The Second Coming (Part III) The Day of the Lord

"The End of the World" by John Martin

Whilst many dispensationalists are looking to the Second Coming of Jesus as a day of hope where Jesus will lift up believers into heaven to spare them from coming tribulation, the Old Testament clearly warns that the Day of the Lord will be one of darkness, not light:



"Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD?

It is darkness, and not light..." (Amos 5:18)

The Book of Zechariah states that the Day of the Lord would be one of mourning, and associates it with the battle of Armageddon described in the Apocalypse (the word Armageddon is derived from the Hebrew Har Megiddo, which means "hill of Megido"):

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (Zech 12:10-11)

The New Testament similarly presents the Second Coming as a time of fear and mourning:

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Matt 24:30)

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:25-27)

The Old Testament repeatedly affirms that the day of the Lord will be one of judgement, when God will come as a warrior to execute his justice on the wicked by gathering together the nations of the earth for a final and decisive war:

The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.
They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:4-14)

This presentation of God as an eschological warrior is carried forward into the New Testament. Rev 19 depicts Christ at the Second Coming as the warrior-Messiah foretold in the Old Testament, who comes to gather the armies of the earth in the final war of humankind:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Rev 19:11-21)

The above presentation of Jesus as the eschatological warrior-Messiah makes sense out of an otherwise curious statement of Jesus in the Gospels:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matt 10:34)

These volatile words of Jesus refer to his coming at the end-time as the Son of Man described in Daniel, rather than to the fruits of his earthly ministry:

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14)

It is recognised by the vast majority of theologians that when Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of Man, it was in relation to this passage in Dan 7 which describes the presentation of the apocalyptic Son of Man before the throne of the Ancient of Days. This portion of Daniel contains echoes of Rev 20, which recapitulates the battle of Armageddon described in Rev 19:11-21 above and Rev 16:12-16, which form a theological triptych that should be viewed side-by-side:

“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
(Daniel 7:9-11)

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:7-10)

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
(Rev 16:12-16)

Most dispensationalists view the Book of Revelation as being chronologically linear, and tend to distinguish between these various battles described in the Apocalypse as referring to separate events.
But this linear view of the narrative of Revelation impoverishes of it of its rich complexity. Once we recognise that the Apocalypse is arranged in a thematic, rather than chronological order, we are given a major key for interpreting the book.

Whilst the above passages conjure images of despair concerning the Day of the Lord, this is mixed with a message of hope and mercy in its arrival. Before it takes place God will attempt to bring as many people into the fold as possible by sending the Two Witnesses to inaugurate the Second Pentecost before the arrival of the Day of the Lord:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Mal 4:5-6)

The appearance of Christ at the Second Coming will help to draw many more who have not entered into the fold through the Second Pentecost. But as I argue in my book Unveiling the Apocalypse, there may be many who still refuse to acknowlegde that the Parousia of Christ has taken place, either through scepticism, stubborness or delusion - much like how the miraculous appearances of the Our Lady in Egypt are either glossed over by the Western media, or ignored altogether. The private revelations given to St. Faustina by Jesus seem to suggest this possibility. In reference to the "time of mercy" (which can be equated with the Second Pentecost) and the Second Coming, St. Faustina was told to give warning to those who would still refuse to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour after his Paraousia:

Speak to the world about My mercy ... It is a sign for the end times. After it will come the Day of Justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fountain of My mercy. (Diary 848)

I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)

He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice. (Diary 1146).

The Virgin Mary also told St. Faustina of this great and terrible day of wrath:

You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy. (Diary 635).

The Second Coming (Part II) Rapture?

