Revelation 16:20

Rev 16:20 . Here, as at Rev 6:14 , the removal of hills tallies with the Iranian belief (shared by later Jewish Christian apocalyptic, cf. Böklen, 131 f.) that mountains as the work of Ahriman would disappear with him ( S. B. E. ver. 129), leaving the earth in its ideal state of a smooth plane on which mankind could dwell in unity of speech and intercourse, free from barriers. The collocation of mountain and island (so Rev 6:14 ) is possibly a relic of the ancient point of view, for which ( i.e. , for dwellers in the West) these formed the apparent source of the sun’s rising, where his light first became visible.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Appeared not, which the Hebrews utter after this sort, were not, Gen. 5:24.

That is, were seen no more, or were no more extant. A borrowed Hebraism.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Plainly parallel to Rev 6:14-17, and by anticipation descriptive of the last judgment.

the mountains--rather as Greek, "there were found no mountains."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. Every island fled away] Probably meaning the capture of seaport towns, and fortified places.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) And every island fled.—So wide-spread are the effects of the earthquake; the convulsion tests every spot; there is only one kingdom which cannot be shaken. (Comp. Dan_2:44; Dan_6:26; Heb_10:28.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. every island &c.] See Rev_6:14.

great hail] Rev_8:7, Rev_11:19.

about the weight of a talent] While natural hailstones weighing the sixtieth part of one are noticed as extraordinary. Some notice, that the stones thrown by the engines at the siege of Jerusalem are said to have been of a talent weight: but it would be far-fetched to suppose these referred to. In this verse at least, the judgement described cannot be on Jerusalem—see on Rev_11:13 fin.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,.... Which must be understood not as after the fall of the cities, and the flight of the islands and mountains, but at the same time; and it looks as if such men that shall escape at the battle of Armageddon, that hail stones from heaven will fall upon them and destroy them; just as the kings of the Amorites and their men were killed by hail stones, cast down by the Lord from heaven, as they fled before Joshua, when more were killed by the stones than were slain by the sword, Jos 10:11 the allusion seems to be to the plague of hail in Exo 9:23

every stone about the weight of a talent; which is threescore pound weight, a prodigious weight indeed for a single hailstone! such hail stones were never known to fall; the largest I have read of is what Caspar Wesserus assured Mr. Broughton (f) of, at Zurich, which being brought from a field afar off, to the consul, and so must melt in carriage, yet weighed a pound. It may be said of this hail storm, as of the earthquake in a preceding verse, that it will be such as never was since men were upon earth; and denotes the sore, heavy, and even intolerable judgments of God upon the antichristian party: God's judgments are sometimes signified by hail storms, Isa 30:26 and particularly the judgments upon Gog and Magog, Eze 38:22 which may respect the same as here: the Jews (g) now expect a great hail in the times of Gog and Magog:

and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; the plague of hail brought down the hard heart of Pharaoh, and humbled him, so that he acknowledged his wickedness, and the sin of his people, and owned the justice of God; but this more terrible storm will have no effect upon these men, to convince and reform them, but, on the contrary, they will break out into blasphemy against God, who caused it to fall on them; it will have the same effect as the fourth and fifth vials:

for the plague thereof was exceeding great; it must beat down all before it, and be intolerable: whether this hail storm may not also have some regard to coldness and lukewarmness, as Naplet suggests, and so may point at the close of the spiritual reign of Christ, or the Laodicean state, which will bring on the second coming of Christ, and so this effect of the seventh vial will end where the seven churches and seven trumpets do, may be considered; See Gill on Rev 11:15.

(f) See his (Zohar's) Works, p. 491. (g) Shemot Rabba, sect. 12. fol. 99. 1.

Next: Revelation Chapter 17

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Ver. 20. Fled away] Either swallowed up by the water or consumed by the fire.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And every island fled away - Expressive of great and terrible judgments, as if the very earth were convulsed, and everything were moved out of its place. See the notes on Rev 6:14.

And the mountains were not found - The same image occurs in Rev 6:14. See the notes on that place.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

These are the effects of great earthquakes: see Rev 6:14. Some, by islands and mountians, understand the inhabitants of both. I know not whether those reverend authors, who by this term understand their idol worship and superstition, or ecclesiastical dignities, (I suppose because the heathens, and Jews, in imitation of them, committed idolatry on mountains and high hills), be not here too critical.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. This continues the description of the earthquake in ver. 18, the parenthesis concerning Babylon occurring owing to the mention of the destruction of the city (cf. the account given under the sixth seal). Such convulsions of nature generally, in biblical descriptions, accompany the near approach of the last judgment. Some writers interpret the islands and mountains of kingdoms. (cf. Rev_17:9, Rev_17:10)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Every island and mountain was "moved out of its place," chap. vi, 14; but here they all flee away. What a change must this make in the face of the terraqueous globe! And yet the end of the world is not come.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

20. And every island fled away. Islands and mountains denote earthly powers. Perhaps the meaning is that the old lines between states and nations shall pass away, and that henceforth there shall be one nation, one kingdom, one people, that of Jesus Christ.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This is part of the seventh bowl of God's wrath.

the mountains were no longer found

The inability to see any mountains is metonymy expressing the idea that no mountains existed any longer. AT: "there were no longer any mountains" (See: Metonymy)

a talent

You may convert this to a modern measure. AT: "33 kilograms" (See: Biblical Weight)

translationWords

hail

people group

curse

plague

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

20. πᾶσα νῆσος. See Rev 6:14.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.