16.  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God, on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

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.

18.  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth.

Vs. 16-18.—­These verses give us a glimpse of the times following the last woe till the end of the world.  The “elders,” the representatives,—­not of the ministry, as prelates dream, but of the collective body of God’s people, now that they are emancipated from a longer and more cruel bondage than that of their fathers in the literal Egypt, “give thanks to God” for the display of his “great power” in their deliverance.  Many times had he made bare his holy arm in past ages on behalf of his people:  but this is in their eyes the most signal display of his power.  “Thou hast taken to thee thy great power.”—­He now exercises his power over the nations, which was his before; their “anger” in the time of their rebellion is now repressed,—­Messiah’s “wrath is come,” heavier wrath than that which fell upon Rome pagan:  (ch. vi. 16, 17.) Then follows an intimation of the final judgment, and suitable “rewards.”  Our curiosity is excited here, but not gratified; but while left in suspense, we may, with Daniel and the virgin Mary,—­“keep these things in our heart.” (Dan. vii. 28; Luke ii. 19.) Farther light will be given, (ch. xx. 11-13.)

19.  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament:  and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

V. 19.—­The inspired books of the Bible were divided into chapters, verses and other parts, for the convenience of reference.  But those who performed this useful service were imperfect like ourselves, and therefore we are at liberty to differ from them in our arrangement.  Now it seems evident that the 18th verse closes this chapter with a concise account of the ending of the last woe.  But the last woe reaches to the final consummation of all things as we have already seen:  it follows that the nineteenth verse must introduce a new subject.  Similar mistakes may be seen in numerous instances elsewhere in our Bibles.

But although a new vision is presented in the twelfth chapter, the two principal parties delineated in the eleventh, engage the apostle’s attention.  And as preparatory to future scenes, “the temple of God was opened in heaven.”  “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.”  Before the following scene of warfare, John is favored with a view of the “ark of the testament,”—­a symbol of the covenant of grace, which shall continue to be administered in the worst of times; and the opposition to which, in its external dispensation, is emblematically set forth by “lightnings,”—­as well as the tokens of Jehovah’s presence and avenging judgments:  for these awful symbols, taken from fearful convulsions in nature, are usually indicative of the tremendous judgments of God.