The Prostestant dispensationalist movement forwards the most popular Western view of the Second Coming of Christ. Dispensationalism, which was founded by John Nelson-Darby in the 19th century, often presents a premillennist view which involves a "Rapture" of Christians from earth, followed by a seven-year tribulation. After this tribulation period the Antichrist will be destroyed by Jesus, who proceeds to establish a millennial reign of peace on earth, which will eventually be interupted by Satan, who will be unleashed at the end of the thousand years to attack the kingdom presided over by Christ. This view of the Second Coming is especially prevalent in North America, and has been greatly popularised in recent times by books such as Hal Lindsey's The Late, Great Planet Earth, and Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkin's fictional Left Behind series. There are some variances in premillennism, such as whether the Rapture will occur before, during or after the tribulation period, but that should not concern us too much here.
Whilst some forms of premillennial thought (chiliasm) can be found amongst some of the Church Fathers, it was eventually condemned as heresy in the 4th century and the words "whose kingdom will have no end" was included in the Nicene creed to counter chiliastic beliefs. The idea of a Rapture is unique to dispensationalists however and is only a recent development in Protestant theology based largely on a misunderstanding of 1Thes 4:16-17:


For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 The majority of dispensationalists believe that the Rapture will occur before the tribulation period (pre-tribulationalism) to spare believing Christians from the reign of the Antichrist, who will then return with Christ after the tribulation and leave in peace for a period of a thousand years.
Yet the above passage in 1Thes clearly concerns the resurrection of the dead (or General Resurrection) which takes place at the Last Judgement after the world is destroyed by fire, and should therefore be distinguished from the Second Coming. The Paraousia of Christ on earth is separate from the "Four Last Things" of death, judgement and heaven and hell. The Second Coming will be a visible event seen by all, accompanied by the largest earthquake known to human civilisation - not some sort of invisible and silent Rapture that will secret believers away into Paradise, leaving only sinners to face the wrath of God.
The idea of a Rapture is greatly at odds with Catholic belief, which holds that the Church must undergo the final trial to emulate the crucifixion of Jesus:


The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.(Catechism of the Catholic Church 677)

It is only through this suffering and death that the Church will find its true victory over evil, and just as Christ rose from the dead on the third day, so too will the Church be resurrected after this final trial ultimately results in the destruction of humanity. But through an act of infinite mercy, the Second Coming of Christ is suspended until the Church is purified, and those who have fallen away return through the gift of the Second Pentecost.

Our Lady appears again in Egypt, Alexandria

After the recent persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt on the 9th October 2011, there have been reports of new appearances of the Virgin Mary in Alexandria on Friday 21st October, to the early hours of Saturday morning (see here). I argue in Unveiling the Apocalypse that these events are inextricably bound with the prophecy of the Woman adorned with the Sun described in Rev 12 - which is an apocalyptic retelling of the story of the nativity (see the earlier post Our Lady of Egypt, where I note how the apparitions at Zeitoun first occurred in the exact month that seen a new "slaughter of the innocents" in the spread of the legalisation of abortion):


 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Rev 12:1-6)


Below is a map detailing the journey of the Holy Family during their flight into the wildness according to ancient Coptic tradition (click on the image below and then click again in the link for a close-up view). The map is officially endorsed by the Coptic patriarch Pope Shenouda III. As can be seen on the map, Zeitoun (the place of the first apparitions in Egypt in 1968) is one of the areas which the Holy Family found sojourn in during their escape into Egypt, and Assiut (the location of the apparitions in 2000) is the most southernly point before the return journey. According to Coptic tradition, the Holy Family remained in Egypt for three and a half years before returning to Nazareth after the death of King Herod. So these modern apparitions are re-enacting the path taken by the Holy Family during their escape into the wilderness.

Some rather shakey footage of these apparitions has appeared on youtube:

Could the recent persecution of Christians in Egypt relate to the other part of the prophecy, when Satan goes on to make war against the rest of her offspring after he realises he has been cast to earth?:


Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Rev 12:17)


I'll update this post as and when more news comes through.


