God.
Hast taken to thee] Thou hast exercised that power which thou ever hast; and thou hast broken the power of thy enemies, and exalted thy Church.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which art, and wast, and art to come; it is a phrase denoting Gods eternity and immutability; we met with it before, Rev 4:8.
Because thou hast taken to the thy great power, and hast reigned; those celestial beings bless God for exerting his power, and recovering the kingdom of Christ out of the hands of antichrist, and setting his King upon his holy hill of Zion.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. thanksfor the answer toour prayers (Rev 6:10; Rev 6:11)in destroying them which destroy the earth (Re11:18), thereby preparing the way for setting up the kingdom ofThyself and Thy saints.
and art to comeomittedin A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, CYPRIAN,and ANDREAS. Theconsummation having actually come, they do not address Him as theydid when it was still future, “Thou that art to come.”Compare Re 11:18, “iscome.” From the sounding of the seventh trumpet He is to Hispeople JAH, the everpresent Lord, WHO IS, morepeculiarly than JEHOVAH”who is, was, and is to come.”
taken to thee thy greatpower“to Thee” is not in the Greek. Christtakes to Him the kingdom as His own of right.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,…. The person addressed is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose the kingdoms are become, and who now reigns in great power and authority; he is Lord of all, and truly and properly God, and the Almighty, as his works of creation, preservation, redemption, raising himself from the dead, c. declare and each of these titles exceedingly well suit him, when his visible kingdom on earth will be so greatly enlarged:
which art, and wast, and art to come: the everlasting, “I am”, the unchangeable Jehovah: the phrase is expressive of the eternity and immutability, [See comments on Re 1:8]; and it may be observed, whereas in this description of him it is said, “and art to come”, this therefore does not belong to his personal, but to his spiritual reign; he will not be as yet come in person, to raise the dead, and judge the world, when these voices shall be in heaven, and these congratulations of the elders be made: the reason of their praise and thanksgiving follows,
because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned; power always belonged to him, as God; he always was the mighty God, and, as such, help for his people was laid upon him, he being mighty to save, and able to bear the government of them, laid on his shoulders; and, as Mediator, all power in heaven, and in earth, was given to him at his resurrection; and he had a name given him above every name, when exalted at the right hand of God, and was made, or declared, Lord and Christ; and from that time he has, in some measure, exerted his power and reigned: he endued his apostles with power from on high; and he went forth in the ministry of the Gospel conquering, and to conquer; and has ever since reigned in the hearts of his people; but now he will manifest and display his “great” power; he will show it more openly, and use it more extensively; his kingdom shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; he shall be King over all the earth; his power has been seen in ages past, but now the “greatness” of his power will be made manifest; he has always had a kingdom on earth, but now the, “greatness” of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, will be his.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
O Lord God ( ). Vocative form and nominative form (vocative in use). See Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8 for this combination with (the Almighty). For (which art and which wast) see Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 16:5.
Thou hast taken (). Perfect active indicative of , emphasizing the permanence of God’s rule, “Thou hast assumed thy power.”
Didst reign (). Ingressive first aorist active indicative of , “Didst begin to reign.” See this combination of tenses (perfect and aorist) without confusion in Rev 3:3; Rev 5:7; Rev 8:5.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
O Lord God, etc. See on ch. Rev 4:8.
And art to come. Omit.
Hast taken to Thee. Omit to thee.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Saying, We give thee thanks,” (legontes eucharistoumen soi) “Saying we thank thee,” offer thanks to thee, for their salvation and deliverance from things to come, and privileged position of service to Him. The redeemed should never cease giving thanks to Him for His unspeakable gift, Joh 3:16; 2Co 9:15; Jas 1:17.
2) “0 Lord God Almighty,” (kurie ho theos ho pantokrator) “0 Lord, the God Almighty,” This term -Lord God” signifies or is used to signify periods of divine judgment by royal and destructive power, Gen 17:11; Rth 1:20; Rev 4:8.
3) “Which art, and wast, and art to come,” (hon on kai ho hen) “the one being (who exists), and the one who was,” as the “Lord God Almighty,” all powerful, in righteous judgment wrath, Rev 4:8; Pro 1:22-30; Rom 2:4-10; the continuing “one God,” 1Co 8:6; Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8; Rev 16:5.
4) “Because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,” (hoti eilephas ten dunamin sou ten megalen) “because thou hast taken (assumed) thy great power,” thy dynamic power of administering the tribulation the great judgments on earth, while administering the rapture of the church, resurrection of the righteous dead and the marriage of the Lamb, Rev 6:14-17; 1Th 4:13-18; Rev 1:7; 2Th 2:3-12; 2Co 11:2; Rev 19:7-9; Mal 3:1.
5) “And hast reigned,” (kai ebasileusas) “and didst reign,” Rev 19:6-9. This specific praise seems to be because of the vision the elders had of the completed earthly judgment God had sent during the 70th week of Daniel’s description of the time of Jacob’s trouble, Dan 9:24-27. It is completed by the marriage of the Lamb and Christ’s return to the earth to begin His reign from Mount Zion on the throne of David, Zec 14:1-9; Luk 1:30-33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE CHORUS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD.
(17) Saying, We give thee thanks . . .Better,
We thank Thee, O Lord,
The God, the Almighty,
He that is, and He that was,
Because Thou hast taken Thy great power and didst reign.
And the nations were angry,
And then came Thine anger And the season of the dead to be judged,
And to give their rewards to Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints,
And to them that fear Thy name, the small and the great,
And to destroy them that destroy the earth.
