Devotional 14 April 2025

April 14, 2025 • Steve Torres

Revelation 16:17-18.jpg

“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake." (Revelation 16:17–18, ESV)

The seventh bowl concludes with a declaration from God Himself: “It is done!” These words echo the finality of judgment, the completion of God’s wrath against the covenant-breaking city—Jerusalem. What follows is not merely a natural disaster but a cosmic upheaval: lightning, thunder, and a great earthquake, unlike any before.

This “earthquake” is not simply geological—it is theological. The shaking described here reflects a larger biblical pattern where God disturbs not just the earth but the very systems that people have trusted in. The writer of Hebrews quotes Haggai 2:6–7, reminding us that God promises to “once more” shake not only the earth but also the heavens. Hebrews then clarifies this as the removal of the things that can be shaken—temporary and earthly structures—so that the unshakable kingdom of Christ may remain (Hebrews 12:26–28).

This moment in Revelation is the ultimate shaking—the divine removal of the old covenant system. Jesus had already foretold that the time would come when worship would no longer be tied to Jerusalem or any mountain, but would be in spirit and truth (John 4:21–24). Now, the old is being dismantled so that the new can flourish. Paul, too, draws this imagery in Galatians 4:30, where he speaks of casting out the slave woman, symbolizing the ending of the Sinai covenant.

The earthquake in Revelation is a divine announcement: God’s Kingdom has broken through. The shadows have given way to the substance. The shaking may be terrifying, but for those in Christ, it is the sound of fulfillment—the unveiling of what cannot be shaken.