See also the related posts:


Our Lady of Egypt
Our Lady of Assiut
The Woman Adorned with the Sun
The Fall of Satan
The Year of the Dragon
Signs in the Sky

The Second Coming Part I

Due to the complexity of the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, it will be necessary to divide this topic into several posts. As can be guessed from reading my earlier post The Eschatological Earthquake, I believe that the return of Christ is intimately connected with the events that will bring about the final consummation of the world. It will herald both the largest earthquake in recorded history centred on or near Jerusalem, which in turn will ultimately result in increased magmatism along the northern faultline of the African tectonic plate and lead to the eruption of the volcano Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands - thus causing the "great mountian, burning with fire", to be thrown into the sea (see the earlier post Mega-tsunami). However I should state from the outset that this is guesswork on my part through a personal interpretation of Scripture - it's not private revelation or anything like that, so I could be wrong! But I do try to base my reasoning on accepted traditions within the Church, aided by insights found in the various writings of Catholic saints and mystics - so bear with me...
Despite being a central doctrine of the Christian faith, the exact nature of the Second Coming of Christ remains shrouded in mystery. There are however a few points on which we can be certain. Jesus will not return to the world in order to engage in another earthly minstry, nor will he be re-incarnated on earth as is sometimes imagined in some popular books and films. The Second Coming will be a non-permenant supernatural event involving the return of the Risen Christ, which will be visible in the sky and able to be witnessed by every living person.


For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:27)


Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Rev 1:7)


The Book of Acts also makes it clear that Christ will return in the same manner as he ascended into heaven.


 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:9-11)


But while the Second Coming will be a glorious event, and is to be welcomed beyond all else (thus the concluding prayer of the Apocalypse is "Marnatha! Come Lord Jesus!" Rev 22:20), there is somewhat of a dichotomy in that it will also be a time of distress and forboding, and there will be much wailing and mourning:


Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Matt 24:30)


The reason for this lamentation is that according to several other biblical passages, the Second Coming will also be associated with the final World War - the battle of Armageddon which will ultimately destroy human life on this planet (which I will discuss later).
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states however, there are several events which must precede the return of Christ in glory - the Great Apostasy (which we are currently enduring), then the coming of the Two Witnesses who preach the Gospel to all nations and convert masses to the faith, including the Jews (which is all part of the Second Pentecost - ignited by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), then the appearance of the Antichrist, who will kill the restorers of the faith sent by God:


Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Maranatha! "Our Lord, come!"
Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, love and peace. According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching.

Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority". This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are "delayed".
The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all".

Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism. 
The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church 668-677)

John Paul II - The Third Secret and a Prophecy of a Mega-tsunami?

Prior to the release of the Third Secret (or perhaps that should be "partial release"?) in the year 2000, many commentators looked to some words attributed to Pope John Paul II on Fatima in an attempt to gain some insight into its content.  The German magazine Stimme des Glaubens reported that the pope had commented on the Third Secret during a conference in Fulda, Germany in 1980. The most striking component of this report was the words: "it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this: if there is a message in which it is written that the oceans will flood whole areas of the earth, and that from one moment to the next millions of people will perish, truly the publication of such a message is no longer something to be so much desired." The language used here, which tells a sudden and abrupt flooding of "whole areas of the earth" by the ocean - an event which will kill "millions", can only describe the aftermath of a mega-tsunami.
The deadiest such event in recorded history was that of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed the lives of around 230,000 people after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. In order to claim "millions" of lives, this event would have to be on a vastly larger scale, and concentrated on densely populated areas. The Indian Ocean tsunami is possibly the greatest in size that can be generated by an earthquake - anything larger can only be caused by massive landslides, such as that of Lituya Bay, Alaska in 1958, which reached a height of 524 metres (but given the confined geography of the lake the effects of this mega-tsunami was limited to a small area). It is these landslide-generated events, known as mega-tsunamis, that produce waves of such devastating heights. And mega-tsunamis with the capacity to cross oceans can only be generated by large-scale volcanic collapses.