On the expression He that is and He that was, comp, Rev. 1:8 and the Note there. We can catch the echo of the Second Psalm throughout this chorus of grateful praise. The prayers of the groaning Church (Rev. 5:10, and Luk. 18:7-8) and the cries of travailing creation (Rom. 8:19) have been heard; though the heathen raged and the people imagined a vain thing, their counsel against the Lord and His anointed, His Christ (compare Rev. 11:16), came to nought; the joy of their triumph was short-lived; the kingdom of evil was but for a moment; the kings were assembled, they passed by, they saw, they were troubled, they hasted away (Psa. 48:4-5); never did the real sovereignty of the Lord cease (Psa. 2:6); but the nations would not believe in His rule; they were not wise; they turned from the kiss of reconciliation, which was life (Psa. 2:10-12); then came His anger, and the season of judgment and the season of reward. The prophets, the saints, and those that fear Gods name, the small and the great every class and rank of the true servants of the King are included here; none are forgotten; not a cup of cold water, given in His name, shall miss its reward; for not alone the pre-eminent in Christian power and in Christian holiness, but the weak, the struggling, the obscure, the small as well as the great, are remembered: Unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Zion (Psa. 84:7; Prayer Book version). Nor is the gladness only for this blessing; there is a joy at the overthrow of those who destroy the earth. The reign of evil is the destruction of the earth. The judgments of God are in mercy to stay the spread of destructive powers and principles. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel; the very judgments of God are merciful. (See Note on Rev. 8:2.)
But where, we may be disposed to ask, is the woe in all this? We are led to expect that the seventh trumpet as a woe trumpet will bring in some period of pain and trouble, as the others have done; but all we hear is the chorus of glad voices uttering praise: we see no token of woe. The answer is that we must not overlook all that this song of rejoicing implies. The chorus we hear is the thanksgiving to God that the hour has come for the overthrow of the kingdom of evil, the manifestation of the sons of God, and the acknowledgment throughout the world of the sovereignty of the Lord and of His Christ. The overthrow of that evil kingdom, which is now to take place, brings with it woo to those who have supported it; for the time of the judgment of the dead, and of those whose lives have marred Gods world, has come. It is, then, woe on all those who have misused Gods gifts and those beautiful things which He gave us liberally to enjoy. It is a woe on those who have defiled those bodies, which are the temples of the Holy Ghost, profaned the earth, which is Gods footstool, or darkened by their evil deeds the heaven, which is His throne. Those who thus defile (or, destroy: the word is so in the margin, and is the same as that which follows) Gods temple anywhere, God will destroy (1Co. 6:19; 1Co. 3:17).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Hast taken hast reigned That is, will take and will reign (future-preterite) in the period signalized by the peal of this seventh trumpet. So glad is the prospect, so sure the final accomplishment, that the spirit of the utterers is transported to the close, and contemplates the battle as already fought and the glorious crown as already won and worn.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Ver. 17. Because thou hast taken ] Thou hast slain and subdued those thine enemies, that sent messengers after thee, saying, “We will not have this man to rule over us.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 11:17 . is naturally omitted from this paean; God has already come! The variation of order in Rev 1:4 and Rev 1:8 has no occult significance. The phrase Lord God is considered by Philo (on Gen 7:5 ) specially applicable to seasons of judgment; Lord precedes God , since the former signifies not beneficence but “royal and destructive power”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 11:17-18
17″We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. 18″And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Rev 11:17-18 This prayer of praise is written in poetic form in the NKJV, NRSV, and TEV and in prose form in NASB and NJB. These outbursts of prayer and praise are often the best interpreters of the preceding visions (along with the songs and angelic interpretations).
Rev 11:17 “O Lord God, the Almighty” This refers to the three major OT titles for God.
1. YHWH, the covenant God as Savior (cf. Exo 3:14; Psalms 103)
2. Elohim, the Creator God as provider and sustainer (cf. Gen 1:1; Psalms 104)
3. El Shaddai (cf. Rev 1:8), the strong or compassionate God which was the Patriarchal name for deity (cf. Exo 6:3)
See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at Rev 1:8.
NASB”who art and who wast”
NKJV”The One who is and who was and who is to come”
NRSV”who are and who were”
TEV”the one who is and who was”
NJB”He who is, He who was”
Notice that the future aspect of this common description of God (except for some sixteenth century late minuscule Greek manuscripts) is left out because God has begun to reign. The last of these three chronological aspects will never be mentioned again in the book of the Revelation. The Kingdom has come (cf. Rev 11:15-16)! This gives evidence that the recapitulation theory of the parallel relationship between the seals, trumpets, and bowls is true!
NASB”because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign”
NKJV”Because You have taken Your great power and reigned”
NRSV”for you have taken your great power and begun to reign”
TEV”that you have taken your great power and have begun to rule”
NJB”For assuming your great power and beginning your reign”
This is perfect active indicative followed by an aorist active indicative. The power has always been His, but His reign has now begun (ingressive aorist).
Rev 11:18 “the nations were enraged” This is an allusion to Psalms 2; Psa 46:6; and Ezekiel 38-39 (and possibly the apocalyptic introduction to Esther in the Septuagint). This anger of the nations can be viewed in two ways.
1. the fallen world system hates God and His plans and His rule and His people
2. there will be an end-time rebellion against God characterized by a battle (Armageddon, cf. Revelation 20)
“Your wrath came” This may be an allusion to Psalms 2 or Psa 110:5-6. This is the Greek term org. See full note at Rev 7:14.
“the time came” The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment for some and reward for others. These twin aspects can be seen in Mat 25:31-46 and Rev 20:11-15. All humans (the small and the great) will one day stand before God and give an account of their lives (cf. Gal 6:7; 2Co 5:10).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THAT DAY
“the time came for the dead to be judged” The end-time judgment of God is discussed in Matthew 25 and Revelation 20. This phrase confirms the interpretation of Revelation in seven acts (scenes) where the end of time occurs after each unit (especially clear in the seals, trumpets and bowls).
