The interpretation timeline

Rev 6:17

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

2 Patristic · 1 Medieval

Rev 6:17 · Douay-Rheims
“For the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
Patristic before A.D. 750
637
A.D.
Andreas of Caesarea Patristic
c. A.D. 563–637
“For then the divine anger will burn righteously as a furnace, consuming those who built upon the foundation of faith with wood and chaff and stubble, as though food for the fire.”
735
A.D.
Bede Patristic
A.D. 673–735
“And who will be able to stand? Certainly, the one who now strives to watch, to stand firm in faith, and to act manfully. If you interpret this earthquake literally as referring to the very day of judgment, it is not surprising that earthly kings and princes, fearful of the holy mountains, seek refuge, as we read has already happened in the case of the rich man clothed in purple and the poor Lazarus.”
Source
Medieval c. 750 – 1100
804
A.D.
Alcuin of York Medieval
c. A.D. 735–804
“For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? As if they were saying, "If even a saint is terrified by the wrath of that God, who of us shall hold out?" We may disregard all that has been said about saints, and understand those things as referring to the reprobates: the mountains are the proud; the islands are the greedy (according to this: Be silent, you that dwell in the island, the merchants of Sidon); [Is. 23:2] the kings, princes, and tribunes represent the reprobates according to their qualities; by the rich he means those who need no help from others to do evil; by the strong he means the strong at drunkenness; [Ref. to Is. 5:22] by bondman he means bondman of sin; by freeman he means free of justice. There is no doubt that when the future judgment is imminent, all these will run to seek the help of demons as they are desperate and do not dare to come to any of the saints. This is indeed what is meant by their seeking hiding places in the dens and rocks of mountains; but how will demons defend others from the furious wrath when they will be the first ones to receive it? Finally, all this inspires listeners with great fear even if taken literally, but this is not a reason to violently reduce figurative statements to their literal meaning.”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.