The relevant text of the Fulda conference reported in Stimme des Glaubens can be found below:


The Holy Father was asked, "What about the Third Secret of Fatima? Should it not have already been published by 1960?"
Pope John Paul II replied: "Given the seriousness of the contents, my predecessors in the Petrine office diplomatically preferred to postpone publication so as not to encourage the world power of Communism to make certain moves.
"On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this: if there is a message in which it is written that the oceans will flood whole areas of the earth, and that from one moment to the next millions of people will perish, truly the publication of such a message is no longer something to be so much desired."
The Pope continued: "Many wish to know simply from curiosity and a taste for the sensational, but they forget that knowledge also implies responsibility. They only seek the satisfaction of their curiosity, and that is dangerous if at the same time they are not disposed to do something, and if they are convinced that it is impossible to do anything against evil."
At this point the Pope grasped a Rosary and said: "Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray, and ask for nothing more. Leave everything else to the Mother of God."
The Holy Father was then asked: "What is going to happen to the Church?"
He answered: "We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ … With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary."


It must be noted however that there is some dispute as to the legimacy of the Stimme des Glaubens report. Antonio Socci, the author of The Fourth Secret of Fatima, stated in issue 86 of The Fatima Crusader that the Vatican Press Office and Cardinal Ratzinger denied that this meeting took place (see here). However rather curiously, the most recent publication from sources inside the Vatican acknowledges that it did in fact take place. In his book The Last Secret of Fatima, Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State admits that John Paul II did in fact say these words (p48). The Fatima Network website is similarly assured that the Fulda conference did in fact take place, stating:


This report was originally published in German in the October 1981 issue of Stimme des Glaubens. It is given as a verbatim report of the meeting between His Holiness John Paul II and a select group of German Catholics at Fulda during his visit to Germany the previous November. The preface to the article states, "We know the name of the reporter and also that the document is authentic." This translation was made by Rev. M. Crowdy for Approaches Magazine, edited by Mr. Hamish Fraser of Scotland. It was translated from the Italian magazine published in Rome by Father Francis Putti. Both magazines are worthy of our trust. (See the full text here).


So there seems to be some ongoing confusion as to the reality behind these events. Whatever the truth is behind the above words attributed to John Paul II at Fulda, they tie in remarkably well with the various other predictions of a volcano-generated mega-tsunami. We must also question why, given that Cardinal Bertone would undoubtedly know the contents of any "hidden text" of the Third Secret, he did not refute that the Fulda conference took place altogether. If the "hidden text" of the Third Secret did not contain any references to the oceans flooding vast sections of the earth, then it would be immediately obvious to the Cardinal that the Fulda conference was a complete fabrication made by the German press. It would be easier to dismiss that it ever took place rather than attempt to explain the discrepancies between these words and the published text of the Third Secret. Does this implicitly suggest that there is some truth behind the Third Secret containing reference to a future mega-tsunami style event?
We also need to take into account the fact that Pope Benedict XVI wrote the forward to Cardinal Bertone's book, so would undoubtedly have been aware that it included reference to the Fulda conference. It would be highly unlikely that he would fail to correct Cardinal Bertone on this matter if he thought it did not take place. So either the pope glanced over this section (again highly unlikely), or he came across some information which changed his opinion as to whether John Paul II did indeed make these comments at Fulda.


See also the relevant articles:


Megatsunami
The Fourth Secret of Fatima

St. Hildegard and the Flooding of the "Great Nation"

A prophecy attributed to St. Hildegard of Bingen is perhaps the most famous prophecy of a nation being destroyed by tidal waves in private revelation:

Before the comet comes, many nations, the good excepted, will be scourged by want and famine. The great nation in the ocean that is inhabited by people of different tribes and descent will be devastated by earthquake, storm, and tidal wave. It will be divided and, in great part submerged. That nation will also have many misfortunes at sea and lose its colonies. [After the] great comet, the great nation will be devastated by earthquakes, storms and great waves of water, causing much want and plagues. All coastal cities will live in fear, and many of them will be destroyed by tidal waves, and most living creatures will be killed, and even those who escape will die from horrible diseases. For in none of those cities does a person live according to the laws of God.


