Revelation 6:14
in Revelation 6The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
KJV
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
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This verse in Revelation 6
Commentary
17 notes on this verseBesides, the belief that everything was made from nothing will be impressed upon us by that ultimate dispensation of God which will bring back all things to nothing. For "the very heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll; '" nay, it shall come to nothing along with the earth itself, with which it was made in the beginning.
This site's exposition
there was a great earthquake
on Revelation 6:12-14
The sixth seal brings the signs of the Day of the LORD: the sun became black like sackcloth, as in Joel 2:31. The sky receded like a scroll, as in Isaiah 34:4. Some read a literal upheaval, others an idiom for fallen powers.
This site's exposition
like a scroll being rolled up
Gill saw the sky rolled up like a scroll, so that no word written in it could be seen. Tertullian saw the whole sky and earth go back to the nothing from which they were made. Wesley saw God made great by so little a picture.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The sky is described as departed like a scroll being rolled up. Through the sky, the heavenly powers of the angels are mentioned, who themselves were disturbed, unable to bear the insult to their master, both here and there. The sky is said to be …
For at that time the trumpet shall sound, and awake those that sleep from the lowest parts of the earth, righteous and sinners alike. And every kindred, and tongue, and nation, and tribe shall be raised in the twinkling of an eye; and they shall stand upon the face of the earth, waiting for the coming of the righteous and terrible Judge, in fear and trembling unutterable. For the river of fire shall come forth in fury like an angry sea, and shall burn up mountains and hills, and shall make the sea vanish, and shall dissolve the atmosphere with its heat like wax. The stars of heaven shall fall, the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. The heaven shall be rolled together like a scroll: the whole earth shall be burnt up by reason of the deeds done in it, which men did corruptly, in fornications, in adulteries, and in lies and uncleanness, and in idolatries, and in murders, and in battles. For there shall be the new heaven and the new earth.
A commentator
Victorinus of PettauCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John · Written before 304.
proposed
"And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up." For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the Church shall be taken away. "And every mountain and the islands were moved from their places." Mountains and islands removed from their places intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from their places; that is, that the good will be removed, seeking to avoid the persecution.
Rightly does he suggest that the heaven, that is, the church, withdrew like a scroll rolled out rather than as a scroll rolled up. For whatever is rolled up cannot ever be known by anyone, while that which is rolled out is uncovered ever more. …
The church is also symbolized in the mountains and in the islands, for she is a "city set on a hill" on account of "the mountains round about." And we read, "also among the islands of the sea [is] the name of the Lord God …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church5 voices
That heaven is rolled out as a scroll symbolizes either that the second coming of Christ is unknown … or that even the heavenly powers grieve for those who have fallen from faith as though they experience a certain rolling out through sympathy and grief. …
Our Lord asked the disciples concerning the destruction of the temple and the consummation of the world, and as they were able to receive, he foretold of the coming events. To some extent these events have already happened to the Jews who killed Christ during …
And the heaven departed as a book folded up. Just as the reprobates fall from the Church not physically but through their transgressions, so does the same Church, in its elect, depart from among the wicked not by a physical departure but by faith and …
And the sky receded like a scroll being rolled up. Just as a rolled-up scroll contains mysteries within but nothing apparent outside, so will the Church, known only to its own, retreat discreetly to avoid persecution, hidden from outsiders.
And every mountain and island was moved from its place. Mentioning various members of the Church according to their roles or strengths, he predicts that none will be exempt from this upheaval, but the movement will differ—good people will avoid by fleeing, while the wicked …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together,.... The manner of writing formerly was on rolls of parchment; hence the word volume is used for a book, which, when rolled up, the writing within could not be seen, not a syllable nor letter of it.
And the heavens departed as a book that is rolled together - When the scripture compares some very great with a little thing, the majesty and omnipotence of God, before whom great things are little, is highly exalted.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
departed--Greek, "was separated from" its place; "was made to depart." Not as ALFORD, "parted asunder"; for, on the contrary, it was rolled together as a scroll which had been open is rolled up and laid aside. There is no "asunder one from another" here in the Greek, as in Ac 15:39, which ALFORD copies. mountain . . . moved out of . . . places-- (Ps 121:1, Margin;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
And the heaven departed as a scroll - The whole system of pagan and idolatrous worship, with all its spiritual, secular, and superstitious influence, was blasted, shrivelled up, and rendered null and void, as a parchment scroll when exposed to the action of a strong fire. And every mountain - All the props, supports, and dependencies of the empire, whether regal allies, tributary kings, dependent colonies, or mercenary troops, were all moved out of their places, so as to stand no longer in the same relation to that empire, and its worship, support, and maintenance, as they formerly did.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οὐρανὸς | ouranos | heaven | G3772 → | 272 times |
| ἀπεχωρίσθη | apechoristhe | departed | G673 → | |
| ὡς | hos | like | G5613 → | 500 times |
| βιβλίον | biblion | a scroll | G975 → | 34 times |
| ἑλισσόμενον, | helissomenon | being rolled up, | G1667 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| πᾶν | pan | every | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ὄρος | oros | mountain | G3735 → | 62 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νῆσος | nesos | island | G3520 → | 9 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τόπων | topon | places | G5117 → | 94 times |
| αὐτῶν | auton | of them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐκινήθησαν, | ekinethesan | were moved, | G2795 → |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
οὐρανὸςheaven
ouranosG3772 →272 times
ἀπεχωρίσθηdeparted
apechoristheG673 →
ὡςlike
hosG5613 →500 times
βιβλίονa scroll
biblionG975 →34 times
ἑλισσόμενον,being rolled up,
helissomenonG1667 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
πᾶνevery
panG3956 →1235 times
ὄροςmountain
orosG3735 →62 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νῆσοςisland
nesosG3520 →9 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
τόπωνplaces
toponG5117 →94 times
αὐτῶνof them
autonG846 →5565 times
ἐκινήθησαν,were moved,
ekinethesanG2795 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Peter 3:10But 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…
it leads to
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- Matthew 24:35
Through
Psalms 102:26They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on.
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 51:6
Through
Isaiah 34:4All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig…
it leads to
- Revelation 6:13–14
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.
- Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
- Revelation 6:13–14
Where this verse is studied
About Revelation
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alcuin of York, COMMENTARY ON REVELATION; Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:14; Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:14-17; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Hippolytus of Rome, Dubious Hippolytus Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Tertullian, Against Hermogenes; Ticonius, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:14 and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.