“your bond-servants the prophets” This exact phrase appears in Rev 10:7. John identifies himself as a prophet and his book as a prophecy, therefore, this term is used often in the book of the Revelation. It can almost be said that this term takes the place of the title “apostle” (cf. Rev 10:7; Rev 11:10; Rev 11:18; Rev 16:6; Rev 18:20; Rev 18:24; Rev 22:6; Rev 22:9). See Special Topic: NT Prophecy at Rev 16:6.
“saints” The term “saints” referred to the believers’ position in Christ, not their sinlessness. It should also describe their progressive Christlikeness. The term was always plural except in Php 4:21. However, even in this context it was corporate. To be a Christian is to be part of a community, a family, a body. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SAINTS at Rev 5:8. This designation surely represents the NT people of God, the church.
“the small and the great” There seem to be only two groups mentioned in this verse, prophets and saints. This phrase “small and great” is found in Rev 19:5. It was a favorite expression in John’s Gospel (cf. Rev 13:16; Rev 19:5; Rev 19:18; Rev 20:12; Rev 19:5 is an allusion to Psa 115:13, which included all of a given group).
“to destroy those who destroy the earth” This characterization of fallen humanity reflects Genesis 3 and Rom 8:18-22. Evil humans allow greed and self to use, abuse, and misuse God’s physical creation.
This could be interpreted as evil mankind that forces God to bring judgment on the earth (the flood, Genesis 6-9; the plagues of Egypt, Exodus 7-12; the covenant curses, Deuteronomy 27-28; or the earth destroyed by fire, 2Pe 3:10). In Revelation, the seals destroy 1/4, the trumpets 1/3, and the bowls total physical destruction of the earth.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Almighty = the Almighty. See Rev 1:8.
and . . . come. The texts omit. Now, here, He has come. See Rev 1:4.
to Thee. Omit.
power. App-172.1; Rev 176:1.
hast reigned = reignedst.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 11:17. , who is, and who was) Some have added, .[121] The shorter reading here also is the true one; the fuller one is derived from a parallel passage. See App. Crit. Ed. ii. on this passage. Such varieties of reading are not to be decided in a cursory manner, on common grounds, but by careful investigation, according to the strong arguments which peculiarly and naturally belong to each passage. By which method we shall find, in the present instance, that this passage, ch. Rev 11:17, is not so much to be compared with the three preceding, as with the one which follows, ch. Rev 16:5. What is the aspect of the three preceding passages, we have before shown, on the passages themselves, and especially on ch. Rev 1:8 : but now both these passages, ch. Rev 11:17 and Rev 16:5, coincide with the trumpet of the seventh angel, and therefore with the consummation of the mystery of God, in which, that which had previously been foretold by the expression, , now is exhibited in actual operation, and indeed is exhibited first in heaven, ch. Rev 11:17, and then on earth, ch. Rev 16:5. Interpreters on this passage have long ago seen this. Ansbert says, They do not here subjoin, as they were accustomed, and who art to come; they speak of Him as already present. Haymo, who usually treads in the footsteps of Ansbert: It must be observed that he does not add, as before, who art to come. For they show Him already present in the judgment, by which all these things will be accomplished, and therefore they by no means speak of Him as (still) to come. John Purvey, in his Comm. published with the preface of Luther, says; He does not add the third clause, which he has usually added, namely, and who is to come, for this reason, because the prophet, with his intellectual vision, then saw God as it were already sitting in judgment. Zeltner published a dissertation, A. 1712, which is inscribed, Evangelium Tetragrammaton e Novo Testamento Exulans. The subject, as it is comprised in the title, derives something from the truth. When the Son of God was engaged in the world, of the promises given in the Old Testament, and comprehended in the name of Jehovah, as many as were to be fulfilled at that time, were fulfilled: and then, that which had been future, was advancing to the present. But, however, in the prophecy of the New Testament, that is, in the Apocalypse, that phrase, , by which the tetragrammaton, , is usually expressed, is, as it were, set forth afresh; and the future itself, as though reviving in the second coming of Christ, respecting which see Heb 10:37, is placed before us, until at the entrance of the most important trumpet of the seventh angel, first the words, , which, at the beginning, were alone contained in , and afterwards also the words , which was denoted by the termination of the noun , are most magnificently absorbed, and pass into the single expression, . Hence it comes to pass, that even great things, from this very passage, are not said to come, as lately they were said to come, Rev 11:14, and ch. Rev 9:12, but to have come, shortly afterwards, Rev 11:18, and ch. Rev 14:7; Rev 14:15, Rev 19:7. Those persons do not sufficiently hold fast the normal force of Scripture, which ought to be retained even in addresses, who even still in prayers, and in hymns, from time to time, say, Jehovah, instead of Lord, or Jah. For under the trumpet of the seventh angel this Tetragrammaton ceases to be used, and the Diagrammaton, , is the only expression which the saints utter, together with applause; ch. Rev 19:1.
[121] Added by Rec. Text, in opposition to ABCh Vulg. Cypr.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rev 11:17-18
2. THE SONG OF THANKSGIVING
Rev 11:17-18
We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who avast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.–These words of praise to God are further proof that the pronoun “he” in verse 15 refers to God. The vision pictures a time when God’s rewards had come to the righteous and his rejection of the wicked had taken place. The words “didst reign”–aorist tense in the Greek–indicate a completed past action; God had entered upon his final, eternal rule, and the heavenly creatures were ascribing thanksgiving to him because his reign had begun.
18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.–In their song of praise the elders look back to the final struggle when the wickedness of the nations caused the last great battle between right and wrong, vividly described in Rev 19:11-21, followed by the final judgment as pictured in Rev 20:11-15, and the proper rewards were given to both classes. The description of the righteous as prophets, saints, small and great, does not mean different rewards to different classes; it is only a rhetorical way of saying that the righteous of all classes will spend eternity with God and his Christ. Destroying the wicked who cursed the earth with their sins is the final proof that this section refers to the judgment and that glad day when all the redeemed enter upon the joys of their eternal home. The very thought should fill righteous souls with inexpressible ecstasy!