We should note however that this prediction is most likely of far later origin than St. Hildegard. This prophecy is widely circulated on the internet due to its inclusion by popular books on Catholic prophecy (such as those by Yves Dupont and Desmond Birch), but there are no solid references in any of these works to the original source of this prophecy amongst St. Hildegard’s vast collection of writings. St. Hildegard was a prolific writer, and her works (which include 9 books and over one hundred letters, as well as 70 poems and 72 songs) have been studied extensively by modern historians. The fact that none of these works are referenced amongst the various websites and books which quote the above prophecy should send alarm bells ringing.

There were many prophecies falsely attributed to St. Hildegard during the later Middle Ages, such as those issued by the anti-mendicant movement. Given the lack of reference to the original source and the inclusion of some anachronistic language, it is likely that the above prophecy is one of these later pseudonymous writings.

This leads us to question whether a pseudonymous prophecy can still offer genuine insight into the future. The Catholic Church teaches that anyone can be recipients of genuine prophecy, regardless of their background - either through interior spiritual vision, or through contact with angelic or demonic forces. Pope Benedict XIV summed up this position in his work Heroic Virtue: On the Beatification and Canonization of the Servants of God:

“The recipients of prophecy may be angels, devils, men, women, children, heathens, or gentiles; nor is it necessary that a man should be gifted with any particular disposition in order to receive the light of prophecy provided his intellect and senses be adapted for making manifest the things which God reveals to him. Though moral goodness is most profitable to a prophet, yet it is not necessary in order to obtain the gift of prophecy.”

We must also take into consideration the fact that the use of pseudonyms to link prophecies to illustrious figures from the past was commonplace in apocalyptic literature from its very inception. The Ethopic and Slavonic Books of Enoch are perhaps the best example of this convention, since we can be certain that these writings did not originate with the antediluvian prophet of Gen 5:24. The tradition of naming prophetic texts after heroic figures of the past can also be found in various other apocalyptic and extra-biblical writings - a collection of works known as the pseudepigraphia. In fact the Book of Revelation is noted for being one of the only instances in apocalyptic literature which does not follow this custom. The author instead gives his own name - John.

The use of a pseudonym to attribute mystical writings to noted authorities from the past was employed to gain immediate recognition for the work at hand, rather than relying on the (perhaps non-existent) reputation of the seers themselves. It was also a way of retaining anonymity and dedicating the work to figures of particular inspiration to the writer. So although the above prophecy drops a considerable amount of prestige regarding its provenance, whether or not it is a genuine oracle of St. Hildegard should not detract from the inherent prophetic ability it may still possess.

St. Patrick and the End-Time Flood of Ireland

A well-known prophecy of a nation being destroyed by tidal waves at the end-time can be found in one of the earliest biographies of St. Patrick:

These are the three prayers of Patrick, as they were delivered to us by the Hibernians, entreating that all should be received on the day of judgment, if we should repent even in the last days of our life.

That he should not be shut up in hell. That barbarian nations should never have the rule over us. That no one shall conquer us, that is the Scots, before seven years previous to the day of judgment, because seven years before the judgment we shall be destroyed in the sea, this is the third.

 

This prophecy can be traced back to original documents dating from the 7th century (Tirechan's untitled memoirs of St. Patrick), which are based on the The Book of Ultan - an earlier now lost source written by a disciple of Patrick himself (the full text of Tierchan's work can be found online here). A reader has noted that the prayer that "no barbarian nations" should ever have rule over Ireland, has so far proved true in the fact that it has only ever been conquered by Christian nations. We should also note that the word "Scots" here refers to the Irish people rather than the present sense of the term. The Irish were referred to as Scoti in Latin, and Irish rule over Northern Britain during the Dark Ages gradually saw the term being transferred to that country.

