Are the present events in Israel and the Middle East part of prophecy? People get excited, worried, or disturbed. We like stability and consistency. We need to calm down and remember that the Bible predicts that all the governments of the world will fall. We may all argue about the details. But the governmental systems of this world are doomed.

How are we to know what The Revelation and other prophecies mean? Over the millenniums, the protestant churches have created four different systems to explain prophecy. These systems are called Hermeneutics. If you have never heard of Hermeneutics, please look at our post.

They are: 

• The Preteritist — everything has already been fulfilled.
• The Historicist — the predictions are in the process of fulfillment.
• The Futurist — all predictions are in the future.
• The Spiritualist — the events described are only symbols of spiritual realities and struggles without any literal or historical application

We are Historicists. Historicists generally feel that we are presently between the Sixth and Seventh Bowls or Vials.

For context, the Seals covered the fall of the Roman Empire, the Trumpets covered the Middle Ages, and the Bowls covered the Modern Age. The Sixth Bowl covered the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the false teachings of the three frog spirits.

Now it is time to move on to the Seventh Bowl. This post was taken from our book Opening the Seals.

Seventh Bowl – It Is Done!

We now enter a point in the prophecy where we feel we are presently living. To some extent, this is speculation. We can draw some inferences from other fulfilled passages, but until the facts appear in the newsfeeds or history books, we can never be sure of our speculations.

17   The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”  18 And there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as had never been since men were on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 

19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of the fury of his wrath. 

20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found;  21 and great hailstones, heavy as a hundred-weight, dropped on men from heaven, till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague. Revelation 16:17-21

This bowl is poured out in judgment over the air (Eph. 2:2) where Satan has authority as the prince of the air. Soon, he will be in a hole in the ground for a very long time, a “thousand” years.

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,  Revelation 20:2 

The Loud Voice

A loud voice from the throne of God delivers a great pronouncement. “It Is Done!” We have heard the loud voice before. However, this time the voice is emphatic. God’s judgment is finished. God speaks through lightning, voices, thunders, and a great earthquakes. 

This is a momentous occasion, as it has never happened like this in the entire history of man.

Flashing of Lightning, Voices, Peals of Thunder

Lightning

Flashes of lightning usually accompany thunder, showing God’s assumed power, which causes people to tremble. The flashes are compared to arrows and the speed of His movements.

2 Samuel chapter 2 speaks of God scattering David’s enemies.

And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and routed them. 2Sam. 22:15

Voices

The voice of the Lord can be comforting or condemning, loud or soft. [Psalm 29] However, in The Revelation, we see voices in the plural. They seem to represent God’s majestic presence.

This is in opposition to His still, small voice. Elijah heard that voice when he was exhausted, frustrated, and lonely.

The last literal hearing of God’s voice is in John 12:27-36. Where the people heard thunder in a voice that said God would glorify His own name by the sacrifice of Messiah, and that His sacrifice would bring judgment on the ruler of this world, i.e., Satan.

Thunder

The voice of God sounds like thunder when it is about His administration of justice.

As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the LORD thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion; and they were routed before Israel. 1 Sam. 7:10

Thunder is the voice of God in the administration of His justice. Flashes of lightning usually accompany thunder, showing God’s all-powerful might, which causes people to tremble. A reminder here that this is a book of symbols, and one should not look for literal earthquakes or thunderstorms. This is God pronouncing judgment on the enemies of His people. The people of God have three enemies in The Revelation: The Dragon Beast, which is the Devil, The Govenmental Beast, which is the western powers of Europe, and the Beast from the Earth, which is the Papacy.

Great Earthquake

Earthquakes in prophecy represent God’s administration of justice, revolution, or social upheaval that benefits God’s people. These upheavals remove from power those who stand in the way of truth. Earthquakes in prophecy mean fallen or crushed nations, usually brought about by war.

The Great City

There are several theories among Historicists as to what is meant by the Great City. 

Rome

Those who believe it refers to Rome point out that it is a city on seven hills. It is the great Babylon of chapter 17.

Rev. 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;

Back in Chapter 11, Rome is “the great city.”

. . . and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8

One’s first thought is that our Lord was crucified in Jerusalem, which is not technically correct. The Lord was crucified just outside Jerusalem. Yes, Jerusalem was the city that rejected her Messiah. They then persuaded the Roman authorities to rid them of Him. To be clear, Messiah was killed by Roman soldiers, on Roman soil, under Roman law, in occupied Judea.

Constantinople

Those who like Constantinople, now called Istanbul, point out that this city was also built on seven hills, to replace Rome as the capital of the Empire under Constantine.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is built on six hills. But if one counts the Mount of Olives, one can get to seven. Jerusalem is presently famous for being in four parts. There is a Jewish quarter, a Muslim quarter, a Christian quarter, and an Armenian quarter. It seems odd to think of it falling into three parts. Further, do we really need Jerusalem to fall again?

The Ten Nations of Western Europe

Back in chapter 11, there is another reference to the city, but it is not the great city.

13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.  Revelation 11:13

Among Historicists commentators, there are two predominant theories about who or what this Tenth was. Some theologians hold that it is France and the French Revolution. Other mostly English commentators say it was Henry VIII breaking with Rome and establishing the Church of England.

All this must be considered as we watch to see what falling into three parts represents.

Three Parts

There are only two passages where “three parts” are mentioned in Scripture. In the Torah, the nation of Israel is told to divide the land into three parts so that a man-slayer can easily flee to a city of refuge.

