Revelation 8:10.11. The Third Trumpet

Rev 8:10.11. The Third Trumpet

Rev 8:10.11. Then 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 water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

The only star which fell from heaven was the one Jesus Christ mentioned in reference to Satan. Luke 10:18. I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. The text does not state the word star. But Satan was one of the stars of heaven before he fell or was cast out of heaven.

Rev 12:3.4. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. (The dragon refers to Satan, the devil or the serpent in Rev 12:9. The stars refer to angels in Rev 1:20. Satan is also referred to as an angel in Rev 9:1 and in Ezekiel 28:13.14.)

What does “burning” mean in prophecy?

Jeremiah 51:24.25. “And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion in your sight,” says the Lord. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys all the earth,” says the Lord. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt mountain. But you shall be desolate forever. (A burnt mountain means Babylon will be desolate and be destroyed forever).

Dan 7:11. I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. (The little horn is symbolized by the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church system, which will be given to the burning flame and be destroyed forever).

Isaiah 33:12. (Judgment on Zion). And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; like thorns cut up they shall be heard in the fire.

Rev 18:8. (Refers to spiritual Babylon). Therefore, her plagues will come in one day – death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

Conclusion

A great star falling from heaven, burning like a torch, refers to Satan who was an angel. He was cast out of heaven and fell to the earth. The burning refers to his final destruction in the future.

What does Wormwood mean in this text?

A bitter and poisonous plant, probably one of the large composite genus Artemisia, several varieties of which occur in Palestine. They are woody plants with a strong aromatic odor and bitter taste. (Proverbs 5:4). The undiluted juice is noxious (Rev 8:10.11). Bible writers follow the Oriental custom of symbolizing calamity, sorrow and disappointment with plants of this nature. (Jeremiah 9:15, Lamentations 3:19).[1]

This is another description of Satan who is compared to a bitter and poisonous plant.

What is the symbolic interpretation of  “rivers and springs of water” in this text? 

Rev 7:17. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. (Living fountains of water up in heaven refer to the water of life from the river of life in Rev 22:1).

Rev 8:10. Then 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 water. (This star who represents Satan has polluted the teachings leading to eternal life).

Rev 16:4. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water and they became blood. (Why this plague? Because in Rev 16:5.6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due. This could be literal blood on the springs of water and rivers).

Rev 22:1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb. (The drinking of this water from this river leads to eternal life).

John 4:10.11. Jesus answered and said to her, (The Samaritan woman) “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, `Give Me a drink,`you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. Where then do you get the living water?

John 4:13.14. Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (Waters of teachings from Christ leading to belief in Christ and eternal life).

John 4:15. The woman said to Him, `Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.

John 4:22.23. Salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth; for the father is seeking such to worship Him. (Water of life is related to worshiping the Father in spirit and truth).

John 7:38. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (This water is related to believing in Christ and preaching the gospel of Christ).

Conclusion

Rivers and springs of water are related to the following: This star who represents Satan has polluted the teachings of the Bible leading to eternal life, as a result the waters are polluted and lead to death. Living fountain of waters leading to eternal life. Fountain of life from Christ leading to eternal life. It involves worship in spirit and truth to the Father. It involves believing in Christ and preaching the gospel of eternal life.

There are different interpretations of the word “rivers” in prophecy, and the context determines what interpretation we shall use.

1. Rev 16:12. This river is a border between God´s people and their enemies. When this river Euphrates dries up, it means that the border has disappeared and the enemy go in for the attack.
2. Rev 12:15.16. Rev 12:15. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. (War and persecution from the papacy against the Protestants during the Protestant Reformation). The serpent spewed out of his mouth a river of persecution, war and torture during the Middle Ages against God´s people.
3. Rev 22:1. This river of the water of life involves worshiping God, believing in Christ in the spirit and truth.

Interpretation of the text Rev 8:10.11. And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch refers to Satan who will be destroyed in the future. The great star fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water refer to Bible teachings leading to eternal life. When this star Satan fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water, they became bitter because the wormwood had poisoned these waters referring to teachings from the Bible about eternal life and worshiping God in the spirit and truth. Hence, the teachings from the Bible by the established church became corrupt and false. This resulted in many men dying a spiritual death, from these false teachings entering the church of God.

When did this happen?

After the second trumpet in Rev 8:8.9. After paganism and worldliness entered the Church, God sent another warning to the Church by the blowing of the third trumpet. What danger came into the Church after Paganism had entered the Church? The bishop of Rome became the head of the Church and this was the beginning of the papacy taking control of the Church and all the people who worshiped therein.

