La Palma and the "Burning Mountain" of Revelation

As regular readers of this blog will be fully aware, one of the major hypotheses I forward in my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, is that the "great mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea in Rev 8:8 foretells a volcanic lateral collapse in the Canary Islands. Since the first edition of my book was published in 2011, I have specifically pointed to the threat posed by the volcano Cumbre Vieja in La Palma (see here for an earlier post on this subject dating back to 2011). It thus seems to be beyond coincidence that Cumbre Vieja has recently saw a surge of seismic activity, beginning on 7th October, 2017 - the Feast of the Holy Rosary, just over a week after the expiration date of the 40 day "Sign of Jonah" period, which began with the Great American Solar Eclipse on 21st August, 2017.

The fact that Cumbre Vieja now appears to be showing signs of a possible imminent eruption has rattled a fair number of people familiar with my work, and there are even serious concerns among many others who are unfamiliar with this particular theory. So I thought I should take some time here to explain why I don't think we need to resort to an alarmist interpretation of this hypothesis just yet, as according to the timescale I present in the book, there are many other events which have to occur before this cataclysm will eventually take place. This is the primary reason why I tried to avoid linking this specific threat with the conditional chastisement at the end of the 40-day "Sign of Jonah" period, since I believe that there is still some time left before the true threat from Cumbre Vieja comes into play. Instead, I suspect that the true threat at this particular moment in time stemmed from North Korean nuclear crisis, which peaked within the timeframe associated with the 40 days from the Great American Solar Eclipse, and quickly eased off again after 30th September, 2017, when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that a "back-channel" of communication had been opened in order to ease diplomatic tensions. Hopefully this period saw the peak in the level of heated rhetoric between America and North Korea, as the only options beyond this current nuclear impasse are too terrible to contemplate.

I will try to outline some of the reasoning behind the chronology concerning the Cumbre Vieja event below, after we give a brief overview of the current ongoing activity in the Canary Islands. A short extract from the Daily Express helps to summarize these recent events:

LA PALMA volcano’s red-hot magma has risen after its recent flurry of earthquakes causing the ground on the Canary Islands to “significantly” rise above ground level, experts said.
Volcano experts discovered the ground in the area surrounding local hotel Teneguia Princess hotel has risen by about 1cm to the south and 3.5cm upwards over the past year, according to GPS sensors regulating ground deformation. The shocking results from the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) come after the archipelago was rocked by two separate seismic swarms in the area surrounding the deadly Cumbre Vieja. 
One of the world's leading experts in volcanology, Professor Takeshi Sagiya, from the Nagoya University, described the GPS data as ”significant". He said the recorded change in height looked significant compared with the changes in the last year. Volcano experts discovered the ground in the area surrounding local hotel Teneguia Princess hotel has risen by about 1cm to the south and 3.5cm upwards over the past year, according to GPS sensors regulating ground deformation. The shocking results from the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) come after the archipelago was rocked by two separate seismic swarms in the area surrounding the deadly Cumbre Vieja. 
One of the world's leading experts in volcanology, Professor Takeshi Sagiya, from the Nagoya University, described the GPS data as ”significant". He said the recorded change in height looked significant compared with the changes in the last year.
(Read the full article here)


Many prominent geophysicists believe that when this lateral collapse does eventually unfold, it will generate a mega-tsunami that will devastate the East Coast of the Americas. An event which I argue in the book will bring about the collapse of the United States as a superpower, and ensure the rise of the Antichrist to global dominance.

In the first edition of my book, I had argued that the mountain being thrown into the sea mentioned in Rev 8:8 occurs as a direct consequence of the eschatological earthquake in Jerusalem, based on several key passages found in Scripture. The burning mountain being thrown into the sea indicates the judgement which is meted out on the eschatological world empire "Babylon", symbolised by the angel casting a millstone into the sea in Rev 18:21:

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)

The Apocalypse itself closely associates the judgement of Babylon with the occurrence of the eschatological earthquake in Jerusalem:

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. (Rev 16:17-20)

The Greek phrase καὶ πᾶσα νῆσος ἔφυγεν rendered here as "every island fled away" can also be translated as "the whole island disappeared" (the word pasa can mean either "every" or "whole"), which better fits with the other material related to the judgement of Babylon found in the Apocalypse. If this passage is related to the "great mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea, then we can see how the description of the disappearance of an entire island could be explained by a large-scale volcanic eruption, which would be possible if it was equivalent on the Explosivity Index to that at Krakatoa in 1883, or Thera (Santorini), circa 1600BC (see my earlier post The Santorini Eruption and the Apocalyptic Plagues of Exodus).