The logical division of the book at Rev 11:19 forces the following symbols to cover substantially the same time as the preceding series, for the end of the world closes both series. This is evident because Rev 11:18 says it is “the time of the dead to be judged,” and Rev 20:12 says that John saw “the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books.” If the first series ends with the judgment, the second series would have no place in time unless they were presenting the same period from different viewpoints. More than once we will be called to note the fact that a new vision or set of symbols is carrying us back over ground already surveyed. Such reviews will either present the same event with a different scene or give a detailed description of what has had only brief mention.
Here the first set of symbols comes to an end. Evidently they were designed to encourage the saints to be faithful “unto death,” by pointing out many of the struggles that would fall to the lot of Christ’s followers. They were to impress Paul’s declaration that “through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.” (Act 14:22.) May our hearts rejoice in the glorious anticipation of the blessed eternal kingdom, while in another set of symbols we restudy the things that had to happen to God’s children.
Commentary on Rev 11:17-18 by Foy E. Wallace
Rev 11:17 proclaims the success of the kingdom in a singing throng, opposite to the mourning tribes of Rev 1:7 andMat 24:30. It was the answer to the souls under the altar of chapter 6:9-11. God had taken to thee thy great power, exercised in the events of the visions–and hast reigned. He had ruled and overruled, as absolute monarch of the world, governing and disposing of all things in heaven and in earth, as affirmed by prophets of, old. (2Sa 5:4-5; Psa 93:1)
Rev 11:18 declares that the nations were angry in fulfillment of Psa 2:2; Psa 2:5 and Act 4:24-30. It represented the attitude of the heathen world toward the gospel of Christ. The day of Gods wrath had come on the persecuting powers, as depicted in Rev 6:17. The time of the dead that they should be judged had come–they were dead as persecutors and as lords of dominion over the servants of Christ, as in Isa 26:13; Isa 26:19 in reference to Israel. The time of avenging judgment had come, for the witnesses of Rev 11:7-8; and for the martyrs of Rev 6:9-11; and for all righteous blood shed upon the earth of Mat 23:35. The time had come to give victorys reward unto his servants the prophets; and to the saints; and them that fear thy name. The imagery delineates the ruin of the enemies and the reward of the servants and saints of God and Christ–summed up in the phrase small and great, the full aggregation of them that fear thy name. These all, in the aggregate, were included in song of glorified elders. The Jewish rulers, aided by Roman rulers, who together contrived to destroy the earth in their opposition to the kingdom of God, by the persecutions waged were themselves destroyed. In Mat 21:33-46, Jesus specifically pictured this end of the Jewish rulers and their state.
Commentary on Rev 11:15-19 by Walter Scott
THE WORLD KINGDOM OF OUR LORD.
Rev 11:15-18. – And the seventh angel sounded (his)Trumpet: and there were great voices in the Heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world of our Lord and of His Christ is come, and He shall reign to the ages of ages. And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, (He) Who is, and Who was, that Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast reigned. And the nations have been full of wrath, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the recompense to Thy servants the prophets,and to the saints, and to those who fear Thy Name small and great; and to destroy those that destroy the earth. The seventh Seal and the seventh Trumpet are alike in this respect, that no immediate judgment is announced, no events directly fall under them (see Rev 8:1; Rev 11:15-18). The consummation so grandly celebrated in the verses before us do not record events properly falling under the sounding of the seventh Trumpet. Nothing is recorded as immediately resulting from the Trumpet being blown. This will be evident from even a slight examination of the passage we are now considering. The kingdom and the power taken, the doxology of the elders, the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, the judgment of the dead, and the reward to servants and saints constitute the great and distinguishing truths of the millennium kingdom during its whole course and even on till eternity. Compare the time of the dead to be judged with Rev 20:12. The last Trumpet sounds. Then the present mysterious ways of God with men are completed. God is about to act openly, and inflict a series of short, sharp, and decisive judgments on the vast consolidated and apostate power then dominating the earth, i.e., the Beast (Rev 16:1-21). This concluding series of divine chastisements is seen to issue from God Himself. There is no mystery in them. But before these are inflicted, the world kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is announced as come. Great voices in Heaven proclaim it. Not that the kingdom has actually come, but it is anticipated. The ruin of all opposing power and authority must necessarily precede the establishment of the kingdom, and to this Rev 16:1-21 and Rev 19:17; Rev 20:3 conclusively witness.
The anticipation of the kingdom, and not the actual setting up of it, is the cause of the rejoicing in Heaven. When the kingdom is established in power earth as well as Heaven will unite in thanksgiving and song. We repeat, that it is in Heaven only where the kingdom is celebrated as come. Whilst rejoicing characterizes the inhabitants of Heaven – the angels and the redeemed – the earth is preparing to enter into its last throes of agony ere the light of the millennial morning dawn and dispel the gloom. It is only in Heaven that our Lord and His Christ take the kingdom; only there is it celebrated. The seventh Trumpet does not bring in the kingdom, but intimates its nearness. The strong angel in Rev 10:6-7 had solemnly sworn that at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet the mystery of God should be completed, and that without delay. He here makes his oath and word good. The Trumpet sounds, and open, public judgment seen by all to be from Heaven is the witness that now, God has risen up to publicly intervene in the affairs of men. But before we are called to see these last judicial chastisements on the apostate scene, Heaven in its calmness looks forward and exults in the near establishment of the kingdom.
