The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet – Part 2: The dragon

In Part 1 of this study I had shown from the Bible that the dragon is Satan, and the book of Revelation has much to say about the dragon. But first I would like to show how God uses Satan to test a true believer by looking at the account of Job.
  
Job 1:6-12  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:1-7 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job.

As the story goes, Job passed God’s testing program and was rewarded for his faithfulness. The testing program that God will perform on His Elect near the end of God's Salvation Plan for the world will be similar to the testing program that was performed on Job and will begin when God looses Satan from the bottomless pit. But why was Satan cast into the bottomless pit to begin with? This is explained

Rev 20:7-8  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Scripture explains that God bound Satan in order for the Gospel to be able to spread out into the world without less impedance from Satan. In Mark 3:27, the Lord Jesus refers to Satan as “the strong man” and Rev 20:1-3 explains that Satan was bound in order to prevent him from deceiving the nations for set period of time.
  
Mark 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
  
Rev 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
    
While Scripture tells us that Satan becomes bound in the bottomless pit for a period of time, God still allows Satan a certain amount of power in the world in order to accomplish God’s divine Will such as for the purpose of chastening His Elect, as seen in the following passages.
  
2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
   
1 Timothy 1:18-20 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck; Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
  
Near the end of God’s Salvation plan for the world, however, God looses Satan from the bottomless pit to prepare the world for Judgment Day. Rev 20 explains that this is done in order to prepare the world for battle and Rev 16 explains that this battle will occur on “that great day of God Almighty”, in a place called Armageddon.
 
Rev 20:7-8  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Rev 16:13-16 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
   
As Rev 6:13-16 makes a reference to the Satanic Trinity, it declares to us that it will be out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet that the spirit of devils will go forth into the world for the sole purpose of deceiving the kings of the earth in order to prepare them for a battle that will occur on Judgment Day, in a place called Armageddon. But why would it be the will of a good God of love to loose Satan and send forth devils in order to deceive people? The answer to that question is found in 1 Thessalonians.
  
2 Thess 2: 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
   
2 Thess 2:1-11 explains in very clear language, that God will allow Satan to go forth with "all power and signs and lying miracles" in order to send a strong delusion to those who "received not the love of the truth", which is the Gospel of Salvation. And God will do this for the sole purpose of damning the unsaved on Judgment Day.

The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet – Part 1: The Satanic Trinity

In the book of Revelation, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are grouped together into one group. These three entities are what I call the “Satanic Trinity”, and this study is going to focus on the aspects and characteristics of each of these three entities.

The Serpent in the Garden of Eden     
  
When looking at what occured in the garden of Eden, one can see that this Satanic Trinity was directly responsible for the fall of man. The first fact to consider is that it was not the serpent that deceived Adam, but rather another human being, Eve; however, it all began with the serpent's ability to communicate with and thus able to influence her.
                 
Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made."
 
The word that was translated into the word "crafty" is the Hebrew adjective "`aruwm". It means "shrewd" or "sly". The book of Revelation makes it clear that the serpent is the dragon, and that he is Satan.
                 
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
   
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
   
This serpent possessed a great deal of intelligence; enough intelligence to be able to communicate with Eve as well as devise a scheme that would be successful in leading them into disobeying God's Word to them. Let's look at the conversation that took place in the Garden.
  
Genesis 1:  1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Verse 1 shows how skilled the serpent was at deception when the serpent asked, "Did God say you cannot eat of every tree in the Garden?" Eve replied saying that they could eat of every tree in the Garden, but not of the tree that was "in the midst of the Garden"; there is a clear distinction made between "the trees of the Garden" and "the tree in the midst of the Garden". When Eve told the serpent that they would die if they ate from the tree that was in the midst of the Garden, the serpent replied that they would surely not die, but rather that their "eyes shall be opened", and that they would be "as gods", knowing good and evil."
 
When God created Adam and Eve, God gave them instructions, His Word, regarding what they could eat and what they could not eat. This was God's Gospel truth that would have guaranteed them eternal life. When God told them that they would die, this meant that eternal life would be taken away from them; this is what God meant when he said that they "would surely die". However, the serpent, who is the father of all lies, was able to convince Eve that they would not physically die, and that their eyes would become opened, and that they would become "as gods". This was in essence the initiating and creation of the first false gospel of the world. Once the serpent was able to propagate this false gospel into Eve's mind and convince her to believe in it, she then also propagated it into Adam's mind and was able to convince him to also believe in it.
 
From this short account of Adam and Eve in Eden, it is evident that the Satanic Trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet began to establish its perpetual presence on Earth as far back as the early days of Creation. When Eve succeeded in convincing Adam to believe in this newly created false gospel, she in essence became the first false prophet of the world as she succeeded in leading them into complete rebellion against God's Word.
      
As the Satanic Trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet began working together in the world of mankind, it would evolve into a fierce and perpetual battle against the kindgdom of God and His Elect.  In God's plan to become victorious in this battle with the Satanic Trinic and the forces of Evil would be the sole reason why the Lord Jesus would have to be born into the world and then die on the cross at Calvary. This Satanic Trinity is such a powerful entity, that on Judgment Day, it will be acredited with leading the cause for the destruction of billions of human souls, along with their own desturcion in the lake of fire.
  
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
  
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Apocalypse of the Last Day - Part 5: “And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”

The concept of the shaking the heavens and the earth is found throughout the Bible, as in the following passages.   

Isaiah 2:19-21 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
   
Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.

Joel 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Haggai 2:6-7 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2:21-23 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately [and with] the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; For our God is a consuming fire.

