What Old Testament prophecies connect with Revelation 16:19's depiction of judgment? Revelation 16:19 in Focus “The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath.” Isaiah’s Portrait of a Fallen Babylon • Isaiah 13:19 – “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah by God.” • Isaiah 13:13 – “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.” • Isaiah 21:9 – “Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses! And he says, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon…’” • Isaiah 47 (entire chapter) details Babylon’s humiliation and destruction, echoing Revelation’s emphasis on remembered sin and divine wrath. Jeremiah and the Lord’s Overflowing Cup • Jeremiah 25:15-16 – “Take from My hand this cup filled with the wine of My wrath and make all the nations…drink it.” • Jeremiah 51:7-8 – “Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the LORD… Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered.” • These verses supply the imagery John uses: Babylon as the cup-bearer who must herself drink the undiluted wrath she forced on others. The Cup Motif in Other Texts • Psalm 75:8 – “For a cup is in the hand of the LORD… all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.” • Isaiah 51:17 – “You who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury…” • These passages cement the Old Testament theme of God’s judgment being served as an intoxicating, inescapable drink. Earthquakes, Splitting, and Worldwide Collapse • Ezekiel 38:19-20 – “…there will be a great earthquake… every wall will fall to the ground.” • Zechariah 14:4-5 – “…the Mount of Olives will be split in two… and the valley of My mountains will reach to Azel.” • Haggai 2:6-7 – “Once more… I will shake the heavens and the earth… and I will shake all the nations.” • These texts parallel Revelation 16:19’s three-part split of “the great city” and the collapse of “the cities of the nations,” underscoring a global, not merely local, judgment. Nation-Wide Ruin Foretold by the Prophets • Isaiah 2:12-19 pictures the Lord’s day against “everything proud and lofty,” with the earth violently shaken. • Joel 3:16 and Amos 9:5 speak of the LORD roaring from Zion and the land convulsing. • Such passages anticipate Revelation’s sweeping devastation that topples every stronghold opposing God. Key Takeaways • Revelation 16:19 gathers imagery from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Haggai, and other prophets to present one unified snapshot of final judgment. • The themes—Babylon’s downfall, the cup of wrath, earth-shaking upheaval, and the collapse of nations—run consistently through the Old Testament, confirming that Revelation’s vision is the climactic fulfillment of earlier prophecies. |
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