The Authorised Version reads, Rev 11:15, The kingdoms of this world, the Revised Version rightly substitutes The kingdom of the world. It may seem a trivial difference, but it is not really so. The kingdoms of this world at once suggest many kings, numerous conflicting interests, international jealousies, and the like, whereas The kingdom of the world (or world kingdom) of our Lord and of His Christ is come intimates one universal kingdom covering the globe; all parts of the earth brought into subjection to the One reigning monarch. The government of the earth will be exercised by One who will control all evil and establish righteousness. His beneficent sway will be in every respect in happy contrast to past and present kingly rule and government. One undivided and universal kingdom covering the whole earth and righteously and graciously governed is the thought intended.
Next, the duration of the reign is stated to be to the ages of ages, that is, throughout all time to come, so long as sun, moon, and earth endure (Psa 72:5; Psa 72:7; Psa 72:17).The reign extends to eternity. It shall never cease.
The many voices of the heavenly host are answered by an act of profoundest worship on the part of the elders or representatives of the redeemed. Their normal place is as enthroned and crowned before God. Twice in chapter 5 the elders fall down and worship (Rev 11:8; Rev 11:14). Here only is it said They fell upon their faces, and worshipped God. In no other instance do the elders so prostrate themselves. The occasion demands it. Then follows a doxology from the elders in which they not only rejoice, but give intelligent reasons for so doing (Voices in Heaven announce the fact of the reign of Jehovah and of His Christ according to Psa 2:1-12, and that He (for, as ever, John unites both in one thought)should reign for ever and ever, and so it will be. But both the earthly and eternal kingdom are celebrated. Only in the eternal kingdom the distinction of the worldly kingdom and of Christs subordination is omitted. In the thanksgiving of the elders Jehovah Elohim Shaddai is also celebrated as the great king who takes to Him His power and reigns, for it is Gods kingdom. – Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, vol. 5, page 534, Morrish ed.) (see Rev 5:5; Rev 5:8-10; Rev 7:13-17, etc.). There are seven doxologies mentioned in the course of these apocalyptic visions, of which this is one. These are introduced only on occasions of deep interest (Rev 5:12; Rev 7:12; Rev 11:15; Rev 12:10; Rev 14:2; Rev 15:2; Rev 19:1).
Thanks are given to Jehovah (Lord) God Almighty, a strong combination of divine titles. Jehovah the self existing One; God (Elohim), Who as such is the Creator; Almighty too in power, in resources. Then the eternity of His Being is declared, Who is (eternal existence), and Who was in relation to the past. And art to come is in the text of the Authorized Version, but should be omitted, as in the Revised Version and other translations. To come would be out of place in the doxology before us, as the kingdom in its time and eternal features is regarded as present. The deleted sentence is correct in Rev 4:8.
Rev 11:17. – Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast reigned. It is interesting to observe that while the kingdom is that of our Lord and of His Christ, or Anointed (Psa 2:1-12), yet He takes it, not they. While Jehovah and Christ are here severally distinguished, yet they are united in taking the kingdom and in the subsequent reign, hence the use of the singular pronoun, where one might expect rather the employment of the plural.Well may it be termed Thy great power. The fulness of divine power, the might of the Eternal God, is put forth, and the kingdom in its widest sweep as embracing the heavens and earth, and as stretching on through time into eternity, has been wrested from the grasp of the enemy, and hast reigned is the term employed, so sure that it is spoken of as past.
Next, the elders in a passing sentence historically summarize the feeling of the nations toward God and His people – heavenly and earthly – And the nations have been full of wrath, spoken of in the past tense. And Thy wrath is come. Note the difference in the tenses. The wrath of the nations has been. The wrath of God is come.
Rev 11:18. – The time of the dead to be judged carries us on in thought to the close of the kingdom (Rev 20:12).The judgment of the nations (Mat 25:32) is at the commencement of the kingdom reign; that of the world, or inhabited earth (Act 17:31), during its whole term or course; while the dead are judged after the earthly kingdom has passed away (Rev 20:11-12).
Rev 11:18 – And to give the recompense. Both the judgment and recompense are characteristic actions of the kingdom. The distribution of reward is both common and special. The recompense of rest and glory is bestowed upon all Gods saints alike. But there are special crowns and rewards. In the very conception of a kingdom varying degrees and stations of honor are necessarily thought of. The recompense is not only therefore Gods answer to the state of His afflicted people here, but embraces also the several and distinctive positions which they will occupy in the kingdom. The reward in this latter is proportioned to the faithfulness, suffering, and service of each individual saint.
Rev 11:18 – Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints,and to those who fear Thy Name, small and great, are the persons specified to whom the recompense is given. There are three classes referred to: (1) Thy servants the prophets evidently point to those who have in all ages witnessed for God. The witnesses of our chapter are termed prophets (Rev 11:3; Rev 11:10), hence the term servants must be understood in a narrower sense than that employed in Rev 1:1; Rev 2:20; Rev 22:3. It is used inRev 7:3 to designate the sealed of Israel. Servants is here qualified by the additional noun prophets. Thy servants the prophets. To witness for God in a dark and evil day is a service which God never forgets. All such are peculiarly His servants. (2) The saints. This term is the common one in the New Testament to designate the general body of believers, and is nowhere used in the New Testament Scriptures to express a select company. It is the common appellation of the redeemed in both Testaments. (3) Those who fear Thy Name, small and great. This latter company embrace all so characterized who own the Name of the Lord. There are, no doubt, many hidden ones in all ages whose moral separation from the world is of such a feeble character that there may be grave difficulty in terming them saints. (The term saint, as used in the New Testament, does not at all signify a practical and advanced state of holiness – its theological signification. A saint is a separated one, as the derivation of the word implies, but this separation from the world is effected by the call of God. Called saints, or saints by calling (see Rom 1:7 : 1Co 1:2). Called to be saints is misleading. Delete the italicized words and the meaning is simple. When Gods call reached their souls and consciences that made or constituted them saints.) But there are those who fear the Name of the Lord in all ranks and classes of society. The technical expression, the small and great, designates the respective status of each in the world and before God (see Rev 13:16;Rev 19:5; Rev 19:18; Rev 20:12). Thus those who fear His Name, wherever found, be they amongst the low or exalted, come in here for their special reward.
