"And the fourth angel sounded,
and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon,
and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened,
and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise."
(Rev. 8:12)
8:12a
The obscured
light
The next religious force in
line for apostasy would be the Protestants. Of course we can't just assume
that our verse applies to them without good evidence. Were the sources
of light beaten? What are the sources of light? Our first thought is to
connect the heavenly lights with the sun, moon, and stars of the woman
of chapter 12. The situation, however, is different and I see the symbols
differently.
There, for example, the sun
is the righteousness of Christ which clothed the woman. Emphasis here is
on the sun, moon, and stars as sources of light. Darkness as a sign of
apostasy prompts us to ask what the sources of the light of truth are.
We have looked at two sources of light: the established word and the contemporary
prophetic witness, 0102. We
start with the primary source, the sun.
| Sun | The sacred Scriptures | "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Ps. 119:105) |
| Moon | More recent or contemporary prophecies | " And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:" (Joel 2:28; See also Acts 26:18) |
| Stars | Those who share light with others | "And [when Michael/Jesus comes to rescue us from the final trouble and take us to heaven] take us to heaven] they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Dan. 12:3) |
Have the light
sources been smitten (other translations: whipped/beaten/tortured)?
"And the fourth angel sounded,
and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon,
and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened,
and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. (Rev.
8:12)
We note, from the text, that
the light sources, themselves, did not fail but were smitten. This means
that they were rejected and/or misinterpreted. To translate this to a historical
context is a sensitive matter. In chapter 13 we have the sad prediction
of the unfaithfulness of the beast that arose from the earth,
re1311a&b.
There we see what will happen
as the apostasy ripens, but it began earlier, as the churches which developed
from the Protestant Reformation stopped seeking new light and, in fact,
began persecuting those who differed with them as their ancestors had been
persecuted under the Catholics. When the light about the beginning of the
end-time judgment was preached, many from all churches accepted it, but
most dropped all they had learned because part of what was then preached
turned out to be error, re0610&11.
The
actual sun, moon, and stars smitten
Just
before the time of preaching several cosmic events had stirred the souls
of the people. The sun and moon were obscured by smoke from a forest fire
in New England, the region of the U.S. where the 1844 message was preached
more than elsewhere. Also the stars "fell" in a most significant Leonoid
meteorite shower. These are described in connection with the sixth seal,
re0612
(whole page).
8:12b
Part of the day
and part of the night also dimmed
"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." (Rev. 8:12)
Following the pattern in the
other trumpet calls, the darkened day and night should represent the people
who were affected by the apostasy which is still being developed toward
its climax. See Rom.
1:18-22; Ex.
10:15; Isa.
13:9, 10. Whether people, place or time, we see in the last part of
our verse the tragic results. For context, see above.
In the "day" and "night"
we may see God's greater and lesser lights (Gen.
1:16), the established Word and the voice of contemporary prophecy,
re0102.
8:13
Woe, woe, woe!
"And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!" (Rev. 8:13)
Like
the three angels?
Other manuscripts and
translations prefer "eagle" instead of "angel" but it doesn't matter. The
eagle/angel flies in mid-heaven, the air space used by the last three trumpet
angels. He also speaks with a loud voice as two of them do, and he has
the same audience, those who dwell on the earth. Earth dwellers are generally
the wicked (6:10;
8:13;
11:10;
13:8,
14; 17:2, 8) who follow
the earth beast 1314pe.
The three angels who will blow their trumpets are not the three angels
of Revelation 14.
Sequence
It's important to note, from
this verse, that the woes follow the previous trumpet soundings in time.
Actually all seven come in historical order the way they appear in the
Bible.
Links to woes:
1 -
2 -
3 They are explained beginning with the next page.
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