When the
Mountains
Fall.......
                                                                            By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                            August 21, 2019
     "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done [finished; completed; over].    
     And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
     And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.  
     And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.  
     And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: [75 to 100 pounds] and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great," Revelation 16:18-21.  
Introduction
     I have suspected for several years that the making [Revelation 21:5 ]of the new heavens and the new earth would closely follow the same pattern set forth in Genesis 1 & 2; the Creation Week, when God "created the heaven and the earth" at the "beginning."    Now through much earnest prayer and serious Bible study, the pieces of this puzzle have been brought together for me.  
      To say that I have been amazed at the majestjy and wisdom and power of Almighty God, in what He has graciously revealed, is a gross understatement.  As much as the Lord God allows and makes possible, I want to share these amazing truths with the readers of this study.  
The End of the Tribulation Period
     These Scriptures I have used as a text for this study are the Scriptures  describing the end of the Tribulation Period.  In the vision given to John, this is where the Tribulation ends; Rev. 16:17-21,  The chapters which follow, 17 thru 22, set forth additional details of persons, groups,  and events which have a role during the Tribulation, or which will be fulfilled  following the end of the Tribulation.
         Yes!   The visible, bodily,  return of Christ, and the Battle of Armageddon are set forth in Revelation 19.   I understand quite well that most commentators and prophecy teachers, based on Ezekiel 38-39, believe and teach that it is the Battle of Armageddon which brings the Tribulation Period to a close.  But regardless of how many believe this,  it just isn't so!  The Lord Jesus Himself clearly stated that it would be "Immediately AFTER the Tribulation of those days....." that He will visibly and bodily return, and wage war against His enemies, Matthew 24:29-35.  Revelation 19:11-21 confirms this truth.  This latter Scripture reference is definitely set forth in the Word AFTER the end of the Tribulation set forth in 16:18:21.    
     Now folks, God's inspired Word DOES NOT contradict itself. Those commentators and prophecy teachers who don't want to believe this, and change their views, may want to tear these Scriptures in Matthew 24 out of their Bibles and say that the Lord was either mistaken, or He lied!  Which will it be?   Or, will our readers accept the truth as laid out in God's Word?  
     The truth is that when the last vial [bowl] of God's wrath  poured out by the 7th angel has been fulfilled, the Tribulation will be concluded.  And this is witnessed by the Lord God Himself as He cries out from His throne in the temple in Heaven, "It is done," Rev. 16:17.  [Finished, completed, brought to an end].  So then what happens?  
All Things Made New
     This truth is clearly stated in Rev. 21:5, in the additional details shown to John.   I want to emphasize to our readers that our gracious and all wise God always makes preparation in advance for what He has planned for the  future "ages to come."  When the Tribulation ends, there will still be a    "remnant"  of redeemed mankind in their natural bodies, who will have survived the Tribulation. Some provision must be made for them, if the human race is to continue upon the earth throughout "the ages to come."   Oh yes!  In spite of what some readers may have heard or been taught, the human race WILL NOT cease to exist during, or at the end, of the  Tribulation Period.  From "the beginning" God intended that mankind should live "for ever" upon the earth, and so will it be, Ecclesiastes 3:14.  
     So what is the preparation that God will make for the redeemed "remnant" of mankind who has survived the Tribulation?    I'm so glad you asked!
The Background  
    In these Scriptures setting forth the end of the Tribulation, there will be absolute chaos in the heavens above the earth, Matthew 24:29; Rev. 16:18.  This same truth is described in many of the Old Testament prophecies.  This will  obviously be caused by the Lord God sending a gigantic planet, asteroid, or some other heavenly body flying close past the earth, just as the Lord predicted in Matthew 24:35.  The expression, "pass away," in this Scripture, should have been translated as "pass by" or "fly past."  Check it out for yourself in a Greek Lexicon.  
     The results of this close fly-by, directed by the Lord God Himself,  will cause the entire earth to shake like it has never previously shaken; the greatest earthquake mankind will have ever experienced, Rev. 16:18; Isaiah 2:19-21; 13:13; 24:18; Ezekiel 38:20; Haggai 2:6-7; 2:21; Hebrews 12:26-27.    