The above connection between the eschatological earthquake and the millstone judgement being wrought upon Babylon is further implied by related material found in the Old Testament. In the Book of Ezekiel, the eschatological earthquake is similarly connected to the casting down of mountains, and is set within a section of material bearing the immediate context of the gathering of the armies of the world for the battle of Armageddon:

"Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 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." (Ezek 38:17-22)

The splitting apart of the "great city" during the eschatological earthquake in Rev 16:17-20 alludes to  material found in the Book of Zechariah:

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
(Zech 14:1-8)

This description of light appearing during the evening and living waters flowing out of Jerusalem after the occurrence of the eschatological earthquake recapitulates an earlier passage in Zechariah. A block of material which has been explicitly identified with the appearance of the Sign of the Son of Man by several Early Church Fathers, including St. John Chrysostom and St. Cyril of Jerusalem.

"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)

"On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." (Zech 13:1)

According to the Early Church Fathers, this portion of the Book of Zechariah was directly related to the conversion of the Jews at the end of the age during the appearance of the Sign of the Son of Man. The Catechism teaches that the conversion of the Jews must take place before the Second Coming of Christ.

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". (CCC 674)

So if the timing of the eschatological earthquake directly coincides with the appearance of the Sign of the Son of Man over Jerusalem, and the judgement of Babylon is only carried out after this event, as is indicated by Rev 16:17-20; then we can only be left to conclude that the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles must begin some time before the Cumbre Vieja event, and it will only take place when this commission is completed.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1Thes 5:1-3)

According to St. Paul in chapter 11 of his epistle to the Romans, the fullness of the Gentiles must be brought in before the conversion of the Jews - an event which the Early Church Fathers believed would be accompanied by the appearance of the Sign of the Son of Man and the eschatological earthquake in Jerusalem.

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Rom 11:25-27)
It is only after the inclusion of the fullness of the Gentiles that the conversion of the Jews takes place, coinciding with the eschatological earthquake - which itself causes the "burning mountain" of Revelation to be cast into the sea, bringing about the destruction of the eschatological world empire. And the fullness of the Gentiles can only be brought into the Church after the period of the unbinding of Satan, when the Gospel can once again be spread throughout the world. As St. Augustine noted, the binding of Satan is purely concerned with the spread of the Gospel, and once the period of the loosening of the Devil is over, Satan would once again be restrained in order to allow for the spread of the Gospel to bring about the restoration of the Church.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed...

The devil, then, is bound and shut up in the abyss that he may not seduce the nations from which the Church is gathered, and which he formerly seduced before the Church existed. For it is not said that he should not seduce any man, but that he should not seduce the nations— meaning, no doubt, those among which the Church exists— till the thousand years should be fulfilled,— i.e., either what remains of the sixth day which consists of a thousand years, or all the years which are to elapse till the end of the world.
(City of God XX:7)

But the binding of the devil is his being prevented from the exercise of his whole power to seduce men, either by violently forcing or fraudulently deceiving them into taking part with him. If he were during so long a period permitted to assail the weakness of men, very many persons, such as God would not wish to expose to such temptation, would have their faith overthrown, or would be prevented from believing; and that this might not happen, he is bound...

Now the devil was thus bound not only when the Church began to be more and more widely extended among the nations beyond Judea, but is now and shall be bound till the end of the world, when he is to be loosed...

...in these days there shall be no lack either of those who fall away from, or of those who attach themselves to the Church; but there shall be such resoluteness, both in parents to seek baptism for their little ones, and in those who shall then first believe, that they shall conquer that strong one, even though unbound,— that is, shall both vigilantly comprehend, and patiently bear up against him, though employing such wiles and putting forth such force as he never before used; and thus they shall be snatched from him even though unbound. And yet the verse of the Gospel will not be untrue, Who enters into the house of the strong one to spoil his goods, unless he shall first have bound the strong one? For in accordance with this true saying that order is observed— the strong one first bound, and then his goods spoiled; for the Church is so increased by the weak and strong from all nations far and near, that by its most robust faith in things divinely predicted and accomplished, it shall be able to spoil the goods of even the unbound devil. For as we must own that, when iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold, Matthew 24:12 and that those who have not been written in the book of life shall in large numbers yield to the severe and unprecedented persecutions and stratagems of the devil now loosed, so we cannot but think that not only those whom that time shall find sound in the faith, but also some who till then shall be without, shall become firm in the faith they have hitherto rejected and mighty to conquer the devil even though unbound, God's grace aiding them to understand the Scriptures, in which, among other things, there is foretold that very end which they themselves see to be arriving. And if this shall be so, his binding is to be spoken of as preceding, that there might follow a spoiling of him both bound and loosed; for it is of this it is said, Who shall enter into the house of the strong one to spoil his goods, unless he shall first have bound the strong one?
(City of God XX:8)

As I argue at some length in both my book and throughout this blog, the period of the unbinding of Satan almost certainly began at the beginning of the 20th century, and this understanding of the Millennium of Rev 20 is the primary thrust behind the prophetic vision of Pope Leo XIII. So we are only just now reaching the end of the period of the loosening of Satan, which in all likelihood will only be fully completed around the year 2020, when there will be yet another alignment of all seven classical planets - which I argue is symbolised by the seven stars held in the hands of Christ in Rev 1, representing the "keys to Death and Hades":

In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Rev 1:16-18)

So it is rare alignments of all seven classical planets which mark the opening and closing of the abyss at the end of the thousand years via the "keys of Death and Hades", which is also closely connected to the seven burning mountains which stand at the entrance to Hades in the Book of Enoch (see here for an earlier post which delves into this topic in more detail).

The bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles can only begin once the ability of Satan to blind the minds of unbelievers to the truth of the Gospel has once again been broken, which will occur at the end of the period of greater power allotted to him.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2Cor 4:3-4)

It is worth noting that the rector of Walsingham Shrine has recently revealed that there are plans to re-dedicate England as the Dowry of Mary in the year 2020, which is an immensely prophetic gesture on behalf of the English hierarchy (see here). There are many prophecies which point to the significance of the conversion of England to Catholicism, and according to the original secrets of La Salette, it is through the conversion of this nation that leads to the restoration of the Church throughout the world:

France has corrupted the universe, one day it will be punished. The faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost no more, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert, the faith will be rekindled everywhere. A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted.

(Our Lady of La Salette to Maximin Giraud)

So if we are only just now coming through the other side of the period of Satan's unbinding, it stands to reason that the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles still lies some time in the future, and will only begin to take place around our own time. The Gospel must be proclaimed throughout the world after this period of the cooling of the Faith, which is the produce of the general lawlessness brought about during the unbinding of Satan:

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt 24:12-14)

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. (Rev 14:6)

It is only once there is another falling away from the faith after the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the whole world during the restoration of the Church that we will see the destruction of the eschatological world power referred to as the "harlot of Babylon". Throughout the Bible, the epithet "harlot" is used to denounce the treachery of the nations of Israel and Judah, and indicates a covenantal relationship with God. So the "Babylon" of Revelation is undoubtedly a Christian nation which eventually turns its back on God, and pays the ultimate price as a result. 

And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

(Luke 12:47-48)

As Sr. Lucia stated, the greater level of accountability incurred after the restoration of the Church is why the chastisement is so severe when the world once again rejects God:

"...in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with ‘certain fear’ the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with ‘certain fear’ because if you despise and repulse this ultimate means, we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven, because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Ghost. This sin consists of openly rejecting, with full knowledge and consent, the salvation which He offers. Let us remember that Jesus Christ is a very good Son and that He does not permit that we offend and despise His Most Holy Mother. We have recorded through many centuries of Church history the obvious testimony which demonstrates by the terrible chastisements which have befallen those who have attacked the honor of His Most Holy Mother, how Our Lord Jesus Christ has always defended the honor of His Mother." (Sr. Lucia to Fr. Fuentes)

It seems that yet another wide-scale falling away from the Faith after the period of the restoration of the Church is inevitable, and when this happens, judgement will swiftly follow. As Our Lady of La Salette told Melanie Calvat:

After all these calamities have arrived, many will recognize the hand of God on them. They will convert, and do penance for their sins. A great king will go up on the throne, and will reign many years. Religion will re-flourish and spread all over the world, and there will be a great abundance. The world, glad to be lacking nothing, will fall again into disorder, will give up God, and will return to its criminal passions.

So the combined evidence suggests that the judgement meted out on the eschatological world power "Babylon" will only take place after the restoration of the Church, and occurs as a direct result of the greater responsibly that has been heaped on that nation. It seems in all likelihood that America is destined to become a great Catholic nation, and once it turns its back on God after experiencing this mass conversion, it can expect its folly to be met with disastrous consequences. We can only be left to conclude that these recent rumblings at La Palma serve as a forewarning of the fate that lies in store for America once it rejects Christ after being brought into the sheepfold. The fact that this seismic activity at La Palma occurred so soon on the back of the "40 days of repentance" beginning with the Great American Solar Eclipse is certainly beyond coincidence - especially in light of the plethora of other significant events which unfolded during this time period. It seems that God is signalling that He wishes to give America a second chance, just as he extended towards the Israelites after the idolatry of the Golden Calf. Even though Moses smashed the first set of tablets containing the Decalogue as a result (an event I show in the book is symbolised in the events of 9/11), he interceded for the Israelites during a forty day period of repentance, before eventually bestowing the second set of the tables of the Law, and the nation of Israel entered into a full covenantal relationship with God. Could this offer of a second chance and a covenantal relationship with America be what was really signalled by all of these recent events? Either way, it seems that this recent activity centring around Cumbre Vieja is merely a warning of a fate which lies in store in the future, rather than an immediately imminent event.