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Revelation 11 · a question people ask

"We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty" (11:17). Why do the elders give thanks?

In the text

The elders give their own reason, in the same verse: they give thanks to the "Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and reigned" (11:17). Their words go on to the end of 11:18. These notes say no more of the elders' reason than its own words, and nothing of when.

The verses

“The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints and those who fear your name, to the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.””
Revelation 11:16-18 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Revelation 11

Revelation 11: My two witnesses

In the elders' words, the nations' anger and God's wrath stand side by side: "The nations were angry, and your wrath came" (11:18).

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Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions