Chapter Eighteen/Earthquakes in the Lord's Day - "The Heavens" -Departs

 John's vision continues: "And the heaven departed as a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and every island were removed from their places." (Revelation 6:14) Clearly, these are not the literal heavens or the literal mountains and islands. But what do they symbolize?

 Regarding "the heavens," we are helped in our understanding by similar prophecy that tells of Jehovah's rage against all the nations.  "And all of those of the army of the heavens must rot away.  And the heavens must be rolled up, like a book scroll." (Isaiah34:4) Edom in particular must suffer. How? She was overrun by the Babylonians soon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. At that time, there were no outstanding events recorded as happening in the literal heavens. But there were catastrophic events in Edom's "heavens." Her human governmental powers were abased from their elevated heavenlike position. (Isaiah 34:5) They were "rolled up" and put aside, as it were, like an old scroll that was no longer of any use to anyone.

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