What Is the Great Earthquake?

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In the book of Revelation, John mentions an earthquake at the end of the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. Is this a prophecy of a real earthquake that signals that the end has come? Do these prophecies predict suffering through earthquakes that believers have to endure?

For John, the earthquake is an image of the end. The relevance of the Old Testament and Jewish tradition of the eschatological earthquake makes this a powerful symbol of God revealing himself in power and glory, in judgment and vindication. John expects that God, whose voice shook Mount Sinai, will at the end once again shake heaven and the earth. The eschatological earthquake is not a sign of the approaching end: it is the end.

Will this earthquake be a literal event? Since the earthquake of Mount Sinai was a physical phenomenon, and since John’s readers in Asia Minor were all too familiar with real earthquakes, wreaking havoc on their cities, it is very plausible that the end will begin with a violent earthquake. Since the Old Testament writers also used the earthquake as a symbol of God’s revelation, power, and judgment, we cannot be certain, however

Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (p. 243). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.

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