Rev 11:18 – And to destroy those that destroy the earth. That is, the time has also come when the destroyers of the earth, i.e., the Beast, the Antichrist, and their followers, are themselves destroyed. This latter class is a contrasted company to the dead who are judged. The active workers of evil corrupting the earth are surprised in their terrible work, and are subjected at once to divine judgment. The earth is the Lords, part of that inheritance purchased by Christ and about to be redeemed by power (Eph 1:14), hence it must be cleared of all who are destroying it, whether physically by the Beast or morally by his coadjutor the Antichrist.
THE SITUATION REVIEWED.
The chapter opens with a temple and closes with one (Rev 11:1 and Rev 11:19), only the latter introduces a new series of events, and resumes the general history. Rev 11:19 forms no part of the preceding vision. The subject-matter of the chapter closes with Rev 11:18.
We pass from the interesting episode of the mighty angel and its attendant circumstances (Rev 10:1-11) on to Jewish ground (Rev 11:1-19). Our stand is Jerusalem, here termed the great city. (The expression great city occurs nine times in the Apocalypse, but not once in a good or holy sense. Rev 21:10 is a seeming exception, but the epithet great should be deleted (see R.V.).) Gods acceptance of the true worshippers is signified in the measuring of the temple and altar, whilst His rejection of apostate Judaism is expressed in the court being cast out (Rev 11:1-2). The mass of the people ally themselves with the Gentiles, then in open revolt from God and truth. It must be remembered that we have not the heathen before us, but Christendom, which is infinitely worse. But God does not leave Himself without a witness in the midst of the seething mass of corruption in Jerusalem, then the sport and plaything of Satan. A special testimony is raised up in the city, distinct from that elsewhere. The witnesses, or prophets (for they are termed both), are endowed with miraculous power. They work miracles, and protect themselves by signs of a divine character for 1260 days. Slavery to the Gentiles and apostasy from God characterize the general condition of Judah, especially those in the city of Jerusalem. Hence the miracles wrought resemble those in the days of Moses and of Elijah. Both the miracles and the character of the times are alike (Rev 11:3-6).
The Beast who has found his way from Rome – the capital seat of Gentile power, civil and ecclesiastical – to Jerusalem, ravages and murders at his pleasure, but both his power and the period of its exercise are under divine control. We have not here his historical rise out of the sea (Rev 13:1-18. l), but his satanic revival out of the bottomless pit, or abyss (Rev 11:7). Jerusalem is morally described as filthy like Sodom, and idolatrous like Egypt, and the stigma is added, where also their (not our) Lord was crucified. In the city thus characterized, the bodies of the slain are cast out on the places of public resort and cruelly denied burial. All classes and representatives of the apostate world gather in the city, feasting their eyes on the murdered dead, the worst being those morally spoken of as they that dwell on the earth (Rev 11:8-10). But in the midst of the universal scene of rejoicing God intervenes and vindicates His witnesses by granting them, in full view of their enemies, a public resurrection and translation to Heaven (Rev 11:11-12). Judgment on the city and its guilty inhabitants follow. No saving effect is produced in the remnant spared, only that in their great fear they give glory to the God of the Heaven (Rev 11:13).
The second Woe, or sixth Trumpet, is announced as past, the third Woe comes quickly (Rev 11:14). The seventh angel sounds, and at once great voices break out in Heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world, of Jehovah and of His Christ, is come. Separate nationalities and political organizations may exist under the reign of Christ, but they all own His sway, all are under His authority, and exercise their kingly rule in subjection to Him Who is King of kings and Lord of lords. The contest between God and Satan, as detailed in the Apocalypse, is not for any or all of the separate kingdoms of the world, but for the world as a whole; it becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Anointed. The sovereignty of the whole world is the question in dispute. His perpetual reign, i.e., to the ages of ages, is celebrated, not as yet on earth, but in Heaven. The establishment of the world kingdom is anticipated, not actually come; when it does, then the earth as well as Heaven will join in celebrating its virtues and glories. O clap your hands, all ye peoples, i.e., Gentiles. If there is joy in Heaven as the kingdom is anticipated (Rev 11:15), there is sorrow on earth.
The elders next take up the strain, and profoundly worship God in the greatness and eternity of His Being, thanking Him for taking His great power and reigning. The power of the kingdom is regarded as an accomplished fact, although not then actually come. Next, the elders proceed in a statement which, for boldness and fulness, leaves nothing to be desired. The great outstanding facts of the kingdom are mentioned. The nations angry, Gods wrath come, (Satans woe had been specially on Jews; mans woe, specially on the men of the Latin empire; this is Gods woe when the nations are angry, and Gods wrath is come, and full reckoning and final deliverance come. – J.N.D.) the judgment of the dead, the recompense to His people, and, finally, the destruction of those then corrupting the earth (Rev 11:16-18). These eighteen verses are replete with interest, and will well repay careful study. Much spiritual insight as to the condition of Jerusalem, and of the feelings and exercises of God-fearing Jews, both inside and outside the city, at the time of which this chapter treats may be gleaned from a careful study of the prophetic character of the Book of Psalms, a study which has been much neglected.
GODS REMEMBRANCE OF ISRAEL.
