<p>9:18 <em>By these three illnesses was one third of all mankind killed, by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur, which proceeded out of their mouths</em>- The idea could be that one third of the third are killed by fire, another third by smoke, another third by the sulphur. The &quot;all mankind&quot; refers not to the whole planet but to the earth / land promised to Abraham. There have been attempts within the continuous historical approach to locate the fulfilment of this verse at some previous point in history. But the difficulty faced is how to define the earth / land, and &quot;all mankind&quot; within it. Such definitions are arbitrary and <em>ad hoc</em>, whereas the Bible envisages only two definitions of the earth / land- either the whole planet, or the land promised to Abraham.</p><p>The latter day invasion from the Euphrates (i.e. geographical Babylon) will result in men being killed by fire, smoke and brimstone (Rev. 9:14,18)- nuclear language?</p>