Revelation 7:1

Corners, ends & visibility

Revelation (New Testament) · Apocalyptic prophecy

Verse & chapter context

World English Bible (verified corpus)

Loading verified corpus…

What the passage explicitly says

John sees four angels standing at the four corners (γωνίαι, gōniai) of the earth, holding the four winds so no wind would blow.

What requires interpretation

'Four corners' is a Hebrew idiom used throughout Scripture (Isa 11:12; Ezek 7:2) for the four directions. Whether Revelation intends the idiom literally or figuratively is interpretation.

Flat-circle interpretation

Four literal corners of a bounded earth-plane, with angels stationed at each.

Globe-compatible interpretation

Apocalyptic imagery and Semitic idiom for the four cardinal directions of the whole earth — not a geometric claim.

Original-language study

γωνία
gonia · G1137
Greek

Corner; angle; extremity.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon (BibleHub reprint)

Compare related passages

Questions for further study

  • How does Revelation use OT imagery of the four corners?
  • How do the four winds/angels function in the sealing scene?
Read full chapter in the reader

Personal notes

Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain) — Heavens Declare verified corpus. Every verse on this page is rendered from the verified corpus already ingested into Heavens Declare — not from the discovery article.

Verse discovery: BibleStudyTools — Bible Verses About Flat Earth Secondary topical-index reference used only to seed the verse list. Not the source of Scripture text or lexical claims. Retrieved 2026-07-26.