This prediction of the end-time flood of Ireland is often associated with another prophecy attributed to St. Colmcille (who is also known by his Latin name St. Columba).

 

I concede a favour to them without exception,
and St Patrick also did concede the same;
that seven years before the last day,
the sea shall submerge Eirin by one inundation

The above prophecy is believed to be taken from a 9th century document titled Colum Cille cecinit, but so far the earliest source it can be traced back to is O'Kearney, N. The Prophecies of Ss. Columbkille, Maeltamlacht, Ultan, Seadhna, Coireall, Bearcan, Malachy, &tc (Dublin: John O’Daly, 1856) – a book which is known to contain many spurious prophecies formulated as rhetoric for the 1798 Irish rebellion. It is possible that this quatrain is based on an earlier source or tradition, such as the Leabhar Breac, but currently its origins remains untraceable. It is unlikely that the original prophecy was made by St. Colmcille, but instead may have developed from the earlier, almost certainly authentic literature concerning the life of St. Patrick.

The prophecy of Ireland being destroyed by end-time floods is intimately related to the other material in Public and private revelation which tells of an eschatological inundation, and seems to be inextricably linked to the threat posed by the collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja into the Atlantic ocean (see the earlier post Mega-tsunami, where I show how this event is connected with the "great mounatin, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea in Rev 8:8, as well as several other biblical passages).

As we can see from the diagram below, Ireland is one of the countries that would be most affected be a mega-tsunami generated by the collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands.

This would lead us to ask why Ireland seems to be the sole focus of the prophecy of St. Patrick? Why would when there are so many other countries in even greater risk from this catastrophe. One explanation may be found in the fact that this prediction was made almost one thousand years before the discovery of America by the Europeans. The other countries which will be affected by this disaster would simply have been unknown to the saint.

According to Christian prophetic tradition, the tribulation period at the end-time (which includes the reign of the Antichrist) will last for a total of seven years. The fact that the prophecy of St. Patrick foretells that Ireland would be destroyed by the sea seven years before the last day in order to spare the Irish from the reign of the Antichrist therefore suggests that the rule of this end-time tyrant will only take place after the catastrophic flooding caused by the collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja into the sea.




See also the related posts:

Mega-tsunami
The Fall of Babylon
The Casting Down of Mountains
Mega-tsunami Update: Recent seismic activity in the Canary Islands - Cause for Alarm?
The Fall of Rome - A Template of End-Time Events?
The Eschatological Earthquake

The Casting Down of Mountains

Amidst the various apocalyptic sections of the Bible, we find the recurring theme of a mountain being cast into the sea. These portions of the Bible are usually thought to be hyperbolic language used to emphasise the omnipotence of God, since taken literally, mountains cannot be lifted up and thrown into the sea. According to this straightforward interpretation, mountains symbolise strength, immovability and timelessness, and the fact that they are thrown down in the face of the Divine presence highlights God's complete mastery over nature.
Yet this imagery of mountains being cast into the sea may not be as unthinkable as a cursory reading of this material would initially suggest.  Scientists have recently shown how mountains can quite literally be cast into the sea by large-scale lateral volcanic collapses - events which can generate one of the most extreme natural occurrences known to science - so-called mega-tsunamis. A mega-tsunami event can produce a tidal wave capable of achieving enormous heights of between 100-300m, with the potential to completely obliterate entire cities. While these types of  events are extremely rare, they have happened many times in pre-history, as has been shown by countless geophysical surveys around the world. As I discuss in the previous article Mega-tsunami, some prominent geophysicists believe that the next such large-scale volcanic collapse will occur at Cumbre Vieja on La Palma in the Canary Islands, which will produce a mega-tsunami that will devastate the east coast of the Americas, as well as parts of Africa and Western Europe.
As I argue in my book Unveiling the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation foretells that such an event will bring about the downfall of "Babylon" - the ruling empire at the end-time, and will pave the way for the rise to power of the Antichrist.
There are many passages in the Bible which describe mountains being thrown down, and these verses are variously associated with the Second Coming of Christ, the eschatological earthquake, volcanic eruptions and visions of massive coastal flooding.  I will list each of these biblical passages below to allow the reader to read all the relevant biblical passages side-by-side; and for ease of navigation, will link each passage to the associated pages on this site which give a more in-depth commentary:


The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. (Rev 8:8)

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ― So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more… (Rev 18:21)


For further commentary on these verses, see the article Mega-tsunami.