     John was explicitly told that this great earthquake would result in "every island" on the earth disappearing, and "the mountains were not found," Rev. 16:20.  Every reader surely knows that every natural island on earth, is nothing but the top of a mountain sticking above the surface of the sea or ocean.   Obviously then, if the mountains disappear, as clearly stated in Rev. 16:20, then the islands will also disappear.   
     Does this Scripture in Rev. 16:20 literally mean what it says?  Yes it does!
     And now I want to tell our readers why.....
     More Background
     Are our readers aware that there were no mountains on the earth before the flood in the days of Noah?   That's right!  None!  
     A careful study of the Creation Week in Genesis 1 & 2, clearly states that after the earth, as originally created by God in Genesis 1:1, was brought into a state of waste and desolation [tohu waw bohu] by the "anointed cherub" [Satan], it was "without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep," Genesis 1:2.  
     The surface of the earth was  totally covered by water.  This may have been frozen water, making the earth at that time a bitterly cold, dead, dark, frozen planet in space.  As we look at the solar system today, we see one or more planets in this exact condition, so it is highly possible this was the condition the earth had been brought into  in Genesis 1:2.  
     But the Lord God had plans for this particular planet.  So  He immediately proceeded to resurrect the earth from beneath the waters in which it was buried, and restore the earth to a living and habitable condition.
     Since the whole surface of the earth was covered by water, obviously the Lord could do nothing with earth's surface unless the massive amount of excess water was removed.  So on the second day of the Creation Week, the Lord removed all excess or unneeded water from off the face of the earth, Genesis 1:6-8.  He did this by suspending the excess water high in space above and around the earth.  This suspended excess water,  likely took the form of frozen ice rings, even like we see around some planets in the solar system today.  
     On Day Three [Genesis 1:9-13] of the Creation Week, God then placed all of the water left on the earth in "one place," causing the land surface to appear.  This means that the entire earth was just one piece of land with only one sea located somewhere on the earth's surface.  
     Wow!  What a great vast expanse of  earth God had created  for the use of mankind, whom He was about to create.   There were no continents divided by great expanses of water.  75 percent of the earth was not covered by water, as it is today.  Adam and Eve, and their descendants had the whole vast earth available to use for themselves and for the glory of God.  And the earth  remained this way right up to the time of the flood in the days of Noah.  By studying the chronology of the descendants of Adam, it can be determined that this was a period  of 1,656 years from the creation of Adam to the flood.    
Then Judgment Came.....
     Mankind before the flood showed their gratitude to God for the beautiful earth He had made for them, by turning away from God, and corrupting themselves in every imaginable sin, wickedness, and evil, Genesis 6:5; 6:11-12.  
     Therefore God determined to destroy all of mankind, with the exception of Noah, who had continued to love and live for and worship the Lord, in spite of what the wicked world around him was doing.  Should this be an example for those of us who are living today, in a repetition of "the days of Noah?"   Every honest reader knows it should!  
     But what kind of judgment had God determined to use to pour out upon the wicked world of Noah's day?  He told Noah that He would cause it to rain water upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and would destroy wicked mankind from off the earth.  But how was the Lord God going to fulfill this judgment?  
      Up to that time in human history, no rain had fallen from the sky upon the surface of the earth.  Mankind back then likely didn't even know that water could fall from the sky, and so refused to believe Noah's preaching,   Genesis 2:4-6; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 2:5.  
God's Solution to the Problem
      Where was the Lord God going to get all of the water needed to produce such rain and a flood upon the earth?    
     Ah ha!  Because God knows the end from the beginning, Acts 15:18, He had already made preparation in advance, for just such a flood of judgment to be poured out upon the wicked.  What did God do?  I highly suspect He sent some huge heavenly body, such as a planet or giant asteroid, to crash into the ice rings frozen in space around the earth.  The broken ice then fell, by the force of gravity, to the surface of the earth.  And as the ice fell through the atmosphere of the earth, it melted into water, and for forty days and nights the water came down upon the earth as a deluge, falling out of the heaven above the earth. The Lord God had all the water He needed, already reserved in space, to fulfill His warning of the flood  given to Noah. How great is our God!    Problem solved!  
