[§276] Rev 16:18: The Third and Greatest Earthquake in History

This podcast explains the imagery and symbolism used by John to describe cataclysmic events during the seventh Vial Plague of the Third Woe in Revelation 16:18-20. These verses say: “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. 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. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” The voices, thunders, and lightnings in Revelation 16:18 symbolize the majesty and glory of God, as well as the exaltation-worthy and redeemed saints identified as the 144,000 Servants, who stand with Christ on Mount Zion in Revelation 14:1. The saints rejoice at the final events leading to the Second Coming. The great earthquake is the third of three earthquakes described by John in the Book of Revelation. The first earthquake occurs at the end of the sixth seal and start of the seventh seal in Revelation 6:12, 14, when mountains are moved out of their places. The second earthquake is localized in the area of Jerusalem. It occurs in the same hour that the Two Witnesses are resurrected in Jerusalem, as described by John in Revelation 11:13. The third and greatest earthquake of all time will transform the earth’s topography as mountains disappear because they are made low and valleys are exalted. These topographic changes will occur as the Western and Eastern Hemispheres quickly combine and reunite into a single large continent. The single landmass or supercontinent that existed from the time of the physical creation until the time of the universal flood in the days of Noah will be restored. This podcast describes the geologic forces that caused the continents to quickly divide no later than the days of Peleg in Genesis 10:25. This sudden change in the earth’s topography can be explained by the Hydroplate Theory hypothesized by Dr. Walt Brown. The reuniting of the continents at the time of the great earthquake in Revelation 16:18 will be as equally sudden as the topographic changes at the time of the flood. The final great earthquake will cause the earth to reel to and fro like a drunken man and the stars to fall according to many scriptural predictions. This podcast also describes other physical changes to the earth that will occur during the seventh vial plague. In this time, the Mount of Olives will cleave and separate to the north and south such that a new east-west running valley will form. A fountain of water will also flow from the foundation of the temple in Jerusalem toward the Mediterranean Sea and also through the new valley in the Mount of Olives toward the Jordan river. This continuous flow of water will eventually heal the waters of the Dead Sea and give it new life. All this is part of the renewal process that will transfigure or transform the earth into the same paradisiacal and terrestrial conditions that existed on the earth before the fall of Adam.