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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John, the seer, reports a vision that follows the devil's final casting into the lake of fire (20:10) and immediately precedes the dead standing before the throne (20:12). It is the pivot between the close of the millennium and the great white throne judgment.

The words — καθήμενον (kathēmenon), a present participle meaning "the One who is sitting," not "who sat down" — the One is already in the state of enthronement, not arriving at it.

The thread — 2 Peter 3:7 reserves the present heavens and earth for the day of judgment; Revelation 21:1 confirms the first heaven and earth have passed away, making way for the new. Daniel 2:35 shows created kingdoms shattered like chaff before the unshakable kingdom.

Why it lands — The verse does not exhort or threaten; it states that the created order has no standing before the One seated. A reader is asked to reckon with the fact that nothing in the present cosmos is the final word.

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 I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Cross-references

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 Peter 3:7 And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Daniel 2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
Jeremiah 4:23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
Acts 17:30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
Psalms 9:7 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.