“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord." (Jer 51:25-26)

"How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves." (Jer 51:41-42)

"When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her..." (Jer 51:63-64)

For further commentary on these verses, see the article The Fall of Babylon.

The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. (Nahum 1:5-6)

For further commentary on this passage, see the article A Mega-tsunami Prophecy in the Book of Nahum?


God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels.
He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD?
Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation? You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah
You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high...
...You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.
(Hab 3:3-10; 15)

For further commentary on this passage, see the article Parousia, Eschatological Earthquake and Mega-tsunami Connections in Habakkuk?

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth... (Dan 2:34-35)




And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” (Dan 2:44-45)




For further commentary on the above passages, see the article Nebuchadnezzar's dream.




“For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind. He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water. Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. "He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters." (2 Sam 22:5-17)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article King David's Vision of the End-time?


And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you, “‘How you have perished, you who were inhabited from the seas, O city renowned, who was mighty on the sea; she and her inhabitants imposed their terror on all her inhabitants! Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall, and the coastlands that are on the sea are dismayed at your passing. “For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezek 26:17-21)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article Mega-tsunami Prophecies in the Book of Ezekiel?


I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the LORD of hosts is his name.
And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’
Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.
(Isa 51:15-17)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article The Two Towers and the Sixth Seal.



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. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. (Rev 16:17-21)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article The Eschatological Earthquake.


Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. (Psalm 97:3-5)


Then Job answered and said: “Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; (Job 9:1-9)




Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm. (Isaiah 17:12-13)




Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Psalm 46:2-3)


Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
(Mark 11:23)


“But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place; the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man. (Job 14:18-19)


For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. (Mic 1:3-4)




The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:14-17)


And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
(Luke 23:26-31)


“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves..." (Luke 21:25)




The Lord GOD of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt; who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth — the LORD is his name. (Amos 9:5-6)




But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will be against his brother.  With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
(Ezek 38:18-23)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article Mega-tsunami Prophecies in the Book of Ezekiel?


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. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. (Rev 16:17-21)


For further commentary on this passage, see the article The Fall of Babylon.


 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
 “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?” He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
(Zech 4)


Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
(Psalm 144:5-8)

For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
And I will heap disasters upon them...(Deut 32:22-23)

The Fall of Babylon

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!" (Rev 18:2)


“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord." (Jer 51:25-26)


"How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves." (Jer 51:41-42)

The description of the fall of Babylon is perhaps the most detailed single narrative thread of the Book of Revelation. Spread over three chapters, we are told of the rise and fall of this eschatological world empire, and the horror and disbelief of the surrounding nations as they watch its destruction unfold "in a single hour" (Rev 18:10). Above all, it is the earth's merchants that lament its loss, as the abundant riches it poured into their bloated coffers are no more, and the rest of the world is sent spiralling into economic chaos.
As we noted in an earlier post (see here), a common theme in the descriptions of the downfall of Babylon in the Bible is the throwing down of mountains. An angel casts a large mill stone into the sea to demonstrate how Babylon would be thrown down, which intentionally reflects the "huge mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea in Rev 8:9. The falling of mountains is a stock motif in apocalyptic imagery. We can find it for example in the famous verse in Isa 40:4, which describes every mountain being laid low. Jesus brings up this theme during his enacted parable of cursing the fig tree (which represents the withering of Israel, before it is allowed to put forth its leaf once again at the end-time to indicate that "summer is near" cf. Mark 13:28):

