“The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” Revelation 8:7-9.
The above has been included for context, we will continue now with Revelation 8:10-13.
“Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water; and the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” Revelation 8:10-11.
Once again please examine closely the wording in this verse; indeed when reading the Bible (or any book), watch for commas, semi-colons, parentheses and the like, one missed word or mark can change a whole verse.
Words or phrases in brackets [by the way] are not part of the original quote; they are put in by the writer to clarify certain words or passages.
The plant wormwood, of which there are several varieties, is noted for its bitterness, and is emblematic of calamity and injustice; of which there will be plenty of by this time.
A particularly poisonous variety of this plant is used to make the liquor Absinthe which is illegal in most countries. It has been said that the artist Van Gogh was drinking this on the night he cut his ear off and sent it to a prostitute that he liked.
Angels are often referred to as stars in Revelation but that does not always have to be the case. This great star that fell from heaven is not personalized as you would expect, and will see in other cases later. But this star is called an it, “and it fell on a third”, so it is an object, not a person.
Again one wants to find the natural in the supernatural; this makes it easier for the mind to grasp. The words comet, asteroid, or meteor do not appear in Scripture, yet the apostle Paul shows us that Scripture is not ignorant of such things.
“There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.” I Corinthians 15:40-41.
The use of the term, falling star, for meteor is not uncommon among us, so it should not surprise anyone if it is used in the same manner here.
The late Eugene Merle Shoemaker estimated that at least one Hiroshima sized impact from a meteor occurs per year. Because there is a lot of ocean and desolate land area most of these go completely unnoticed, unless the flash or boom of the impact is noticed.
But more importantly many of these meteors explode in the upper atmosphere and disintegrate without hitting the earth. These are smaller meteors, less than 33 feet in diameter, a small comet could also do the same thing and disperse particles into greater areas of the upper atmosphere.
Some have speculated that such an event could convert oxygen and nitrogen into acid rain, which would then fall into the world’s water supply, hence they might become as wormwood.
Do not confuse this with the many predictions made by “scientist” who predicted back in the 1980’s that acid rain would destroy all crops within 10 years. Didn’t happen.
This is an interesting theory, raising two different questions; is this done via meteor or comet to show men what happens when God takes away His hand of protection, revealing how He has protected us during our history on earth?
Or if through the supernatural which science cannot explain anymore than they can explain the Nile turning to blood, or millions of frogs, or hail mingled with fire, or three days of darkness which could be felt, all of it coming and going with the wave of a man’s staff?
These things are not going to be reasoned away by scientists and profane men. What is of importance in all of this exercise is to realize that the result of these catastrophes is more important than how they occurred. The earth is made inhospitable and people will die.
Another thing to remember is that we are told to “trust the science”, yet these scientists who seem to represent all scientists never seem to get it right.
There are always reputable scientists who disagree with these “experts” but they are continually shouted down through the media.
These “scientists we can trust” predict every ten years that some catastrophe will occur, such as:
1960’s all oil will be gone in 10 years.
1970’s there will be another ice age in 10 years.
1980’s acid rain will destroy all crops in 10 years.
1990’s the ozone layer will be gone in 10 years.
2000’s ice caps will melt in 10 years, global warming.
2010 the ice caps have not melted, new scenario climate change, yet oddly enough, we are still expected to “trust the science.”
“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:18.
A day is coming however when you can trust the Scriptures when they speak of that day.
“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth drain and drink down.” Psalm 75:8.
“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” Revelation 14:9b-10.
The above takes place in the middle of the tribulation when people are told to take the mark of the beast.
“Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened; and a third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.” Revelation 8:12.
This is a hard thing to visualize because when you think of a third, a pie chart tends to come to mind. Another thought might be that the sun was dimmed by a third as you would a light bulb with a dimmer switch. The moon being a reflector of the sun would also be dimmed.
Then a third of the stars in the sky would be dimmed while the other two thirds would continue to shine unabated. These theories do not fit the entire verse.
Neither does the idea that the stars that are darkened are the fallen angels that are cast out of heaven in Revelation chapter 12.
“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels [stars] were cast out with him” Revelation 12:9.
Satan and his angels are cast out later in the middle of the tribulation, not near the beginning as part of these events in Revelation chapter 8.
If you go out some night during a full moon and watch it rise, especially after a smoggy day, you will notice that it can be very orange even almost red; watch for a while until it is about 15 to 30 degrees above the horizon and it miraculously turns silver white.
It will remain so until it goes down on the other horizon and then it will change to orange again. Now, considering all the things that have happened up to this point, imagine that the air is so polluted that you cannot even see the sun, moon, or stars until they are about 16.6 degrees above the horizon.
Considering twelve hours of daylight, this means that the daylight will be eight hours long and the air will be stifling to breathe. This thought seems to fit all of the criteria in the verse.
“And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven; saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’” Revelation 8:13.
As stated before, the first four trumpet judgments affect man’s environment and the last three affect man himself, and this is why there are three woes to come.
The angel flying in the midst of heaven is not in heaven, this refers to the heaven above us where the birds fly. Men will not only be able to hear this angel, but see him too.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. “ Romans 1:18-19.
And man answers back: “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” Invictus by William Ernest Henley 1849-1903.
Let us all give thanks to God for giving us a foretaste of the coming tribulation that we might turn to Him to escape from a dying world.
We have seen and endured unrighteousness, injustice, rioting, racial division, joblessness, political machinations, and endless lying since the 2020 election. We have seen how quickly this can happen and how vulnerable we are.
It is time for us to give thanks to Jesus for His sacrifice for us and His preservation of this nation.
And most of all, rededicate ourselves to serving Jesus with a fervency of heart and a looking forward to the day of His return when He takes us all to be with Him for eternity.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” 1 John 2:28-29.
I urge all who have not received Christ as their Savior to do so and join us to be called away out of this world and away from the time of trouble which is to come upon the entire earth.
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21.
Revelation 8:10-13 taken from godisrevealed.com updated on 11-23-16, reposted on 7-13-22.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.