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.
Revelation was written by the apostle John while exiled on the island of Patmos — a sweeping vision of God's ultimate victory over evil. In this verse, heavenly beings called elders, who represent eternal worship before God's throne, break into a song of thanks. They praise God as "the One who is and who was" — a phrase used earlier in Revelation that also included "who is to come," but here that future phrase is dropped entirely. That omission is deliberate: the coming they had been waiting for is no longer future. The reign of God, long anticipated, has arrived. This verse captures not hope for what might happen, but gratitude for what is happening.
Lord God, you are not distant or delayed — your reign has begun, and I want to respond with the gratitude these elders sang. Teach me to give thanks not just for what's finished, but for what you've already set in motion. Let that confidence steady me today, whatever I'm facing. Amen.
There's a phrase in this verse that gets lost if you read too fast: "you have begun to reign." Not "you will reign someday." Not "you have always reigned in theory." Begun. Present tense. The elders aren't singing about a distant horizon — they're responding to something breaking into reality right now. Heaven erupts in thanksgiving not over a promise, but over an arrival. That word "begun" should do something to you. When you're watching the news at midnight and the world feels like it's coming apart, or when injustice keeps winning round after round without consequence — the claim of this verse is that God's reign has started. Not finished, but started. Your gratitude doesn't have to wait for the full story to unfold. You can give thanks today for what has already begun — even when you can't yet see where it ends.
The elders' praise shifts from 'who is and who was and who is to come' to simply 'who is and who was.' Why do you think that change matters, and what does it signal about what's happening in that moment?
What would it look like for you personally to give thanks for something God has 'begun' — even when you can't yet see how it ends?
Is it honest to give thanks when the world still looks broken? How do you hold gratitude and grief at the same time without one canceling the other out?
How might genuinely believing that God has already begun to reign change how you respond to people who seem powerful but are acting unjustly?
What is one specific area of your life where you could practice giving thanks for what God has started, even before you see it finished?
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is , and which was , and which is to come ; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation 1:4
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1 Timothy 1:12
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Revelation 15:3
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
Isaiah 51:9
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is , and which was , and which is to come , the Almighty.
Revelation 1:8
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
1 Chronicles 29:12
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was , and is , and is to come .
Revelation 4:8
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Revelation 19:6
saying, "To You we give thanks, O Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Who are and Who were, because You have taken Your great power and the sovereignty [which is rightly Yours] and have [now] begun to reign.
AMP
saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
ESV
saying, '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.
NASB
saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
NIV
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.
NKJV
And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.
NLT
and sang, We thank you, O God, Sovereign-Strong, Who Is and Who Was. You took your great power and took over—reigned!
MSG