6:12 Then 5 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge 6 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, 7 and the full moon became blood red; 8
20:11 Then 13 I saw a large 14 white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven 15 fled 16 from his presence, and no place was found for them.
1 tn Grk “from where,” but status is in view rather than physical position. On this term BDAG 838 s.v. πόθεν 1 states, “from what place? from where?…In imagery μνημόνευε πόθεν πέπτωκες remember from what (state) you have fallen Rv 2:5.”
2 tn Grk “and do” (a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text). For stylistic reasons in English a new sentence was started here in the translation. The repeated mention of repenting at the end of the verse suggests that the intervening material (“do the deeds you did at first”) specifies how the repentance is to be demonstrated.
3 tn Or “you did formerly.”
4 tn Although the final clause is somewhat awkward, it is typical of the style of Revelation.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
6 tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”
7 tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).
8 tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).
9 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
10 tn Grk “seven thousand names of men.”
11 tn BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 1 states, “the inhabited earth, the world…ὅλη ἡ οἰκ. the whole inhabited earth…Mt 24:14; Ac 11:28; Rv 3:10; 16:14.”
12 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
14 tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.
15 tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.
16 tn Or “vanished.”
sn The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).