How does Revelation 16:20 connect with other end-times prophecies in Scripture? The epic moment in Revelation 16:20 “Every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.” A literal, global convulsion • Sixth bowl judgment: an unparalleled earthquake reshapes the planet • Not symbolic only—Scripture treats it as a real, physical event that affects every landmass and mountain range • Signals the closing seconds of this present age before Christ’s return in glory Old-Testament echoes of the same upheaval • Isaiah 24:19-20 — “The earth is utterly broken… it sways like a hut.” • Isaiah 40:4 — “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low.” • Haggai 2:6-7 — “Once more… I will shake the heavens and the earth… and all the nations.” • Ezekiel 38:20 — “The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.” • Nahum 1:5 — “The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away.” Earlier tremors inside Revelation • 6:12-14 — sixth seal: “a great earthquake… every mountain and island was moved from its place.” • 11:13, 19 — seventh trumpet: another quake accompanying the opening of God’s temple in heaven • 20:11 — at the Great White Throne: “Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.” These progressive shocks build to the sixth bowl, the climactic toppling of the globe’s geography. New-Testament confirmations • Hebrews 12:26-27 quotes Haggai, promising a final shaking that removes “what can be shaken.” • 2 Peter 3:10-12 — heaven and earth will “pass away with a roar… the elements will be dissolved with fire.” • Luke 21:25-26 — Jesus foretells roaring seas and people fainting as heavenly bodies are shaken. Why the mountains vanish • Demonstrates God’s absolute sovereignty over creation • Prepares the world for Christ’s millennial reign (Revelation 20:4-6) and, ultimately, the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1) • Fulfills prophetic promises that the proud (symbolized by lofty mountains) will be humbled before the Lord Where it fits in the end-times timeline 1. Seals (global distress begins) 2. Trumpets (intensifying judgments) 3. Bowls (final rapid-fire wrath) – The sixth bowl’s quake (16:18-20) immediately precedes the seventh bowl’s declaration, “It is done!” (16:17) 4. Second Coming (19:11-16) 5. Millennium and final judgment (20) 6. New heaven and new earth (21-22) Assurance for believers • Though mountains crumble, God is “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1-2). • The same power that dismantles the present world also fashions the perfect, eternal home promised to His people. |
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