Notice that in each of the passages above, the shaking of the heavens and the earth occurs simultaneously with the day of the Lord, or Judgment Day.

Isaiah 2:19-21 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Isaiah 2:19-21 describes people trying to hide from God by going into the caves of the rocks. This is the same scenario found in Revelation 6 that is to occur on "the great day of God's wrath". Notice that Rev 6:12-17 also makes a reference to the darkening of the sun and moon as well as the shaking of the heavens and the earth.

Revelation 6:12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath has come; and who shall be able to stand?

Isaiah 13:13 also states that the shaking of the heavens and the earth will occur “in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.”

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.

Reading Joel 3:16 in its context, the shaking of the heavens and the earth is also seen to be occuring simultaneously with the reaping of the earth in the day of the Lord, in the valley of decision, when the sun and the moon will be darkened.

Joel 3:12-17 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

In the language of Haggai 2, the shaking of the heavens and the earth is also shown to be associated with Judgment Day and the battle of Armageddon; as it refers to the overthrowing of the thrones and kingdoms of the heathen, the overthrowing of chariots, horses, and their riders, and a reference to the use of swords. The expression “in that day” is always a Biblical reference to Judgment Day.

Haggai 2:21-23 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 24:29-31 describes events that will occur at Christ's return on the Last Day. As I had explained in a previous study, the verse of Matt 24:29 is more accurately translated as, “Immediately and with the tribulation of those days”; it also shows that the darkening of the sun and moon will occur simultaneously with the shaking of the powers of the heavens and the appearance of the Lord Jesus in the clouds of glory.

Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately [and with] the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

This event could only occur after the passing away of the heavens and the earth, the Rapture, and the resurrection of the dead because the passage states that “they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven.” First of all, Scriptures makes it clear that no human living in their earthly body is able to see God; secondly, 1 John 3 explains that we believers (who are alive on Earth) are not able to understand what we will be like after we have translated into our heavenly glorified bodies, but when Christ appears (at His Coming on the Last Day), we will be able to see Him only because we have already been translated into our heavenly glorified bodies because, as it states, "we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

Hebrews 12:25 quotes Haggai 2 which says: Haggai 2:6-7 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; For our God is a consuming fire.

The fact that Hebrews 12:25 associates the shaking of the heavens and the earth with God being a consuming fire clearly indicates that this event is directly associated with God coming as a consuming fire on the Last Day (Judgment Day), as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Hebrews 12 explains why God must shake the heavens and the earth on the Last Day. Verse 27 explains that the shaking of the heavens and the earth will result in the removing of those things which can be shaken so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Hebrews 12:25-27 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

The concept of the removing of those things which can be shaken while those things which cannot be shaken can remain is also taught in 1 Corinthians 8 while using different language. 1 Corinth 8 explains that God will come as a consuming fire and that if any man’s work remain, he shall be rewarded, but if any man builds his foundation with wood, hay, and stubble, it will not remain after it has been “tried by fire".

1 Corinthians 8:10-15 But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
  
This concept is also found in Matthew 3 while again using different language. Here John the Baptist is teaching that the Lord Jesus would one day come to cut down every tree that does not bring forth good fruit and cast it into the fire. He also described the Lord as having a “fan in His hand” and that the He will “thoroughly purge His floor” and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 3:10-12 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
     
The reference made to the “floor” here is a reference to the threshing floor of a building where wheat is thrashed. Interesting enough, I found a passage in Isaiah 21 that also makes a reference to a threshing floor as associated with the fall of Babylon and her graven images.

Isaiah 21:9-10 And behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.     

The outer husks from grains of wheat are called chaff. In order to separate the chaff from the grains of wheat, the wheat plants must be first thrashed. In ancient times, wheat plants that were harvested from the filed would be placed on the floor of a wheat barn where they would be thrashed, or beat, in order to loosen and separate the grains of wheat from the rest of the plant. However, once the stalks and course parts of the plants are removed from the threshing floor, what still reamins are the grains of wheat mixed together with the chaff. The process used to remove the chaff from the grains of wheat is called “winnowing” and a fan is commonly used to blow away the chaff. The definition of the verb “winnow” is: “to blow upon”; or “to fan”. Another interesting thought when looking at Matthew 3:10-12 is the fact that one can also use a fan to feed a fire and cause it to burn hotter. I am not sure if this is ever implied in Matthew 3 or not, but it is merely an interesting thought.

Another passage that teaches us about the separation between the Elect of God and the unsaved is seen in the parables of Matthew 13.

Matthew 13:38-50 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear… Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

As evidenced from the passages quoted above, the Bible uses the concept of the shaking of the heavens and the earth to convey not only the concept of the passing away of the heavens and the Earth, but also the events that will ensue as God begins to throw down all the thrones and kingdoms of the heathen. Even as Matthew 3:10-12 describes the Lord as having a fan in His hand in the process of the thrashing and winnowing of wheat in order to gather in His Elect, the passage of Rev 6:13-14 also conveys a parallel concept with the picture of untimely fruit that are being separated from their tree.

Rev 6:13-14 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.
     
When the Lord Jesus returns on the Last Day to shake the heavens and the earth, He will also come as a consuming fire to burn away the chaff and to judge every man's work through a fiery trial. This will be Judgment Day; the day when people will be trying to hide from the face of God in “caves” because “the great day of His wrath has come”. It will be the day when the Son of Man will send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet to sever the wicked from among just and gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, into His garner. And it will be the glorious day when God will set up all His elect as signets in Heaven for all of eternity.