PMW 2023-054 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

A reader had a question arise regarding a previous article (“Every Mountain was Moved”). I thought his query worthy of a bit more reflection than usually offered in a comment response. He noted regarding Revelation 16:19 that I stated “the cities of the nations” represents Gentile cities, setting them over against Jerusalem. He writes:

MY READER:
“They are distinguished from ‘the great city,’ showing that they are Gentile cities.

But which Gentile cities fell in AD 70? This is clearly simultaneous with the siege and fall of Jerusalem, taking place well after the year of the four emperors (Rev. 16:10-11) and the gathering of Roman troops (Rev. 16:12-16). So it can’t be referring to the Roman civil war. How was this fulfilled?”

MY REPLY:

The falling of “the cities of the nations” could well refer to the destruction caused by the empire-wide upheaval occurring in other cities during the time of the Jewish War. This involves peoples as distant as the Germans and the Gauls (Josephus, Jewish Wars 7:4:2 §76). The world itself is convulsed when God thunders down upon Israel. Even Rome fell into “great internal disorder” when “every part of the habitable earth under [the Romans] was in an unsettled and tottering condition” (J.W. 7:4:2 §79). “Now rebellion and civil war prevailed, not only over Judea, but in Italy also” (J.W. 4:9:9 §545). Tacitus (Hist. 1:2-3) speaks of the horrible state of affairs during the Roman civil wars:

“The history on which I am entering is that of a period rich in disasters, terrible with battles, torn by civil struggles, horrible even in peace. Four emperors fell by the sword; there were three civil wars, more foreign wars and often both at the same time. There was success in the East [i.e., the Jewish War], misfortune in the West. Illyricum was disturbed, the Gallic provinces wavering, Britain subdued and immediately let go. The Sarmatae and Suebi rose against us; the Dacians won fame by defeats inflicted and suffered; even the Parthians were almost roused to arms through the trickery of a pretended Nero. Moreover, Italy was distressed by disasters unknown before or returning after the lapse of ages. . . . Rome was devastated by conflagrations, in which her most ancient shrines were consumed and the very Capitol fired by citizens’ hands. Sacred rites were defiled; there were adulteries in high places. The sea was filled with exiles, its cliffs made foul with the bodies of the dead. In Rome there was more awful cruelty. High birth, wealth, the refusal or acceptance of office — all gave ground for accusations, and virtues caused the surest ruin. . . . Never was it more fully proved by awful disasters of the Roman people or by indubitable signs that gods care not for our safety, but for our punishment.”

Or, if we keep our focus in “the Land” (16:1-2), the fall of the “cities of the nations [“Gentiles,” tōn ethnōn]” could refer to the widespread destruction in Galilee which in Scripture is called “of the Gentiles [tōn ethnōn]” (Isa 9:1; Mt 4:15). First Macc 5 speaks of Galilee as composed largely of heathen peoples (esp. 1 Macc 5:15). As David Rhoades (Israel in Revolution: 6–74 C.E., 1975: 24, 25) notes, this is largely due to three historical facts:

(1) Israel is not “able to completely expel the original Canaanite inhabitants (Jdg 1:30-33; 4:2) and as a result Galilee tended to be racially intermixed.”

(2) “As a result of Assyrian conquests in the area of Damascus and Galilee in 732 BC by Tiglath-pileser ([2Ki] 15:29), more Gentiles were imported into the area while many of the Jewish inhabitants were deported. This naturally led to greater gentile influence and domination in Galilee” (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2:834).

(3) More recently Herod resettled many non-Jews into the area, “which tipped the balance of population in Palestine in favor of non-Jewish residents,” so that “during Herod’s reign, gentile culture was imported and developed in a massive way” (Rhoades 1976: 24–25, 26).

Navigating the Book of Revelation (by Ken Gentry)

Technical studies on key issues in Revelation, including the seven-sealed scroll, the cast out temple, Jewish persecution of Christianity, the Babylonian Harlot, and more.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com