Rev 11:19. – And the temple of God in the Heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. The Apocalypse, as we have noticed, is divided into three divisions – a past, a present, and a future (Rev 1:19).But besides this threefold division we have the contents of the book arranged under two great parts. The eighteenth verse of our chapter records the last historical action – the judgment of the dead. There is no history beyond it. This last and most solemn assize has its place after the millennial heavens have passed away and the earth burned up, and before the new eternal Heaven and new earth come into view. The judgment of the dead (Rev 20:12)is, if we may so say, the link between time and eternity. In the first part of the Apocalypse (Revelation 1 – 11: 18) we have unfolded the general history of the Church, of Israel, and of the world from about the close of the first Christian century down to the close of the kingdom. The second part commences with chapter 11: 19, and occupies the rest of the book. In this part many interesting details are found, Satan is more openly in the foreground, the closing issues both in relation to the Church and the world are more fully unfolded than in the first part of the book. Verse 19 therefore is in relation to events about to be disclosed, and is not to be regarded as part and parcel of what has just been unfolded. Chapter 12 really commences with verse 19 of the previous chapter. In that which follows we have an entirely new prophecy, beginning with verse 19 and closing with chapter 14. It is one mainly relating to Israel, as the opening visions show. In chapter 12 are witnessed in Heaven the sources of good and evil. In chapter 13 Satans two chief ministers on earth are seen in active hostility against God and His saints. In chapter 14 a series of seven events is disclosed in which the activity of God in grace and judgment is shown.
Rev 11:19 – The temple of God in the Heaven was opened,and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. Neither of these, i.e., the temple and the ark of the covenant,so rich and sacred in Jewish history, is actually located in Heaven. I saw no temple therein, says the Seer in a subsequent vision (Rev 21:22). What then do they signify? What are their moral value and lessons to upon whom the ends of the ages are come? The temple is the sign that God is taking up the cause and the interests of Israel, and when seen in Heaven, that it is there He is occupied with His people then on the earth. The ark of His covenant is the token of Jehovahs presence with, and His unchanging faithfulness to, His earthly people. The rainbow round the throne (Rev 4:3) and encircling the head of the angel of might (Rev 10:1) is the sign to all who behold it of Gods covenant with creation, one of goodness and mercy. Here the ark, enclosing the tables of the law, and surmounted with its pure gold lid or mercy-seat, tells a rich tale of grace to Israel. What the rainbow was to creation, that and more the ark (Whether the ark shared the fate of the temple, which was burned a month after the sack of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans (Jer 52:12-13), or whether it was hidden by Jeremiah according to Jewish tradition (for the prophet was in the city during the whole of the siege), or included amongst the vessels carried by the conqueror to Babylon, we know not. Certain it is that the ark in the future is not to be brought to light, spite of speculation and guess-work to the contrary. On this Jeremiah speaks with no uncertain voice (Jer 3:16). The ark, the sign of Jehovahs presence and faithfulness, will no longer be needed in the palmy days of the kingdom, for that which it signified will then be an accomplished fact. Jehovah will have made good His unchanging grace to His people, and His throne and presence in their midst will gloriously supersede the ark in the tabernacle and temple of old. To Israel the ark was the sign and token of grace (Jos 3:14-17), to the uncircumcised heathen it only brought judgment (1Sa 5:1-12). In the former case the people were redeemed, hence Jehovahs presence with them was a blessing; in the latter the people were not redeemed, and hence His presence was intolerable.) was, and is, to Israel.
Rev 11:19 – There were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. These terms point separately and in conjunction to a storm of divine wrath, having its source in Heaven. We have already drawn attention to the signification of these terms in former parts of our Exposition. Hail from Heaven, here specially singled out by the epithet great, intimates the sharpness and suddenness of judgment on earth, as also its source as manifestly from God (Exo 9:18-25; Rev 8:7; Rev 16:21). The combination of destructive elements is not employed when the throne is set up. No need of it, as judgment will then proceed from the throne on earth, and not, as here, from Heaven.
Commentary on Rev 11:17-18 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 11:17. Taken to thee thy great power refers to the triumph of righteousness over evil when the word God was given back to the people of the various kingdoms.
Rev 11:18. Nations were angry. That is that part of them that still wished to profit by the deception of the people. Thy wrath is come means that God’s vengeance had come upon the apostate church for abusing His word. The time of the dead also hath come, meaning the dead whose souls John saw under the altar (Rev 6:9). They cried for vengeance or judgment and were told that “their time” would come. Now that time has come and God has judged the apostate church by separating her from the advantages of temporal power. At the same time He gave reward to his faithful servants by having His word placed again in their hands. Destory them which destroy the earth refers to the same evil men described before who planned to destroy (corrupt in the margin) the earth.
Commentary on Rev 11:17-18 by Burton Coffman
Rev 11:17
saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.
Who are and who wast … Many have commented on the omission here of “and who is to come,” as in Rev 1:8. Why? “He has come!”[91]
And didst reign … Note the past tense. The reign began long ago and continued throughout all the time between the two Advents of the Son of God. Indeed, the reign of God has never, for an instant, ceased since the beginning of time. Satan and evil men were used of God in the working out of his wise designs; but the sovereignty of the Father in heaven has never been even temporarily compromised by anything that ever occurred in the whole universe.
ENDNOTE:
[91] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 160.
Rev 11:18
And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.
These terse references are to what has already taken place, as clearly indicated by the consistent use of the past tense, the great fact of the execution of those events being here the theme of perpetual thanksgiving and praise in the presence of God. Angry nations, sin, Satan, and death no longer exist.
And the nations were wroth … The universal anger of the unrepentant and rebellious world as their vaunted civilization, rotten to its foundations with the corruption of sin, disintegrates and falls to pieces, is here extolled in the song of the redeemed. The answer to man’s wrath was the coming of God’s wrath upon the world.
And thy wrath came … Is this a fitting subject for the rejoicing of the saved in glory? Indeed it is. The great error of unregenerated people is that they cannot be angry with evil. Why? Because the natural, unregenerated man, is himself evil. We may therefore set aside the opinions of those who reject this song as not being in any sense a Christian conception.
