praise Him; for He now reigned as the Lord God Omnipotent—that character or those characters in which He dealt with the earth whether as God, Creator, Promiser, and Shield of his people while strangers, or the everlasting Accomplisher of all He had promised, Jehovah Elohim Shaddai. All these he took nowin power and reigned. This time takes us back to xi. 17:[1] having had, in the interval, the source, character, and form of evil and judgment of all but the beast and open power against the Lamb which is earthly. All secret or mere corrupt evil, all evil that had its place in heaven, being removed, it was a question of open power, Satan’s last and hopeless resource on earth. The praise accordingly is returned to God in this character of Lord God Almighty who reigneth, and gladness and joy immediately came forth. Then his first and immediate purpose manifests itself, before even the Lamb’s judgment
- ↑ When God takes to Himself His power and reigns, and the worldly kingdom of our Lord and of His anointed is come. It is taken up here on the actual judgment and removal out of the way of Babylon, as the earthly mystery opposed to the heavenly Bride of Christ: so that as the Lord God Omnipotent takes His power, so the Lamb thereon takes His bride. Her fall, which seems more connected with the fall of Satan from heaven, is a previous thing.
