You probably already know this, but earthquakes are seismic events caused by the sudden release of built-up pressure in the earth's crust at plate margins where they cross over. Earthquakes can destroy buildings and infrastructure with devastating effects that often lead to catastrophic loss of life. So I did a little research this week. Three of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history highlight not only their enormous power, but also man's vulnerability to these sudden and unpredictable events. On January 23rd, 1556, in Shanxi Province, China, a catastrophic earthquake occurred that measured magnitude 8.0, which again isn't the biggest. The biggest has been 9.5. But this one was 8.0 on the Richter scale. It devastated a 520-mile-wide area and killed 830,000 people. due to the collapse of poorly constructed buildings as well as caves where many of the people were living. On July 28th, 1976, in Tangshan, China, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake leveled much of the city in seconds. The official death toll was 242,000 people, but it may have been much higher than that. 655,000. Their count was off. And there were at least 700,000 more people that were injured. Catastrophes. Earthquakes can cause tremendous damage. On December 26, 2004, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia in the Indian Ocean. The magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 earthquake caused the death in the initial earthquake itself of 1,117 people. But the tsunami and tidal waves that were triggered because of that that rose up to 100 foot high waves caused unprecedented destruction and an estimated death toll of 230,000 to 260,000 people across 14 countries because of that earthquake. But these three devastating earthquakes, and again, There's a number of them that we could go through. But these three combined pale in comparison to the earthquake that we're going to be looking at this morning in the passage in Revelation. Again, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Revelation 16. We're looking at Revelation 16, the whole chapter, verses 1 through 21. And we see seven bold judgments that are the final outpouring of God's wrath on an unbelieving world that has rejected Jesus Christ. We've seen the seven seals, and within that seventh seal judgment, it opens up to seven trumpet judgments that follow. And then when we got to the seventh trumpet judgment, again, that opens up into these seven final bowl judgments. And now we've come to the seventh one. Thus far, we've already seen the first six bowls. Incurable sores on all the unbelievers, the death of all sea life, the contamination of all fresh water. And again, the oceans and the fresh water are contaminated and kill everything in it because they're all turned to blood. Fourth, the sun's heat scorches all unbelievers, the darkening of Antichrist's world empire. And then we saw the preparation for battle of Armageddon. This morning we're going to be again looking at this seventh bowl judgment, which I call unparalleled devastation and fall of Babylon. Unparalleled devastation and fall of Babylon. Look what John says in verse 17. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, it is done. The seventh bowl judgment is marked by the devastating effects that we will see in verses 17 through 21, which are merely the preliminary overview that sets the stage for what comes after. So what we see in these verses, it sets the stage because the seventh bull will continue as we will see. Notice the target of the seventh bull judgment. The last of the seven last plagues is first upon the air. It's upon the air. or the atmosphere, which is the air that we breathe. As the seventh angel dumps his bowl upon the air, a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne. Which again, as we saw back in the very first verse of chapter 16, this loud voice is the voice of God himself. since no one else was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished, as we saw back in chapter 15 and verse 8. In a loud voice, God solemnly declares at the end of verse 17, it is done. It is done. This one Greek word is in the perfect tense. indicating a completed action with continuing results. The perfect tense of a word means it's a completed action, but it has continuing results to it. And this declaration refers to the whole series of plagues of which this seventh bowl is a part. And with the pouring out of the seventh bowl, the series has come to an end. This is similar to Jesus' final words on the cross. It is finished. It's done. This is God's judgment of Jesus on the cross provided salvation for repentant sinners. So his judgment of the seventh bowl brings doom to unrepentant sinners. This doom is seen in the devastation upon the air or the atmosphere, first of all, in a violent global thunderstorm. Look what John says in verse 18. