Text -- Revelation 20:11 (NET)

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 20:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

³ 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.

⁴ 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).