Revelation 8:10

And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood: and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

The third angel sounded ... Moffatt thought that this part of Revelation came "from Iranian or Mandaean eschatology,"[54] but scholars will continue to fail in their search for the meaning of the New Testament in the writings and folklore of paganism.

There fell from heaven a great star ... Who was he? There are as many answers as there are writers. He has been identified as: the devil, Lucifer, Atilla the Hun, Pelagius, Origen (Luther's opinion), Arius, or Pope Gregory the Great! The futurists think of their antichrist.[55] The simple truth is that this angel is not identifiable with any individual, evil person. "Wormwood, symbolical of bitter sorrow (Lamentations 3:19), is the name of this star (Revelation 8:11)."[56]

Upon rivers and fountains ... How can the waters of rivers and fountains turn into bitter sorrow for people? Ask any one who ever depended upon wells or fountains that dried up, or who ever survived any great flood of a mighty river. The river which once was life and joy to people became their defeat and their execution. What river? Any one of hundreds all over the world.

The rivers of China are a good example of this. The Yangtze Chiang, the Yellow river, also known as the Hwang-ho, and others, cross the mainland of China, descending from the great Tibetan plateau and bearing incredible loads of sediment, the Yangtze Chiang alone depositing over a billion tons of sediment a year[57] and cause incredible flood damages at uncertain intervals. The beds of the rivers are continually being built up by the great sediment load, until finally, the great river strikes out in a new direction, changing course radically, and traversing the most populated area in the world, with the result of the loss of millions of lives and untold property damage. Such floods have been the recurring curse of the Chinese mainland for countless centuries. But this situation is worldwide.

There is nothing new in such recurring calamities; never a day passes without news media reference to such things in one part of the world or another; what is revealed in these trumpet visions is that such things are not "mere accidents of nature." Moreover, they are restrained. Only a minor part of the earth will suffer such things. "The newspapers tell you all about such things,"[58] except that they are God's warnings that people should repent and turn to God. "Four thousand years of recorded history tell of man's repeated failure to avoid the destructiveness of floods."[59] Why? A star named Wormwood has fallen upon the rivers and fountains of earth. Who can deny it?

Some expositors rely upon a spiritual interpretation of these judgments. For example, Hough wrote:

When men turn to wickedness, they tamper with something far more profound than they know. A power comes from above to ruin the very waters upon which the wicked depend for the life they are misusing.[60]

Such a view is true, of course; but we believe that something more tangible is meant.

This turn of earth's waters into bitterness is the opposite of the Old Testament event of making the bitter waters of Marah sweet (Exodus 15:25). When people tire of drinking earth's waters made bitter, may they turn to Christ who is able to make the bitter waters sweet.

The reaction of rebellious minds against these judgments should be noted. Some have spoken sarcastically of God's "killing off large numbers as an object lesson to survivors," and seem to be resentful; but Caird effectively answered such objections thus:

The question mark which death sets over human existence is just as great whether they die soon or late, alone or in company, violently or in their beds. All men must die; and their ultimate destiny is not determined either by the moment or the manner of their death.[61]

[54] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 405.

[55] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 281.

[56] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 144.

[57] Encyclopedia Britannica, 1961 edition, Vol. 23, p. 875.

[58] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 144.

[59] Encyclopedia Britannica, 1961 edition, Vol. 9, p. 385.

[60] Lynn Harold Hough, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII (New York-Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 429.

[61] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 113.