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. Now stop there. the cosmic disturbances of lightning and thunder, we've already seen earlier in our study. We saw that same cosmic disturbance, lightning and thunder, came out from the throne of God back in chapter four and verse five. Also during the sixth seal judgment, in chapter eight verse five, and the seventh trumpet, chapter 11 verse 19. So again, this is not new to us. When God is bringing judgment, that those previous thunderstorms were mere previews of what we see here. This is a violent global thunderstorm. It's not localized. It's not in the Pacific Northwest. It's not in the Deep South. It's not just over in China. It is global. In the Old Testament, God often brought thunder and lightning as a judgment against His enemies. And so we see this global thunderstorm that is violent. But an additional devastating effect of this thunderstorm is an unprecedented hailstorm. Look down, if you will. I'm going to jump down to verse 21. And huge hailstones, about one talon each, came down from heaven upon men. Now stop there. Hail is one of the most significant hazards of thunderstorms. While it is usually small and relatively harmless, it can grow to be the size of a tennis ball or even larger. And it's very large when there are severe, what they call supercell, thunderstorms. What we're going to see here is the biggest supercell thunderstorm again in the history of mankind. Now, hail can cause severe damage to cars, roofs, trees, crops, as well as personal injury and even death to any people or animals that are out in it when these are very large. Let me give you some statistics about Hale that have been officially recorded in modern history. The largest hailstone had a circumference of 18.75 inches around. It was eight inches across in Vivian, South Dakota in 2010. Although unofficially, on February 8th, 2018, a hellstone 9.3 inches across fell from the sky in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina. The heaviest hellstone weighed two and a quarter pounds. The biggest hell accumulation on the ground was 18 inches deep. over an area of 54 square miles. That's a lot of hell. The deadliest hailstorm caused 246 fatalities, killed 1,600 cattle and sheep, and the costliest hailstorm was over $2.5 billion in damage. But unlike modern-day hell, or the hail storm that we saw as the seventh Egyptian plague. And a lot of these judgments we've compared to the Egyptian plagues as we've gone along. The seventh Egyptian plague was hail. Or even the hail that we saw in the first and seventh trumpet judgment. In chapter 8, 7 and 11, 19. The hell here of this seventh bowl judgment is unparalleled in human history. Notice again in verse 21, the weight of each hell stone is about one talent. Well, how much does a talent weigh? One talent is between 90 and 135 pounds. Each one of these hailstones is a massive rock falling from heaven. The force of these gigantic chunks of ice falling from the sky and impacting whatever they hit is terrifying. The only safe place for people will be either in underground bunkers or reinforced steel structures. Why? Because I'm hiding under a tree. It will just pulverize the tree. You don't have one hillstone there, one hillstone here. They are raining down from heaven. You can only imagine the countless number of men or unbelievers These huge hell stones will fall on and kill. But God will miraculously protect believers from his wrath. And we've seen that as we've gone along. He doesn't protect them from the wrath of Satan and the Antichrist and the false prophet and those who follow him. There will be millions of tribulation saints who are killed during the tribulation. We've seen that already. But God will miraculously protect His people from His own wrath. Now, although the seventh bowl is poured out upon the air, causing a violent global thunderstorm and an unprecedented hellstorm, it also brings devastation to the earth. Look what John says back in the second part of verse 18. And there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth. So great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. Now earthquakes have often been used by God in the Old Testament as a form of judgment. And just as God punctuated His judgment of sin after Christ's death on the cross, you remember He's hanging there, He breathes His last, and then a massive localized earthquake takes place that opens the tombs when many believers come out. This is He punctuated the judgment of sin then. So He will punctuate His final judgment against sinners with this massive global earthquake. During the seven-year tribulation, there will be earthquakes in various places. We're told in Matthew 24, verse 7. We've already seen four of them in chapter six, verse 12, chapter eight, verse five, chapter 11, verses 13 and 19. But the devastation unleashed by this great earthquake of the seventh bowl judgment will be unparalleled. And that's why John tells us Again in verse 18, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth. This is the greatest that anyone has ever experienced. And this earthquake is unique in that, as I said earlier, it is a massive global earthquake. It's not localized. God Himself will shake the entire planet at the same