Another Problem
     But what was God going to do with that much excess water upon the earth?  Would He lift it back into the heavens again, as He did in Genesis 1:7?  No!  This time God had something different in mind for storing all of that excess water.  
     Right here let's think for a moment about the "mountains" we see all over the earth today.  
     Is it just "coincidence" that the first time "mountains" are even mentioned in God's Word is in Genesis 7:20, during the course of the flood?  There is not a Scripture even mentioning "mountains" existing on the earth prior to the flood in "the days of Noah."  None!  
     Rather,  prior to the flood, there was also only one great land mass, and one body of water located somewhere [?] on the earth, Genesis 1:9-10.  There were no vast oceans, nor seas, like we see on the earth today.  So what was God going to do with all of the excess water that had fallen upon the earth during the flood?  Simple for Almighty God!  
     The Lord God began digging!  He began constructing the beds of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the numerous smaller seas upon the earth.  He did this by removing enough of the surface of the earth to provide storage for all of the excess water that had fallen during the flood.   
    But the removal of all that land surface created yet another problem.  What was God going to do with all of the ground that He was removing to make the ocean and sea beds?  There are some very deep places in the oceans and seas, so a lot of soil had to be removed from such places.  What was God to do with it?  Was it simply to be piled up on the dry land surface?  Yes it was!  That is exactly what God did with all of the excess ground that He removed to make the sea and ocean beds.  He piled it up on the surface of the continents.....in the form of mountains.  
     Have our readers ever thought about how much soil, sand, gravel, rock, and other material there is in just one great mountain?   Just one huge mountain weighs millions [or billions] of tons.  Such a mountain shaken down and spread out level would cover hundreds, or thousands, of acres of land upon the earth.   Dear readers, there are thousands of such mountains located all over the earth's surface today.  Consider them as deposits of excess soil removed from the earth to form the ocean and sea beds in order to store the excess water left over from the flood in "the days of Noah."  Glory to God!  How great and awesome is our God!  
     The Question?
     But the question arises.....how did God change the ground He was removing  into mountains?  
     Take a careful look at the mountains and the question will be answered.  Thousands of mountains all over the earth were obviously formed by volcanic eruptions.  But not all!  Some mountains were pushed up by tremendous pressure when the earth was being "divided" in the days of "Peleg" shortly after the flood, Genesis 10:25; 11:16-19.   When two continental plates slam into each other as they are being moved, the result is that the ground in the area where they collide will be instantly pushed up in  piles which can be hundreds or thousands of feet high.  Presto!  New mountains!  
A Final Small Problem
       But even after carving out  the ocean and sea beds to the extent the Lord God wanted [Job 38:8-11], there was still  too much water.  So the lord God briefly stopped the earth from spinning on it's axis for a few moments, or perhaps just a few seconds.  Folks, the earth is a round sphere, which is spinning in space at approximately 1,000 miles per hour.
What this means in relation to the earth, is that, due to centrifugal force,  the waters on or near the Equator are piled up higher than the waters farther away from the Equator.  This causes the waters both to the North and South of the Equator to become shallower the farther they go away from the Equator.   Now it has been demonstrated in labs that when a sphere is suddenly stopped, all of the water piled up at the center, held in place by centrifugal force, will instantlly gravitate to the top or bottom of the sphere.  
     So in order to get rid of the excess water left over from the filling of the seas and oceans, the Lord God just suddenly stopped the earth from spinning on it's axis.  This sudden stop caused all of the excess water to rush to the North and South poles of the earth, where the Lord God instantly froze it in place as the icecaps on the North and South poles of the earth.  Glory!  What a powerful and majestic God we believer's serve.
     Today, millions, or even billions, of gallons of excess water is frozen in the ice caps at the North and South Poles, awaiting God's further use of it.
     Glory to God!   The Lord God is never taken by surprise, and knows exactly what will be needed in any situation that will arise in human history.  Problem solved!  
Back to the End of the Tribulation
     Now keeping this background in mind, let's go back to the end of the Tribulation Period as recorded in Revelation 16:18-21.  
