Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
At His presence the mountains tremble and shake, the hills melt and dissolve, and the earth with the world and all who live in it is burned and consumed by fire. He is slow to anger and great in power, who will not clear the guilty, whose way is in whirlwind and storm, who rebukes the sea and pours out fury like fire that breaks rocks in pieces, before whose indignation none can stand. In His reckoning with nations mercy calls to repentance, but when the appointed limit is reached patience ceases and mercy no longer pleads, as was fulfilled in the fall of Nineveh and stands as warning to nations that set themselves against Him. The same shaking belongs to the terrible manifestations of Christ's second coming, when God's presence brings worldwide judgment and makes the nations tremble. Then fire hidden in the earth will burst forth in lava and join with fire from heaven, so that mountains burn, rivers dry up or boil, and earthquakes and eruptions spread devastation until the wicked are destroyed.
Divine Power in Judgment
At his presence the mountains quake and shake, the hills melt and dissolve, and the earth and the world and all who dwell in it are burned and consumed by fire. Even the firmest mountains and hills and the earth itself with its inhabitants cannot withstand that presence. The shaking and dissolving of the natural world shows a world-shaking judgment in which the earth and all who live on it are burned.
The Lord revealed here is slow to anger, great in power, and one who will not acquit the wicked. His way is in the whirlwind and storm, and he rebukes the sea and rivers. His fury is poured out like fire that throws down rocks, and before his indignation and the fierceness of his anger no one can stand or abide.
In its setting of his reckoning with nations, mercy calls nations to repentance, but judgment begins when his appointed limit is reached, his patience ceases, and mercy no longer pleads for them. This was fulfilled in Nineveh's fall and stands as a lesson for nations that set themselves against God.
These upheavals display his power to make people tremble before him and to silence proud refusal to obey. Nothing in nature can withstand him, for all creation is subject to him and depends on his power. By his command he can dissolve and overturn the whole frame of nature, and in a short time he can overturn the firmest things people have built.
Final Destruction Foretold
The verse looks forward to the terrible manifestations connected with Christ's second advent, when the overwhelming power of God's presence brings worldwide judgment and makes the nations tremble. At that coming none can stand before His indignation, for mountains quake, hills melt, and the earth with its inhabitants faces burning destruction. That upheaval is worldwide, with burning mountains pouring out lava, rivers drying up or boiling, and earthquakes and eruptions spreading destruction everywhere.
The same shaking also belongs to the day of the Lord just before Christ's coming, when destruction falls until the wicked are destroyed. Then fire from heaven unites with fire in the earth, mountains burn and pour out lava, and eruptions and earthquakes devastate the land.
At that final destruction of the wicked the judgment is world-shaking, with quaking and melting mountains and a burned earth and all who live on it. Fire hidden in the earth pours out as streams of lava, joined by lightning from heaven. Fire from above and fire from below are thus united, while burning mountains, dried or boiling rivers, and widespread earthquakes and eruptions carry the devastation forward.