time. And John is so awestruck in a loss of words that he simply calls this great earthquake so great and so mighty. The shaking will be so severe from this global earthquake that the devastating effects not only bring judgment upon unbelievers, but as we will see as we continue to go, this earthquake will also renovate and reconfigure the earth in preparation for Christ's millennial kingdom. Now look what John says in verse 19, and the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fail. Stop there. The great city is a reference here, not to Babylon, not to Rome, but to Jerusalem, which we've already seen clearly identified back in chapter 11, verse 8, as where also their Lord was crucified. Well, where was Christ crucified? the gates of Jerusalem. And although Jerusalem experienced a fairly severe earthquake back in chapter 11, in verse 13, that was localized, it was only partial. It was only a tenth of the city was affected. But notice this great earthquake of the seventh bowl. Judgment will split Jerusalem into three parts. beginning a series of topographical changes to Jerusalem and its surrounding regions that will conclude when Christ returns in glory to earth. These changes are described in detail in Zechariah chapter 14, verses 4 through 10. I'll let you read that on your own. But let me just kind of condense that. What Zechariah tells us is the Mount of Olives will split in two and a new valley will be created that runs east and west between the Mount of Olives. A very large valley, it says. In verse four, a spring of water will flow year round from Jerusalem to both the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. In verse eight, causing the desert to bloom like a rose that we read about in Isaiah chapter 35 verse 1. Also Jerusalem will be elevated while all the surrounding region is flattened into a plain as we read in verse 10 of Zechariah 14. So Jerusalem, the city, will be elevated. It will be raised up Mount of Olives will be split in two. There'll be a year-long stream that runs through. Everything else is flattened. Therefore, this great earthquake will not be a judgment against Jerusalem, but an enhancement, an improvement. I think John MacArthur accurately states, and I quote, the physical changes will prepare Jerusalem for the central role it will play during the millennial kingdom when Christ will reign there as king." But Jerusalem is the only city. Jerusalem's the only city that's spared from God's judgment here. Notice again what verse 19 says, and the cities of the nations fail. This global earthquake will cause all the cities in the world. It's hard to even imagine, throw our mind around it. Every city in the world as the whole planet is being shaken. Every city will collapse in ruins. Untold millions of people will be killed. That's why these most deadliest earthquakes that killed hundreds of thousands of people are like a drop in the bucket. They pale in comparison to this. John then specifically singles out Babylon the Great at the end of verse 19. Look what he says. Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of his rage. as the capital city of Antichrist's final world empire. Babylon the Great is the center of his one world government, his one world false religion. Babylon the Great is the center of promotion of moral perversion and decadence and wickedness. You know, what we observe today is steadily moving us closer and closer towards that time. Therefore, the fall of Babylon is the central teaching of the seventh bowl. Notice Babylon the Great was remembered before God. He was remembered. God is omniscient. He's all-knowing. He doesn't forget anything. But here, he wants us to take note that he remembered Babylon. He knows what is going on. He knows all the evil that she has inflicted on his people and upon the world. Therefore, he is going to give her a special cup of wine in order to drink. And notice what that wine is. It is the wrath of His rage. He has a special outpouring of judgment upon the capital city of the Antichrist. The whole world system, the whole system itself, He will destroy. Now we've already seen Babylon's downfall prophesied back in chapter 14, verse 8, that was looking forward to that time when it was going to happen. And it's mentioned only here in passing. But the fall of Babylon is going to be described in detail along with the battle of Armageddon, which we saw last time was prepared for in the sixth bowl judgment, we're gonna see both of these in chapter 17 through 19 in detail. The final devastating effect of the great earthquake of the seventh bowl judgment is the entire earth's topography being radically changed. Radically changed. Look what John says in verse 20, and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Again, this speaks of topographical changes that are far greater than what we saw back in chapter 6 and verse 14, where we read where every mountain and island were moved out of their places during that judgment. This is far worse. The result of this massive global earthquake is that every island fled away. In other