“Who shall be able to stand?”
The full verse · Revelation 6:17 · KJV
the of is ; shall be to ?
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Earth's Inhabitants: "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man," hiding in the dens and rocks of the mountains (Revelation 6:15)
Asked to
Earth's Inhabitants, Each Other
Earth's Inhabitants: the same people crying out together as they call to the mountains and rocks to fall on them (Revelation 6:16)
The Scene
When the Lamb opens the sixth seal, there is a great earthquake, the sun turns black, and the stars fall (Revelation 6:12-13), and people of every rank hide in the rocks of the mountains (Revelation 6:15).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThis is the cry of people who know they cannot escape. They call to the mountains, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:16). Their question is not a search for an answer; it is despair. Gill says it "expresses guilt, shame, fear, and despair." Kings, captains, the rich, and slaves alike find that nothing they have can hold them up before God.
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo one in the scene answers. But the book itself goes on. In the next chapter, angels hold back the winds "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads" (Revelation 7:3). Then John sees "a great multitude, which no man could number," who "stood before the throne, and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9). They are those who "have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe KJV reads "his wrath," following the Textus Receptus (the Greek text behind the KJV), which has autou, "his." The ESV reads "their wrath," following other Greek manuscripts that have auton, "their," meaning the wrath of the One on the throne and of the Lamb (Revelation 6:16). The question uses the Greek verb histemi, to stand. The same verb is used of the multitude who "stood before the throne" in Revelation 7:9.
Gill reads this day of wrath as coming on heathen persecutors "in answer to the cry of the martyrs" (Revelation 6:9-10). Barnes treats the sixth seal's signs as pictures of consternation and alarm spreading to all classes of people throughout the world.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows that God's judgment is real and that no rank or wealth can stand against it. Matthew Henry notes the surprising phrase "the wrath of the Lamb": "Though Christ be a lamb, yet he can be angry, even to wrath, and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful." He adds, "Those perish without remedy who perish by the wrath of the Redeemer." The One who was slain to redeem (Revelation 5:9) is also the One whose wrath people flee.
Yet the question is not left hanging in the book. Right after it, the servants of God are sealed (Revelation 7:3-4), and John sees a countless multitude standing before the throne (Revelation 7:9). Those who stand do not stand by their own strength. They have "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God" (Revelation 7:14-15).
Look Closer
Who is hiding from the wrath in this scene?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, no one can stand before You in their own strength; what does it mean for me to stand only in the blood of the Lamb?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What things do people today trust to hold them up that will not stand before God?
- How has knowing that you are washed by the Lamb changed the way you think about God's judgment?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
This verse is sobering. Wealth, power, and position will not hold anyone up on the day of God's wrath. The kings, great men, and rich men in this scene had all of them and still hid in the rocks (Revelation 6:15).
But Revelation does not leave you with only the question. The next chapter shows a countless multitude standing before the throne, washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:9, 14). This doesn't mean judgment is something to take lightly. It means there is one safe place to stand, and it is with the Lamb, not hiding from Him.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
“What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?”
“Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
“Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?”