“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.”
My Notes
What Does Revelation 11:17 Mean?
The twenty-four elders give thanks because God has finally exercised his full power: "thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." The phrasing implies that God's power was always present but not fully deployed — he held it in reserve until this moment. The reigning begins not because God acquired power but because he chose to exercise what he always had.
The title "which art, and wast, and art to come" undergoes a significant change in some manuscripts: the final phrase ("art to come") is dropped, leaving only "which art and wast." The future element disappears because the future has arrived. The coming one has come. The anticipation is over.
The thanksgiving erupts at the seventh trumpet — the moment the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of the Lord and his Christ (verse 15). The elders don't celebrate the announcement of future victory. They celebrate the exercise of power that makes the victory present-tense.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God 'taking his great power' (deploying what he already had) teach about divine restraint?
- 2.How does the disappearance of 'art to come' from the title signify the arrival of what was anticipated?
- 3.Where are you still waiting for God to exercise power he already possesses?
- 4.Why is the elders' response thanksgiving rather than fear when God's full power is finally deployed?
Devotional
You've taken your great power and reigned. The elders thank God not for promising to reign but for actually doing it. The power was always there. Now it's been deployed. The restraint is over.
This is the moment the twenty-four elders have been waiting for — not just the announcement that God's kingdom is coming but the exercise of the power that makes it present. The difference between promising to reign and actually reigning is the difference between a king in exile and a king on the throne. The elders celebrate the enthronement, not the promise of it.
The title shift is subtle but seismic: "which art, and wast, and art to come" becomes simply "which art and wast." The future tense drops out. God is no longer the one who is coming — he's the one who has arrived. The expectation that characterized every prior mention of God (always "to come") is resolved. He came.
The power was always God's. The elders say "thy great power" — possessive, inherent, always belonging to him. But the deployment was chosen, not automatic. God held his power in reserve while the seals were opened, the trumpets blew, and the judgments unfolded. Now, at the seventh trumpet, the reserve is released. The restraint that characterized God's patience becomes the power that characterizes his reign.
When God finally deploys what he's been holding back, the response isn't fear. It's thanksgiving. The elders aren't terrified by the exercise of divine power. They're grateful for it. Because the power means the waiting is over.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,.... The person addressed is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose the kingdoms…
Saying, We give thee thanks - We, as the representatives of the church, and as identified in our feelings with it (see…
O Lord God Almighty, which art - This gives a proper view of God in his eternity; all times are here comprehended, the…
We have here the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet, which is ushered in by the usual warning and demand of…
thou hast taken … thy wrath is come It is hypercritical in the N. T., and in this book particularly, to attempt to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture