Sermon Leftovers - Revelation 8 - Crashing Stars and a Crying Eagle
Today we continue our notes on the many sounds in Revelation 8. There are 3 last "sounds" and signs to share some quotes and notes about before wrapping up these sermon leftovers.
Like the preceding symbol, the vision of the Third Trumpet combines Biblical imagery from the fall of both Egypt and Babylon. The effect of this plague – the waters being made bitter– is similar to the first plague on Egypt, in which the water became bitter because of the multitude of dead and decaying fish (Ex. 7:21). The bitterness of the waters is caused by a great star that fell from heaven, burning like a torch. This parallels Isaiah’s prophecy of the fall of Babylon, spoken in terms of the original Fall from Paradise:
How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly, In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. (Isa. 14:12-15)The name of this fallen star is Wormwood, a term used in the Law and the Prophets to warn Israel of its destruction as a punishment for apostasy (Deut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15; 23:15; Lam. 3:15, 19; Amos 5:7). Again, by combining these Old Testament allusions, St. John makes his point: Israel is apostate, and has become an Egypt; Jerusalem has become a Babylon; and the covenant-breakers will be destroyed, as surely as Egypt and Babylon were destroyed.
Doug Wilson in his commentary "When the Man Comes Around" on Revelation adds this to the discussion on the wormwood:
"The seven trumpets are harbingers of a coming judgment upon a wicked and unbelieving city. In the Old Testament, the Canaanite city of Jericho was solemnly sealed in her destruction by seven trumpets blasting. What this indicates is a strong reversal theme in Revelation. Here Jerusalem is in the place of Jericho, the chosen people have now taken the place of the pagan Canaanites. The plagues that rain down on Israel in this book are reminiscent of the plagues that wiped out Egypt-and in Rev. 11:8; this is a reversal that is made explicit-Jerusalem is identified with both Sodom and Egypt. These are the two great places in the Old Testament best known for the judgment that fell upon them from Heaven. What is that place now? It is Jerusalem. The same thing is found in our passage itself. When Moses brought the children of Israel away from the Red Sea (Ex. 15:22), they came to a place called Marah. It was called that because the water was bitter. The Lord showed Moses a tree there, which he threw into the bitter water in order to make it sweet (Ex. 15:23-25). In this passage the reversal is plainly shown-the waters are sweet, and God throws a great star, burning like a torch (reminiscent of the tree in Exodus), into the water in such a way as to make them bitter. Why is this significant? Because wormwood means bitter, and because of the warning that was given to them at Marah, with Egypt of recent memory still smoldering.
And said, if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. (Ex. 15:26)
If they kept his commandments, they would not be visited with the diseases that had afflicted the Egyptians. They would not take the place of Egypt but unfortunately they did not keep God's commandments, and now He was making Marah bitter again. So keep in mind, once again, that the judgment is aimed straight at Israel.
A quick reminder here that both Chilton and Wilson affirm a partial preterist understanding of the book of Revelation in their commentaries (this is also the position I believe is most faithful). Meaning that the book of Revelation was a prophetic preview of the judgment of God to come upon Jerusalem in the Roman destruction of 70 A.D. as a consequence the rejection of Jesus.
The fourth angel sounded, and darkness fell upon the great lights of heaven, that give light to the world, the sun, and the moon, and the stars. The guides and governors are placed higher than the people, and are to dispense light, and kind influences to them. Where the gospel comes to a people, and has not proper effects on their hearts and lives, it is followed with dreadful judgments. God gives alarm by the written word, by ministers, by men's own consciences, and by the signs of the times; so that if people are surprised, it is their own fault. The anger of God makes all comforts bitter, and even life itself burdensome. But God, in this world, sets bounds to the most terrible judgments. Corruption of doctrine and worship in the church are great judgments, and also are the usual causes and tokens of other judgments coming on a people. Before the other three trumpets were sounded, there was solemn warning how terrible the calamities would be that should follow. If lesser judgments do not take effect the church and the world must expect greater; and when God comes to punish the world, the inhabitants shall tremble before him. Let sinners take warning to flee from the wrath to come; let believers learn to value and to be thankful for their privileges; and let them patiently continue in well doing.
Henry's perspective clearly puts forward the principle that judgment often comes on one group (the church) as a precursor to a wider judgment (to a society). Judgements "ramp up" as it were. Here Henry sees the darkening lights as the leadership within the fellowship of the church and the society at large. As corruption grows among the people who claim to know God, it is natural that corruption grows among people who have no regard for God.
The connection to of the darkening lights in 8:12 with social leadership is one that Chilton notes in connection with the plagues of Egypt. Chilton quotes another commentator Farrar who wrote in 1882 with a perspective that connected the darkening lights with the downfall of societal leaders:
Like the ninth Egyptian plague of “thick darkness” (Ex. 10:21-23), the curse brought by the fourth angel strikes the light bearers, the sun, moon, and stars, so that a third of them might be darkened. The imagery here was long used in the prophets to depict the fall of nations and national rulers (cf. Isa. 13:9-11[, 19;24:19-23; 34:4-5; Ezek. 32:7-8, 11-12; Joel 2:10, 28-32; Acts 2:16-21). In fulfillment of this, Farrar observes, “ruler after ruler, chieftain after chieftain of the Roman Empire and the Jewish nation was assassinated and ruined. Gaius, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, all died by murder or suicide; Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, Herod Agrippa, and most of the Herodian Princes, together with not a few of the leading High Priests of Jerusalem, perished in disgrace, or in exile, or by violent hands. All these were quenched suns and darkened stars.’’”
9 See, the day of the LORD is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. 10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless (Isaiah 13:9-11)
When Ezekiel spoke of a prophecy regarding the downfall of one of the Pharaohs of Egypt he spoke on behalf of the Lord saying:
7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)
When the prophet Amos was speaking prophetically on behalf of the Lord against an unfaithful and treacherous generation in ancient Israel he said:
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. (Amos 8:9)
We can definitely make the connection and have a very solid interpretation of Revelation 8:12 that this imagery of darkening has to do with geo-political upheaval within society. Which is precisely what occurred during the Jewish wars against Rome in 66-70 A.D. As Chilton's quote of Farrar noted nearly every leader of note in Judea who had a part to play in rejecting Jesus died "in disgrace, or in exile, or by violent hands. All these were quenched suns and darkened stars".
“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law." (Hosea 8:1)
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (Revelation 8:13)
Both passages have common flying omens (eagles), both passages include trumpets, and both passages cite judgment over a rebellious people. This is yet again another affirmation that we need to be reading our whole Bibles! Not chopping our Bibles up into little tweetable quotes. The inspired authors didn't reference huge events and pack massive amounts of meaning into phrases and past history and prophecy. If we ONLY read one verse at a time, without ever looking up at other passages, we will miss out on much intended meaning. Yet again we see the prophets imagery from the Old Testament regarding judgment of an unfaithful people is what John was shown in his vision, given by Jesus as a prophetic warning of what was to come in the first century.
Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them. Thus there was a star (20) resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, (21) [Nisan,] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it.
At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner (22) [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor,which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them. Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.
Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence." But, what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began, and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for every one to make tabernacles to God in the temple, (23) began on a sudden to cry aloud, "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!" This was his cry, as he went about by day and by night, in all the lanes of the city. However, certain of the most eminent among the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up the man, and gave him a great number of severe stripes; yet did not he either say any thing for himself, or any thing peculiar to those that chastised him, but still went on with the same words which he cried before. Hereupon our rulers, supposing, as the case proved to be, that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman procurator, where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare; yet he did not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, at every stroke of the whip his answer was, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" And when Albinus (for he was then our procurator) asked him, Who he was? and whence he came? and why he uttered such words? he made no manner of reply to what he said, but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, till Albinus took him to be a madman, and dismissed him. Now, during all the time that passed before the war began, this man did not go near any of the citizens, nor was seen by them while he said so; but he every day uttered these lamentable words, as if it were his premeditated vow, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" Nor did he give ill words to any of those that beat him every day, nor good words to those that gave him food; but this was his reply to all men, and indeed no other than a melancholy presage of what was to come. This cry of his was the loudest at the festivals; and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months, without growing hoarse, or being tired therewith, until the very time that he saw his presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege, when it ceased; for as he was going round upon the wall, he cried out with his utmost force, "Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!" And just as he added at the last, "Woe, woe to myself also!" there came a stone out of one of the engines, and smote him, and killed him immediately; and as he was uttering the very same presages he gave up the ghost.
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