Revelation 16:17-20 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
The context of this verse is before the Second Coming of Christ. It occurs near the end of the seven-year Tribulation. The Millennial Kingdom is about to commence. The seventh bowl concludes the judgments upon the earth and humanity.
…and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The last earthquake mentioned in the Bible will be the largest and strongest in the history of humanity. This earthquake will also be the most destructive. The Greek expression of the quake is restated three times. The earthquake is greatness and magnitude upon greatness and magnitude upon greatness and magnitude. The scale and power are larger than the Discovery Channel can imagine. It is the Mega Quake!
The great city was split into three parts. The great city is mystery Babylon. Some think the city is a reborn Babylon in modern day Iraq. Others think it is Rome, Italy. Some believe it is Istanbul, Turkey. Mecca, Saudi Arabia is a city on seven hills. Pick your seven hilled city. Conjecture in regards to city is pointless.
…and the cities of the nations fell… All the cities (plural) of the nations (plural) are doomed. The Greek word for “fell” is πιπτο/pipto. Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: to descend from a higher place to a lower; to be thrust down; come to an end, disappear, cease; to lose authority, no longer have force. Metaphorically: to fall under judgment, came under condemnation. “It is done!”
And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. The idea of no more mountains and changed geography is noted in multiple places in the Bible. Revelation is not the only source of this concept.
Psalm 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
Psalm 46:6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.
Isaiah 24:19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.
Micah 1:4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
The level of destruction is unimaginable. We cannot comprehend. It says what it says.