     In these prophetic Scriptures we are explicitly told that "...every island fled away, and the mountains were not found...," Revelation 16:20.   Dear readers, this means exactly what it says, for it is repeated elsewhere in the inspired Word.  
     Isaiah 54:10 states clearly, "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed..."   
     In Ezekiel 38:19-20 is a companion passage to Rev. 16:18-21, both passages describing the end of the Tribulation Period.  In 38:20  we read, "...and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground."  
     Wow!  More Problems!
     It should be easy for our readers to understand that when the mountains are removed, the islands of the earth will disappear, for the islands are just the tops of mountains  rising above the surface of the oceans and seas.  But why is the Lord God going to remove the mountains?  And what is He going to do with all of the soil, sand, gravel, rock, and other materials contained in each and all of the mountains presently sitting on the face of the earth?  Haven't our readers put the pieces of the puzzle together yet?  
     In his vision, John explicitly states, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea," Rev. 21:1.  
     Now let's look at some Scriptures which are generally ignored or overlooked by a lot of God's people.  
     Psalm 78:69....."And He built His sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He hath established for ever."  
     Psalm 104:5....."Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever."  
     Ecclesiastes 1:4....."One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever."  
     The very fact that John was inspired of God to say, "...and there was no more sea." clearly implies that John was still looking at the same planet, after it had been made "new" by God.
       Now turn in your Bible and read Psalm 102:25-26.  By the time the Tribulation is over, the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom of Christ is completed, and the Great White Throne Judgment has taken place, Father God in  Heaven will consider that which is on the earth, as being "old garments" and "As a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed."   Almighty God is going to "renew" the face of the earth, Psalm 104:30.  
      Isn't this the process God begins right as the Tribulation Period is ending?  The "mountains" vanish, and are "not found," Rev. 16:20.  Where do the mountains go?  
     The Lord God is going to take all the billions of tons of soil, sand, gravel,  rock, and other material contained in the thousands of mountains on the earth, and fill up the beds of the seas and oceans, making the whole earth just one gigantic piece of land again, just like it was before the flood.  At the same time, He will be removing the waters from the seas and oceans, and  placing those waters back in the heavens again, as beautiful ice rings frozen in space around the earth.   Ultimately when the Lord God completes this whole work, which He begins as the Tribulation is ending, there will indeed be "a new heaven and a new earth," which our great and gracious God will have created on the same planet He created "in the beginning."   Glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  
     Now read the inspired PROOF of what I have just set before our readers...
     Psalms 46:2-3....."Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
     Though the waters thereof roar, and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.  Selah."  
     Conclusion
     There it is folks.  The mountains will "be carried into the midst of the sea."   
     "And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And He said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful," Rev. 21:5.  
      Oh, glory to God!  What a mighty God we believers have to love, serve, pray to, and worship.  And what a glorious future the Lord has planned for us in "the ages to come," Ephesians 2:7.  
     Dear reader, if you are not truly saved, you are going to miss all that God has prepared for His people.  Please read 2 Peter 1:10-11, and ask God in prayer to grant you the grace to believe, and "make your calling and election sure."  Read Ephesians 2:8-10, John 3:16-18, and John 14:6 for God's only way of salvation.  I want to meet every reader in Heaven, and the Lord Jesus is coming SOON for His people.  Please! Hurry!  Seek and receive the Lord Jesus NOW as your Savior.
     May the Lord God of Heaven add His blessings to this Bible study!  
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
     This study may, or may not, be my last study to write.  Whether it is or not is all in God's hands.  I have been writing out the great truths of God's Word now for the past ten years, and I have no desire to stop until I hear the sound of the Trumpet calling me home to glory.  
     But this study, and several studies preceding it have indeed been labors of love.  I am not saying this to show priide or promote myself in any way.  Rather, I have written the last several studies, including this one, using a magnifying glass to see what I was typing on the computer screen.  My eyesight is just about gone!  Unless the Lord touches and heals my eyes, and restores my eyesight I will SOON be forced to stop writing.  And it nearly breaks my heart to tell my readers this, but I do desperately need your prayers for my eyesight.  Please!  Okay?  God bless you all.  
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     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.....Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL.......francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE.....573-202-6493
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