words, this is talking about all of the islands disappear because they sink down into the oceans wherever they are. The islands drop And the mountains were not found, which means they're flattened, they're leveled. All the mountains we have today are going to be leveled. Therefore, the present earth as we know it now will be unrecognizable. Scientist Henry Morris explains, and I quote, the gentle rolling topography of the world as originally created will be restored. No more will there be great inaccessible, uninhabitable mountain ranges or deserts or ice caps. The physical environment of the millennium will be in large measure a restoration of the antediluvian or pre-flood environment." Before the flood, you had this kind of rolling landscape. At the flood is when the continents were tore apart, mountain ranges were thrust up into the sky. This earthquake is going to be used by God to make preparations for the coming millennial kingdom. Remember, it's not only a judgment upon unbelievers, terrifying. and killing countless numbers of people as the earth's topography is radically changed. It's more than that. It also is a remodeling of the earth in preparation for Christ's millennial reign. Because at the end, chronologically, at the end, Christ comes back. And since only Jerusalem gains in elevation, while all the other mountains are lowered, she may be the highest point on earth, making it a very fitting throne from which the Lord Jesus Christ will reign as king. But having seen all of that, having seen all of that, notice what John tells us about the response of all the surviving unbelievers at the end of verse 21. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hill, because its plague was extremely severe. Now, whether the hillstone is part of the thunderstorm, whether you had thunder and lightning, and then you had the earthquake, and then you had another thunderstorm, a supercell beyond description that then dropped 100-pound hillstones. Regardless, again we see the response of these men. Again, as we saw back in verse 2, when it says men here, it's talking about hard-hearted, unpenitent, unbelievers worldwide who are loyal to the Antichrist. They've taken the mark of the beast. They worship the Antichrist. That's whom God is pouring these judgments upon. But notice what they do in all of this. They blaspheme God. We've already seen this. We've already seen this in verse 9 and 11. They curse God. They speak evil against Him. They shake their fist. in the face of God Almighty. Here we see they do this because of the plague of the hail was extremely severe. 100 pound chunks of ice coming down, pouring down out of heaven. I imagine they had a few choice words to say to God about the violent thunderstorm, as well as the global earthquake Why? Because they know these things are coming from Him, that this judgment is coming from God. That's why they curse God. And they respond to this judgment the same way they did back in verses 9 and 11 that we saw last time. They refuse to repent of their sin. They refuse to believe in Jesus Christ, who alone can rescue them from the wrath of God. I think John MacArthur says it best, and I quote, incredibly tortured humanity defiantly remains hardened against God, a truth that should give pause to those who think that signs and wonders will convince people to believe the gospel. Those who reject the wonder, the glory, the majesty of the Son of God who spurned the gracious free gift of salvation will not be convinced by any sign. It is too late for these hardened sinners. They have sold their souls to Satan. They are totally committed to Antichrist's blasphemous, idolatrous, anti-God system. Children of wrath they are, catapulting into hell." John Wolvard, a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, comments, on their hard hearts saying this, and I quote, the utter perversity of human nature, which will reject the sovereignty of God in the face of such overwhelming evidence confirms that even the lake of fire will not produce repentance on the part of those who have hardened their hearts against the grace of God. End quote. And that's not even possible. to repent in the lake of fire. Because after death, there is no second chance. It's the point on man wants to die. After this, the judgment, there is no second chance of salvation. But his point is, they don't, even while they're experiencing the lake of fire. Therefore, the negative response of the surviving unbelievers shows that the thunderstorm, hellstorm, and earthquake do not mark the end of the seventh bowl judgment because they're still alive. They're still alive, and they're cursing God. Remember, the seventh bowl judgment, these verses here, 17 through 21, are merely the preliminary overview that sets the stage for what comes after. The chronological sequence will resume in chapter 19 and verse 11 with Christ coming back to take back this world which rightly belongs to him, to put down his enemies, to establish his kingdom. But that doesn't come until after another background explanation that elaborates