Revelation 11:16

16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Revelation 11:16 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 11:16

And the four and twenty elders
The same with those in ( Revelation 4:4 ) ;

which sat before God on their seats;
as they are also there described; and which may be expressive of their enjoyment of the divine Presence; and also of their quiet and undisturbed situation, being restored to their former places, which they now possess without molestation and interruption; for as these are the representatives of Gospel churches in all ages, they were with the church in the wilderness during the 1260 days, or years: hence we hear nothing of them from the time of the sealing of the hundred and forty and four thousand, and during the sounding of the trumpets; but now they are restored to their former seats, and upon this wonderful change of things in the world, they

fell upon their faces and worshipped God;
in a very humble and reverential posture, and in a way of praise and thanksgiving.

Revelation 11:16 In-Context

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe comes quickly.

15 And the seventh angel sounded [his] trumpet: and there were great voices in the heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world of our Lord and of his Christ is come, and he shall reign to the ages of ages.

16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

17 saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, [He] who is, and who was, that thou hast taken thy great power and hast reigned.

18 And the nations have been full of wrath, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the recompense to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, small and great; and to destroy those that destroy the earth.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'who sat.' It is characteristic, without reference to time, save as he had seen them (ch. 4.4); 'the sitters on thrones.' I put only 'sit,' because the scene is present, though the actions follow one another.
• [b]. See Note h, ch. 3.9.