Commentary - Revelation 8:10-11

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we come to the third of the seven trumpet judgments. As with the previous two, this is a covenantal assault on the apostate Jewish world of the first century, the land and the people who had rejected their Messiah. The trumpet judgments are modeled on the plagues of Egypt, and here we see God turning the life-giving waters of the land into a source of death and bitterness. This is not a literal account of an asteroid poisoning the Sea of Galilee. Rather, it is a highly symbolic depiction of a spiritual catastrophe. A prominent leader or teacher within Israel, a "star," falls from his place of authority and corrupts the very sources of spiritual life and teaching for the nation. The result is widespread spiritual death. This judgment is a direct consequence of Israel's apostasy, a divine sentence that what they had sown in bitterness, they would now reap in kind, drinking the poison of their own rebellion.

The key to understanding this passage, and indeed all of Revelation, is to see it through Old Testament eyes. John is saturated in the prophetic imagery of his forefathers. Stars are rulers, angels, or prominent figures. Water is often a symbol of teaching, doctrine, or spiritual life. Wormwood is a biblical symbol for the bitter fruit of idolatry and apostasy. When we put these pieces together, the picture becomes clear: this trumpet announces the fall of a significant Jewish leader whose influence turns the nation's spiritual wellsprings into a toxic brew, leading many to their doom in the run-up to the final destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Outline

Context In Revelation

The third trumpet is part of a sequence. The seventh seal opened to reveal seven angels with seven trumpets (Rev 8:1-2). These trumpets announce escalating judgments upon the covenant-breaking Israel of the first century. The first trumpet attacked the "land" (Rev 8:7), symbolizing the nation of Israel itself. The second trumpet struck the "sea" (Rev 8:8-9), likely representing the Gentile nations in their turbulent political relationship with Israel. Now, the third trumpet targets the "rivers and on the springs of waters," the sources of fresh water for the land. This progression shows the judgment becoming more focused and more devastating. It moves from the general population to the political sphere, and now to the very sources of the nation's spiritual life and teaching. These are not random ecological disasters; they are targeted, symbolic, covenantal curses leading up to the great cataclysm described later in the book, the fall of Jerusalem, which John was told would "shortly take place."

Key Issues

A Falling Star and Bitter Water

When modern readers encounter a passage about a star falling from heaven, their minds immediately go to astrophysics, to asteroids and meteorites. But John's mind, and the minds of his first-century audience, would have gone straight to the Old Testament. In Scripture, stars are not primarily balls of flaming gas; they are celestial beings, angels, and by extension, earthly rulers and leaders. Daniel speaks of stars in this way (Dan 8:10), as does Isaiah in his taunt against the king of Babylon: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!" (Isa 14:12). Jesus Himself is the "bright and morning star" (Rev 22:16). The angels of the seven churches are called stars (Rev 1:20).

So, when a "great star" falls, we should be thinking about the fall of a great leader, a prominent teacher, a high-ranking official. This is a political and spiritual collapse, not a physical one. And where does this fallen leader's influence land? On the sources of fresh water. While the sea was often a symbol of the tumultuous Gentile world, rivers and springs were sources of life for the people of the land. Jesus offered "living water" (John 4:10), and the new Jerusalem has a "river of the water of life" flowing from the throne (Rev 22:1). This trumpet, then, describes a judgment where the teaching and guidance offered to the people of Israel becomes poisonous. A prominent teacher or leader falls into apostasy and corrupts the doctrine, turning life-giving truth into a bitter, deadly lie.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 And 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 waters.

The sounding of the third trumpet unleashes the next phase of God's judgment. John sees a great star fall from heaven. As we have noted, this is a symbol for a ruler or an angel. Given that this judgment affects the "land," we should look for a prominent figure within first-century Judaism. His fall is not quiet; he is burning like a torch, which signifies a spectacular and visible demise, a notorious apostasy. This is not some obscure teacher in a corner; this is a well-known figure whose corruption is public and influential. The star's impact is on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The fraction "a third" runs through these trumpet judgments, indicating that they are partial and severe, but not yet final. The target here is the source of the nation's spiritual life. The very places people went for refreshment and truth, their doctrines and their teachers, are now the point of impact for this fiery corruption.

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

John gives us the name of this fallen star, and the name is a dead giveaway. He is called Wormwood. In the Old Testament, wormwood is a plant known for its intense bitterness, and it is consistently used as a symbol for the bitter consequences of idolatry, injustice, and turning away from God. Jeremiah warns the people that because they have forsaken God's law, God will "feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink" (Jer 9:15). Moses warns that the idolater is "a root that bears gall and wormwood" (Deut 29:18). So, to name the star Wormwood is to identify him as a source of apostasy and idolatrous corruption. His influence is so potent that a third of the waters became wormwood. The teaching became as bitter as the teacher. The effect was not trivial; many men died from the waters. This is spiritual death. They drank the poisonous doctrines of this fallen leader and it killed them spiritually. The reason is stated plainly: because they were made bitter. The life-giving gospel of grace is sweet, but the doctrines of legalism, apostasy, and rebellion are bitter, and that bitterness is a spiritual poison that leads to death.

Application

The warning of the third trumpet echoes down to our own day. The greatest danger to the church often comes not from without, but from within. It comes from "great stars", gifted preachers, brilliant theologians, and charismatic leaders who fall from their place and begin to poison the springs of living water. A church, a denomination, or a seminary can be a source of life for generations. But if a "Wormwood" rises to prominence within it, that same institution can become a source of bitter, deadly teaching.

How does this happen? It happens when men neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith, and instead offer a gospel tinctured with bitterness, political idolatry, racial animosity, or self-righteous legalism. It happens when the pure water of the Word is polluted with the philosophies of the age. The application for us is to be discerning. We are commanded to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). We must not be so enamored with the "greatness" of a star that we fail to taste the water he is giving us. Is it sweet with the grace of Christ, or is it bitter with the tang of wormwood? Does it lead to life, humility, and repentance, or does it lead to pride, factionalism, and spiritual death? Every Christian is responsible to guard the well of his own heart, and to make sure that he is drinking deeply from the pure river of the water of life, which is the Spirit of God, given to us through the unadulterated Word.