Revelation 16:18

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
were	ἐγένοντο egenonto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
voices	φωναὶ phōnai	G5456	a tone (articulate · noun — nominative plural feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
thunders	βρονταί, brontai	G1027	thunder · noun — nominative plural feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
lightnings	ἀστραπαὶ astrapai	G796	lightning · noun — nominative plural feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
was	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
great	μέγας megas	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular masculine
earthquake	σεισμὸς seismos	G4578	a commotion · noun — nominative singular masculine
as	οἷος hoios	G3634	such or what sort of (as a correlation or exclamation) · correlative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
was	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
since	ἀφ᾽ aph᾽	G575	"off · preposition
men	ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — nominative singular masculine
were	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
upon	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
earth	γῆς, gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine
mighty	τηλικοῦτος tēlikoutos	G5082	such as this · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
earthquake	σεισμὸς seismos	G4578	a commotion · noun — nominative singular masculine
so	οὕτω houtō	G3779	in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb
great	μέγας. megas	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of troubl…
Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which a…
Revelation 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:…
Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices…
Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and th…
Revelation 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:17–end

Here we have an account of the seventh and last angel pouring forth his vial, contributing his part towards the accomplishment of the downfall of Babylon, which was the finishing stroke. And here, as before, observe, I. Where this plague fell - on the air, upon the prince of the power of the air, that is, the devil. His powers were restrained, his policies confounded; he was bound in God's chain: the sword of God was upon his eye and upon his arm; for he, as well as the powers of the earth, is subject to the almighty power of God. He had used all possible means to preserve the antichristian interest, and to prevent the fall of Babylon - all the influence that he has upon the minds of men, bl…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:18

voice . . . thunders . . . lightnings--A has the order, "lightnings . . . voices . . . thunders." This is the same close as that of the seven seals and the seven thunders; but with the difference that they do not merely form the conclusion, but introduce the consequence, of the last vial, namely, the utter destruction of Babylon and then of the Antichristian armies. earthquake--which is often preceded by a lurid state of air, such as would result from the vial poured upon it. men were--so B, Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS. But A and Coptic read, "A man was." so mighty--Greek, "such."

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:18

A great earthquake - Most terrible commotions, both civil and religious. Or a convulsion, shaking, or revolution.

John Gill on Revelation 16:18

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings,.... As at the giving of the law, Exodus 19:16 and at the sounding of the seventh trumpet; see Gill on Revelation 11:15 and may intend either the pure ministry of the Gospel in the spiritual reign, the voices of Christ's ministers, and the effects of them, who will be "Boanergeses", sons of thunder, and will be the means of enlightening the minds of many, as well as of shaking the consciences of men, signified by the earthquake following; or rather, the tremendous and awful judgments of God upon the remains of the antichristian party, as the very great commotions and changes that will be made in the world are expressed in the next clause:…

The Church Fathers

And there were lightnings and voices, etc. When at the end of the world there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning (Matt. 24), very great signs will also clearly appear. But whether from the side of the good, or from the side of the wicked, or from both sides converging towards each other, it is not made sufficiently clear here. As it was done with Moses and Pharaoh's magicians.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

When this was spoken, there were flashes of lightning and voices: the flashes from the heights, the voices on the earth from the awe of the flashes. And thunders and an earthquake. Either he calls an earthquake the shaking of the earth, since this too is contained among the signs of the end (Luke 21:11), or he calls an earthquake the transformation of things seen, according to what is said to the Haggai: "once more I will shake not only the heaven but also the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all the nations." (Hag. 2:6-7) Therefore it is also emphasized, as he says, that there had never been such an earthquake like it before.
— Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Earthquakes · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Good And Evil · Conflict between — Conflict between
Lightning · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:18

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:18

John Gill on Revelation 16:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:18

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:18

John Gill on Revelation 16:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 16:18-20