Let there be no false pity for the unrepentant. The fond hope that God might give them one more chance after death is contrary both to Scripture and to reason …. How much do we really care that right should triumph and evil be defeated? Much of the sanctimonious reaction of our age to just retribution is only blindness, a lack of hatred for Satan and his works, and a lack of concern for the glory of God.[92]
“There is an appropriateness in God’s tailoring the punishment to fit the crime.”[93] Judgment and recompense are not contradictory to love, but a necessary aspect of it.”[94] The current misunderstanding and misrepresentation of God’s love make it to be an attitude that is not even worthy of a good citizen, much less, of the God of all creation.
And the time of the dead to be judged … This is a reference to the judgment which concluded the sixth trumpet; and this statement particularly makes it mandatory to view the end of the sixth trumpet as the final Advent of Christ and the eternal judgment of the last day.
And the time to give their reward … All of these clauses are in the past tense, due to “thy wrath came” at the head of the verse. Some have tried to establish this as the prophetic tense, in order to construe these events as future; but there is no evidence at all that such is the case. The necessity of seeing this as a reference to the final judgment is derived from passages like 2Ti 4:8 ff.
To thy servants the prophets … the saints … them that fear thy name … small … great … Notice that all of God’s people are included in this. The supposition of Vitringa and others “who understand this as a reference to the dead martyrs who at this time are vindicated,”[95] is refuted by this comprehensive enumeration of all classes of people, the small, the great, etc., who all receive their reward simultaneously at the “last day.”
And to destroy them that destroy the earth … The wicked also shall receive their reward simultaneously with the reward of the righteous, but apparently, somewhat afterwards. Their reward, however, is destruction. “On the same day, all those who fear the Lord receive their reward, while the destroyers are destroyed.”[96] This corresponds exactly with our Saviour’s own descriptive revelation of the final judgment in Mat 25:31 ff.
[92] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975), pp. 107,108.
[93] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 231.
[94] Vernard Eller, op. cit.. p. 122.
[95] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 294.
[96] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 160.
Commentary on Rev 11:17-18 by Manly Luscombe
17 saying: We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. God is praised because: 1. God is Almighty. 2. God is Always. (Was and is) 3. God is in control of all things. 4. God is reigning. The phrase, and is to come is omitted from the text here. The reason – Christ has already come. The second coming is over. God is and has always been.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth. All the wicked people of earth are angry. Upon them has come the wrath of God. They are now facing an eternity of dread. They will be judged and given the reward that is due them. Those who were faithful to God will participate in the judgment of the wicked.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
We give: Rev 4:9, Dan 2:23, Dan 6:10, Mat 11:25, Luk 10:21, Joh 11:41, 2Co 2:14, 2Co 9:15, 1Ti 1:12
Lord God Almighty: Rev 1:8, Rev 4:8, Rev 15:3, Rev 16:7, Rev 16:14, Gen 17:1
which: Rev 1:4, Rev 1:8, Rev 16:5
thou hast: Rev 11:15, Rev 19:6, Rev 19:11-21, Rev 20:1-3, Psa 21:13, Psa 57:11, Psa 64:9, Psa 64:10, Psa 98:1-3, Psa 102:13-18, Isa 51:9-11, Isa 52:10
Reciprocal: Gen 2:4 – Lord 1Ch 16:33 – because 1Ch 29:12 – power Psa 7:7 – So Psa 41:13 – Blessed Psa 58:10 – righteous Psa 97:1 – Lord Psa 99:1 – Lord Isa 63:1 – travelling Rev 14:14 – a golden Rev 18:8 – for Rev 21:22 – the Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 11:17. Taken to thee thy great power refers to the triumph of righteousness over evil when the word God was given back to the people of the various kingdoms.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 17.
Verse 17 proclaims the success of the kingdom in a singing throng, opposite to the mourning tribes of Rev. 1:7 and Matthew 24:30. It was the answer to the souls under the altar of Rev. 6:9-11. God had taken to thee thy great power, exercised in the events of the visions–and hast reigned. He had ruled and overruled, as absolute monarch of the world, governing and disposing of all things in heaven and in earth, as affirmed by prophets of, old. (2 Samuel 5:4-5; Psalms 93:1)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 11:17. Contains the first part of their song of praise and thanksgiving. In reading, a comma is to be placed after the word Lord, which presents us with the name of Him who has thus triumphed, and brought the troubles of His Church to an end. The name Lord is then followed by three appellations as at chap. Rev 4:8, first. God; secondly, the Almighty; thirdly, which art and which wast, the third clause usually belonging to this last appellative, which is to come, being left out because no longer needed: the Lord is come. This part of the song of praise deals with the general statement that the Lord has taken to Him His great power. That power had indeed been always His, but for a time He had permitted His enemies to contend against it. He is to permit this no longer.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The elders thank God for taking His power in hand and finally reigning. This is the only use of eucharisteo, "I give thanks," in Revelation. In the vision God was about to do this. "Lord God, the Almighty" stresses God’s irresistible power and sovereignty, which now become evident. "Who art and who wast" emphasizes God’s uninterrupted existence, which makes His endless rule possible. Until now God had allowed powers hostile to His people to control the earth, but now He will begin to rule directly.
The elders’ statement has led some interpreters to conclude that it signals the beginning of Jesus Christ’s reign. [Note: E.g., Beale, p. 609; and Swete, p. 146.] In view of the events that seem to follow this one and precede the beginning of His reign in chapter 20, a different understanding is preferable. It seems better to regard the elders’ statement as anticipating the inauguration of that reign.
"The event is so certain that throughout this section it is repeatedly spoken of as already having taken place." [Note: Mounce, p. 231.]
Preterist Chilton believed this reign was consummated in A.D. 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. [Note: Chilton, The Days . . ., pp. 290-91.]