You shall prepare the roads, and divide into three parts the area of the land which the LORD your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them. Deuteronomy 19:3

Ezekiel was told to cut his hair and divide the pile into three parts. Each part described Israel’s punishment for idolatry: fire, sword, and scattering.

1   “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair.  2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed; and a third part you shall take and strike with the sword round about the city; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.  3 And you shall take from these a small number, and bind them in the skirts of your robe.  4 And of these again you shall take some, and cast them into the fire, and burn them in the fire; from there a fire will come forth into all the house of Israel.  5 Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries round about her.  6 And she has wickedly rebelled against my ordinances more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries round about her, by rejecting my ordinances and not walking in my statutes.  Ezekiel 5:1-6

The passage embodies the concept of judgment. Whatever we may speculate.

Babylon Remembered

Babylon, by all Historicist teachings, is the apostate religion of the Roman Church. Claiming to follow Christ while teaching that one needs all this pagan paraphernalia they borrowed from the mystery religions. They then persecuted anyone who disagreed that they had that authority. [INQUITION]

The Cup

to make her drain the cup of the fury of his wrath

The cup is metaphoric. Throughout the Bible, it represents what one deserves for their personal or corporate behavior. A good life gives one a cup overflowing with goodness, and a bad life gives one a cup too bitter to drink. Our Lord, in His humanity, did not want to drink our cup. That cup was the bitter one. That cup represents the struggle to bring salvation to an undeserving, sinful people. The cup is what the law demands. Mankind was created under the law. But we broke that law, and now live under the consequences of that action.

And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Mark 14:36

This is the last cup to be served. It is served to the apostate church.

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; Rev. 17:4

Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed. Rev. 18:6

We don’t know what a double draught of the INQUISITION looks like. It is far past time to remove all false teachings from our hearts.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; Rev. 18:4

Every Island and no Mountains Found

Symbolic of individual kingdoms. The islands and mountains were no longer to be found. Judgment on the Nations of the Former Imperial Powers of prophecy is about to cease in their current form. Our present political structure of boundaries, borders, and governments is about to be radically changed. 

Most believe that this indicates the Kingdom of Messiah will come to rule and reign, for it is the end of the Times of the Gentiles. Hallelujah! 

And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,   Revelation 21:10

Great Hailstones

In prophecy, hailstones represent God’s discipline of false prophets. The hailstones are used to destroy their deceptive teachings.

And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones.  Isaiah 30:30

Great judgment in the form of tremendously heavy hailstones dropped from heaven. And rather than repent, some men will curse God. Fear comes upon those who worshipped the beast, as it is now obvious that judgment awaits them as well! The hailstones represent God’s impassioned hatred of false prophets. The saints under the throne will be avenged.

Current Events

We are now in the Seventh Bowl of The Revelation and current history.

The great city has not been divided into three parts.

The Church of Rome, although greatly weakened in her authority, is still making pronouncements from the Vatican.

The kingdoms and nations of the world have not fallen, but they look like they might do so very soon.

This Scripture could be fulfilled at any moment! We are living in interesting times. With most of the nations of the world angry with God, Israel, and all Christians.

Even so, Lord, Come!

All the earth is Rome! Well, at least it was to the Empire. 

One must carefully consider how the words were used in the first century in Asia Minor. The Revelation is a letter written to them and not us. It was preserved for our benefit but, it is at its core someone else’s mail.

The Revelation is a continuation of the book of Daniel. In Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 7 Daniel was told that the earth would be ruled by four consecutive empires; Babylon Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. When John wrote the book of The Revelation the first three had come and gone from the stage of History all that was left was The Roman Empire. The judgments pronounced in this book are concerned with that final empire, The Roman Empire, and its final form The Roman Church.

In the English language, the words earth, world, or globe are all interchangeable — most of the time.  At times, the word earth only means rocks and soil as opposed to water. Then there are odd uses as a globe can mean artichoke. The same is true in Greek, oikoumene, in the Bible refers to a sphere of influence. But we often assume that it means the whole planet.

There are several different Greek words that are translated to “world,” oikoumene, get, and kosmos.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world (oikoumene) should be enrolled. Luke 2:1

In Luke, the Greek word is oikoumene, which can be used as the surface of the earth as opposed to the heaven above. However here it means the people who inhabit the Roman empire and specifically excludes the barbarians outside the Empire from the enrollment tax. 

In the book of The Revelation, it becomes clear that once we leave the grand visions of the Throne room, where the whole of the cosmos is nothing but a footstool, the earth is the Roman Earth. 

The book of The Revelation is mostly concerned with the Roman earth or Empire. Everything in the book is Roman. The animal symbol of Rome was a battle horse, the color of the Empire was scarlet, and the capital city of Rome famously sit on seven hills.

Kosmos from which we get our word cosmos, or the whole universe, is usually translated a ‘world.’ It can mean just the planet but, it can also mean all the whole of creation. 

Here are some New Testament references that demonstrate the different uses of earth or world. The green indicates ge, and the red indicates kosmos.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; Matt. 4:8

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Mark 16:15

They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:42

. . . and saw the heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth. Acts 10:11

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Rev. 11:15 

. . . and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. Rev. 13:8 

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. Rev. 17:8

Conclusion

When The Revelation says earth it means the Roman Earth. This book is about the judgment on the Roman Earth. All those nations were at one point part of the Roman Empire. Because we by our very natures tend to be egocentric we assume these judgments and curses are about us. Now don’t get me wrong, when Europe is ground to dust other nations will take a tremendous hit in our economies. But the judgments are not immediately directed at other parts of the earth.