Revelation 16:21: The Largest Hailstones Ever

Revelation 16:17-21 tells us that an unprecedented hailstorm will occur after the pouring of the seventh vial (seventh bowl) judgment. The hailstones falling to the earth the will weigh about a talent. The plague of hail will be so bad that men will blasphemy God:

(17) And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. (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. (19) And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (21) And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” (Revelation 16:17-21)

In this article, we’ll explore how large the great hailstones of Revelation 16:21 will be.

The Hailstones of Revelation 16:21

Matthew Kneisler, who has a background in aeronautical engineering, estimated the size of the great hailstones that will fall and their velocity when they reach sea level.

  • Kneisler used a hailstone that measured 5.581 inches in diameter and weighed 1.68 lbs (the largest ever to fall in the U.S. at the time of his work) to estimate the size of the great hailstones of Revelation 16:21.
  • Kneisler also assumed that the great hailstones would weigh 75 lbs in his analysis.

Several Bible commentators state that a talent’s weight is closer to 100 lbs. Given this, I thought it might be useful to recalculate the size of the hailstone using 100 lbs as the weight.

  • I followed the same steps Kneisler used to calculate the size of a 100 lbs hailstone.
  • However, I used a different hailstone than Kneisler. The largest hailstone discovered in the U.S. fell in Vivian, South Dakota in July 2010. The roughly volleyball-size hailstone weighed 1.9375 lbs, measured 18.62 inches in circumference, and measured 8 inches in diameter. Below is a photo of the hailstone:
hailstones

Great Hailstone Stats

  • A 100 lbs hailstone is around 29.8 inches in diameter.
  • The hailstone would arrive at sea level traveling 284 miles per hour.
  • The hailstones’ diameter would be larger than the diameter of an average mountain bike wheel.

The photo below shows a 29-inch (left) and a 26-inch (right) mountain bike wheel.

bicycle wheels

Hailstones & the Winepress

Imagine how much damage a 29.8-inch diameter 100 lbs hailstone would cause when falling on people and objects at 284 miles per hour!

The treading of the winepress analogy in Revelation 14:20 is fitting.

  • The hailstones landing on people will have the same effect a person’s foot has when he or she lands on grapes.
  • The hailstones would absolutely crush anyone or anything that got in their way.

The great hailstones of Revelation 16:21 is not the only plague that will kill many people. Read my article on the second trumpet’s burning mountain to learn about another event that will kill many.

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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.