Revelation 11:15

The rout of Satan (Revelation 12:10 and Revelation 20:4-10) means the absolute messianic (ὁ Χ. only in these sections = “messiah” in the eschatological sense) authority of God, as the destruction or submission of paganism (cf. Revelation 11:13) means the true coming of the eschatological βασιλεία (cf. Revelation 19:1-6, after Rome's downfall). The apocalyptic motto is not so much “The Lord reigns,” as “The Lord is to reign”. Meanwhile he overrules, and every preliminary judgment shoots the pious mind forward to anticipate the final triumph. Linguistically τοῦ Χριστοῦ might mean here as in Habakkuk 3:13 God's chosen people, but the usage of the Apocalypse puts this out of the question. There is no need to delete the words here as a gloss (so, e.g., Baljon, von Soden, Rauch) or the similar phrase in En. 48:10 (with Dalman).