on the history and the fall of Babylon, as well as the Battle of Armageddon, which we will begin to see next time in chapter 17, verse 1, all the way through to chapter 19 and verse 10. Let me just say that some scholars agree that the extent of the seventh bowl judgment will finish or complete God's wrath on this present earth immediately before the second coming of Christ. Except for the judgment on the final rebellion of the restored earth right at the end of the millennial kingdom when Satan is released. And again, all the unbelievers at that time, he's gonna rally together and then God will defeat them in an instant. Therefore, these scholars say that the seventh bowl goes through at least chapter 19. At least through chapter 19, when Christ comes back in glory to earth, where the battle of Armageddon is culminated. And then he establishes his millennial kingdom. However, there's other scholars that say that the seventh bowl judgment will sweep away time and history. It only begins at chapter 16, verse 17, which we looked at this morning, and then encompasses all the prophecy all the way through to chapter 22 and verse 5, which include the fall of Babylon, the battle of Armageddon, the casting of Antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire, the final judgment of Satan after Christ's millennial kingdom, the great white throne judgment for unbelievers, and the old heaven and the old earth being destroyed and replaced by the new heaven and the new earth. Those scholars say God's comparable perfect tense declaration In chapter 21, verse 6, they are done. Verse 17, it is done. 21.6, they are done. Again, like bookends. They say that God's comparable perfect tense declarations look back over the completed outpouring of the seventh bowl judgment with a note of finality. It's permanent. It is truly done. There's some different perspectives on the extent of this seventh bowl. How far does it go? Whatever we believe about the extent of the seventh bowl, we know this. It is the final climactic bowl, the last of the seven plagues that will finish or complete the wrath of God. Let me just say a couple things in closing. This passage, again, warns us that the wrath of God against sin is inevitable. It's inevitable. Absolutely no one can stop it from coming. But sinners can't escape it. We can't escape it. Romans 1.8 promises, therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What a promise. The God-man, Jesus Christ, willingly, willingly went to the cross as our substitute. to take upon himself the holy wrath of God against sin. He paid in full the penalty for sin that each one of us deserves because we have not kept the law of God. We have missed the mark. The Bible is very clear. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus died as our substitute to take the punishment we deserved. I like to say He took our hell that we might have His heaven. Therefore, all those who will repent of their sins, who will believe in Jesus alone for their salvation, can escape both God's end times wrath as well as his eternal wrath in the lake of fire. Let me ask you this morning, have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Jesus is the only way of escape from God's wrath. Have you received him into your life? If not, I urge you today to do what you will be glad you did when one day you stand before the Almighty Judge of the universe. And for us as believers, those of us who have already done that, I believe this warning should make us remember that this life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Therefore, may we not store up for ourselves treasures on earth which are all going to be left behind when we die and will one day eventually all be burned when this world is destroyed and God creates a brand new heaven and earth. There's nothing wrong with heaven things, as long as those things don't have us. Instead, right now, we're told in Matthew 6.20, store for yourselves treasures in heaven. Not treasures on earth, but treasures in heaven. And we do this as we faithfully serve the Lord Jesus. by investing our lives, our spiritual gifts, our natural talents, our financial resources as we invest in eternal things. And that is in reaching the eternal souls of the lost, in building Christ's church, and in advancing God's kingdom to the glory of God. Again, let me ask you this morning, are you doing that? One day, we're all gonna stand before the Lord and give an account. He has given us gifts and resources. Everything we have comes from Him. The very breath we have comes from Him. And one day, we're gonna stand and give an account as far as the stewardship of what He has given to us. How are we using that? Are we investing that in eternity? Or are we hoarding that and using that just for the now? Things that will one day be gone. May we all obey Colossians chapter three in verse one through four, which says, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above and not on the things that are on earth, for you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with him in glory.