Bird's-eye view
The fourth trumpet blast continues the cascade of covenantal judgments upon the land of apostate Israel, the "earth" that is the focus of these initial woes. Following the judgments on the land, the sea, and the freshwater sources, this judgment strikes the heavens. A third of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. This is not a report on astrophysics or a literal dimming of celestial wattage. This is the symbolic language of political and social collapse, language that the original readers, steeped in the Old Testament prophets, would have immediately understood. The ruling authorities, the guiding lights of the nation, are being systematically dismantled and extinguished. God is turning out the lights on the old covenant world before its final demolition. This judgment is a partial one, a "third," indicating that it is a severe warning, a harbinger of the total darkness to come if repentance is not forthcoming. But as the subsequent woes will show, it is a warning that goes unheeded.
This passage is a direct outworking of the covenant lawsuit that God, through Christ, is prosecuting against the Jerusalem that had rejected Him. The very structure of the nation, from its highest rulers down to its lesser magistrates, is being struck. The glory of Israel is being darkened. This is what it looks like when God begins to unmake a nation. He doesn't just send armies; He first removes its glory, its coherence, its light. The whole social and political cosmos of first-century Judaism is being shaken to its foundations, a prelude to the final earthquake that will level the city and its temple.
Outline
- 1. The Fourth Covenantal Sanction (Rev 8:12)
- a. The Angel's Action: The Trumpet Sounds (Rev 8:12a)
- b. The Cosmic Target: Sun, Moon, and Stars Struck (Rev 8:12b)
- c. The Judicial Effect: A Third Part Darkened (Rev 8:12c)
- d. The Practical Result: Disrupted Days and Nights (Rev 8:12d)
Context In Revelation
Revelation 8:12 is the fourth of the seven trumpet judgments, which are themselves contained within the seventh seal. The seals, trumpets, and bowls are not strictly sequential but are better understood as cycles of judgment, each intensifying and looking at the same period of history from a different angle, a principle often called "recapitulation." This period is the time between Christ's ascension and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The first four trumpets form a distinct unit, mirroring the plagues on Egypt and targeting the foundational elements of the created order: earth, sea, rivers, and now the heavens. This systematic de-creation imagery signifies the dismantling of the old covenant world of Israel. This fourth trumpet directly follows judgments that have poisoned the land and waters, and it precedes the final three "woe" trumpets, which will unleash demonic torment and warfare upon the ungodly.
Key Issues
- The Symbolic Nature of Cosmic Language
- The Meaning of "a Third"
- The Old Testament Background of Celestial Judgments
- The Identity of the Sun, Moon, and Stars
- Fulfillment in the Jewish War (A.D. 66-70)
The Lights Go Out in Judah
When modern readers encounter a passage like this, our minds, conditioned by a materialistic worldview, immediately jump to literal astronomy. We imagine a third of the sun's fusion process sputtering out, and we rightly conclude that would be the end of everything, not just a third of the day. But this is to read the Bible with wooden-headed literalism, ignoring the rich tapestry of symbolic language that God Himself has woven throughout its pages. The Bible is its own dictionary.
From the very beginning, the sun, moon, and stars were set in the heavens not only for light but "for signs and for seasons" (Gen 1:14). Their symbolic function was primary. In Joseph's dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars were not ambiguous; they clearly represented his father, mother, and brothers, the ruling structure of his family (Gen 37:9-10). The prophets consistently used this same "de-creation" language to describe the fall of earthly kingdoms and the overthrow of their rulers. When Babylon was to fall, Isaiah said, "the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light" (Isa 13:10). When judgment was pronounced on Egypt, Ezekiel said God would "cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven I will make dark over you" (Ezek 32:7-8). Jesus Himself used this exact imagery in the Olivet Discourse to describe the judgment coming upon Jerusalem within that generation (Matt 24:29).
Therefore, when John sees a third of the celestial lights darkened, he is seeing a prophecy of political and social chaos. The ruling authorities of Judea are being struck. The Sanhedrin, the priesthood, the various political factions, the "stars" of the Jewish world, are losing their authority, their light, their ability to govern. The nation is plunging into anarchy, a historical reality Josephus documents in excruciating detail in his account of the Jewish War. This is a covenant curse, a direct fulfillment of what God had promised in Deuteronomy: that disobedience would lead to confusion and darkness (Deut 28:28-29).
Verse by Verse Commentary
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
And the fourth angel sounded, The trumpet is a call to war, an alarm, a herald of a significant divine action. This is the fourth blast in the covenant lawsuit against apostate Israel. God's case is proceeding in an orderly, deliberate fashion. Each trumpet announces another piece of evidence, another sanction being applied.
and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, The judgment is comprehensive, affecting all sources of light and authority. The sun would represent the highest authority in the land, perhaps the office of the high priest or the Sanhedrin as a whole. The moon, which reflects the sun's light, would signify a lesser, derivative authority. The stars would be the multitude of other leaders, magistrates, and influential men throughout the nation. The word is struck, a violent, sudden action. This is not a gradual fading; it is a divine blow. The leadership of the nation is being judicially crippled. During the civil war that raged within Jerusalem before the Romans even breached the walls, this is precisely what happened. The various Zealot factions murdered the priests, slaughtered the leading men, and extinguished any semblance of lawful order. The lights of Judea were being struck down, one by one.
so that a third of them would be darkened The fraction "a third" is crucial. It appears repeatedly in the trumpet judgments. It signifies a severe, substantial judgment, but one that is still partial and limited. God's wrath is being poured out with restraint. This is not yet the final, total darkness of the bowl judgments. There is still an opportunity, however slight, for men to see the hand of God and repent. The darkening is the direct result of their being struck. When a nation's leaders are struck down, the nation is plunged into darkness. There is no vision, no guidance, no justice. The glory has departed.
and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way. This clause explains the practical result of the celestial darkening. The regular, predictable rhythm of life is thrown into chaos. A third of the day is without its normal light, and a third of the night is without its guiding moonlight and starlight. This points to a society in turmoil. Normal commerce, governance, and social functions are disrupted. When the leadership is in chaos, the life of the common people becomes unpredictable and dark. The very calendar of Israel, dependent on the moon, and the rhythm of its daily life, dependent on the sun, is being judicially confused. God is confounding their times and their seasons as a sign that their time is up.
Application
The first and most direct application of this text was for the first-century Christians to understand the turmoil engulfing Judea not as random political chaos, but as the righteous judgment of God. They were to see the hand of the exalted Christ in the headlines, so to speak, and take comfort that their prayers for justice were being answered. They were not to be dismayed, but to understand that the old covenant world had to be dismantled to make way for the full flourishing of the new covenant kingdom.
For us today, the principle stands firm. God is the one who establishes authorities, and He is the one who strikes them. When we see a nation's leadership in disarray, when we see its guiding lights flicker and go out, when society seems to be plunging into a confused darkness, we should not despair as though God has lost control. Rather, we should recognize the possibility of divine judgment. Nations that rebel against the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that call good evil and evil good, are subject to this very same kind of judgment. God can strike the sun, moon, and stars of any nation. He can give a people over to the confusion and anarchy that comes from corrupt and failed leadership.
Our response should be twofold. First, we must ensure we are citizens of the kingdom that cannot be shaken. Our ultimate loyalty and trust must not be in any earthly "sun, moon, or stars," but in King Jesus alone. Second, we are to be lights in this darkness. The church is the bearer of the true light of the gospel. While the world's political structures may be darkened in judgment, we are called to shine as lights in the world, holding out the word of life. The darkening of one kingdom is always for the advancement of another, and our task is to proclaim the good news of that unshakable kingdom which has no end.