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
(Mark 11:23)


But we find that has a particular significance in the downfall of Babylon.  For example when we are told that God remembers to punish Babylon for its transgressions after the eschatological earthquake in Rev 16:19, we are immediately given a variation of this theme, where islands flee away, and no mountains are to be found:


The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. (Rev 16:19-20)


In the original Greek of the above text, the word translated as "every" here is actually the Greek word pasa, which means "all", "entire", or "whole" (the Greek word for "every" is kathe), and the word for "island" is used in the singular nesos, rather than plural nesoi. So the above verse is better translated as "And the whole island fled away, and the mountains were not to be found". Translated in this manner, the verse conjures imagery of a lateral collapse such as that which is expected to occur at Cumbre Vieja.
The Apocalypse borrows imagery from various OT sources in its depiction of the fall of Babylon, and is particularly reliant upon chapter 51 of the Book of Jeremiah in this instance. As we can see above, Jer 51:42 curiously describes the landlocked ancient city of Babylon as being destroyed by the sea. The author of the Book of Revelation seems to perceive that these words of Jeremiah transcend their immediate context, and foreshadow events to come at the end of the age. A destroying mountain which "destroys the whole earth" becomes a burning mountain which is rolled down from the crags (the original Hebrew word "serepah" used here also allows the present participle "burning", and it is translated as such in the Recovery Version of the Bible: "Indeed, I am against you, O mountain of destruction, Declares Jehovah, Which destroys the whole earth; And I will stretch out My hand upon you And roll you down from the rocks And make you a burning mountain.").
Shortly after in the same chapter, we are told that Babylon is covered by the sea, in Jer 51:42 (quoted above), and again in Jer 51:54-56:


“A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon..."


Then again shortly thereafter, Jeremiah instructs his messenger Seraiah to physically enact a prophecy on his approach to Babylon which is highly reminiscent of the angel casting the millstone into the sea in Rev 18:21:


"When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her..." (Jer 51:63-64)


These various biblical images of mountains being cast into the sea strongly resemble the computer models developed in consultation with the geophysicists behind the Canary Island mega-tsunami hypothesis, such as we can see in the video below:

It is interesting to note that in a later article issued to defend their findings in the face of some objections to the extent of the predicted collapse of Cumbre Vieja, Ward and Day together with supporting geophyicists Bill McGuire and Christopher Kilburn stated that if anything, their original estimates were conservative (McGuire, B; Day, S; Kilburn, C; Ward, S.N. “Volcano collapse-generated megatsunamis: Fact or Fiction?”. See the full article here). So the projected devastating effects of this unparalleled disaster could be even worse than that presented in the above documentary.

It is also interesting to note that the "funeral dirge" of Babylon described in Rev 18 is based on the destruction of the Phoenician city of Tyre by the sea foretold in Ezek 27:

“Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall. At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes, and down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the land and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes; they make themselves bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist, and they weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning. In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you and lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea? When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk with you. All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and the hair of their kings bristles with horror; their faces are convulsed. The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.’” (Ezek 27:26-36)

The fact that this passage is alluded to in the Apocalypse again suggests that it transcends its immediate context and gives us a glimpse of events unfolding at the end-time. Compare the above passage with Rev 18:

They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!” The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?” And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. (Rev 18:10-19)

The fact that the author of the Apocalypse based the lamentation over the fall of the eschatological "Babylon" on this account in Ezekiel suggests that we should look to this text to find supplementary material to compliment the account given in Rev 18. When we do so, we find that the means of the downfall of Tyre - that it would be destroyed by the sea, is the most notable complimentary addition we can make. Taken together with the description of the angel casting the millstone into the sea in Rev 18:21 saying: “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more” (Rev 18:21), therefore strongly suggests that "destruction by sea" is the most significant theme to be gleaned from both texts.