Bible Strands
Revelation 16:20
Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — John records a vision during the seventh bowl judgment, immediately following the splitting of Babylon the Great and the pouring out of God’s wrath. The narrator describes the immediate geographical response to that divine act.
The words — ἔφυγεν (ephugen) translates literally as “fled,” and εὑρέθησαν (heurethēsan) means “were to be found.” These verbs frame the complete disappearance of landmasses under judgment.
The thread — The motif of geography fleeing or vanishing appears in Revelation 6:14, where mountains and islands are moved, and Revelation 20:11, where earth and heaven flee from the white throne. Isaiah 2:14 also targets the downfall of high mountains and hills.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that no geographical feature remains stable before divine judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge the absolute scope of God’s wrath and the futility of relying on earthly structures for security.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Cross-references
- Revelation 6:14 The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
- Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Isaiah 2:14 against all the tall mountains, against all the high hills,
- Jeremiah 4:23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.