Satan who fell from heaven as a burning star, was the mastermind behind this project. When the bishop of Rome took control of the Church, then many of the teachings of the Bible where polluted and destroyed. They were substituted by the additional teachings of the papacy, so as to control the people of the Church under their hierarchy. The Bible was taken away from the people in the Church and was substituted by the Latin Bible of which only the clergy could preach from and interpret from.

As a result, the clergy began a form of brain washing the people to believe in what they taught and interpreted from the Bible, so the members could come under their control. This form of brain washing has been carried out in the Church for many centuries right up to this present day and has deluded many millions of Roman Catholic Church members.

As a result of the Churches false teachings, many millions have died spiritually.

“I saw that at last the standard was lowered, and that the heathen were uniting with the Christians. Although these worshippers of idols professed to be converted, they brought their idolatry with them into the church, only changing the objects of their worship to images of the saints, and even of Christ and of Mary His mother. As the followers of Christ gradually united with them, the Christian religion became corrupted, and the church lost its purity and power.”[2]

“This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of the ´man of sin´ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. Referring to the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church system) foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan´s power, – – – a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.”[3]

“To secure worldly gains and honours, the Church was led to seek the favour and support of the great men of the earth; and having rejected Christ, she was induced to yield to the representatives of Satan-the bishop of Rome.

It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal Church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled ´Lord God the Pope´ (see Appendix) and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men.  The same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to yield him homage.”[4]

“At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, ´It is written.´ To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the world. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the scriptures. The Bible will exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore, its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed.

This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus, the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over Church and State.”[5]

“In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over the entire Church. Paganism had given place to the papacy. The dragon (Satan) had given to the beast ´his power, and his seat, and authority´. Rev 13:2 (See Appendix.) And now began the 1,260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Dan 7:25. Rev 13:5-7.”[6]

When did this 1,260-year prophecy begin?

“The ten tribes which were the foundation of Europe are in the plural, but they did not all fall. There were only three tribes which fell according to the vision. Dan 7:7.8. Dan 7:20.21. Dan 7:23.24. These are the three kings Visigoths 508 AD, Vandals 534 AD, and Ostrogoths 538 AD. These are the “sons” of the robbers coming after Rome. Therefore, this verse in Dan 11:14 is referring to the starting point of the Little Horn power, after uprooting the three tribes: the sons of the robbers. This is also the starting point for the pronouns used for the Little Horn power such as “he” and “him” right through to verse 45.” (For further information see my website www.ayin.dk Dan 11:14 Sons of Robbers)

Texts from the book of Daniel referring to the little horn power as the papacy.

Dan 7:8.20. I was considering the horns. And there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

Dan 7:21. I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints and prevailing against them. (During the Middle Ages)

Dan 7:24. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones and shall subdue three kings. (Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths).

Dan 7:25. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (This is referring to the 1,260 years from A.D. 538 to 1798 during the Middle Ages)

Dan 8:8. Therefore, the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in the place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

Dan 8:9. And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

Dan 8:10. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled on them.

Dan 8:11. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

Dan 8:12b. and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

Dan 8:13b. How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?

Dan 8:14. And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days (prophetic years),” then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

The following is a list of the false teachings from the papacy incorporated into the Roman Catholic beliefs of the Church, which are opposite to the truths found in the Bible, and therefore have poisoned the clear water of teachings from the Bible.

1. The infallibility of the pope. One who is incapable of erring and one who is unfailing.

(The pope is a human being. The Bible says in Rom 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In addition, the book Catholic Power Vs. American Freedom states “the papal doctrine of infallibility was promulgated in 1870 by the first Vatican Council at the insistence of Pope Pius IX. However, it was not suddenly discovered, for, as Pius IX elaborated, it was a “tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith.” This of course is not true, for there is nothing in the New Testament or the early churches to support it).”[7]

2. Under the teachings of the apostolic succession, the pope has absolute authority and is the supreme ruler of the church.

(The apostolic succession cannot be proven. The papacy says they have a list of credentials handed down from the apostle Peter right down to the first pope, however these credentials are false. The supreme ruler of the church according to the Bible is Christ and Christ only. Ephesians 5:23.24).

3. The Eucharist or communion is the time when the bread turns into the body of Christ and the wine turns into the literal blood of Christ by some miraculous event.

(This has never been proven. When Christ gave the ordinance of the Communion to his disciples in Math 26:26-28, he is referring to the bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood. When Jesus said, “take eat this is my body,” the disciples did not literary eat his body, but they ate bread which was a symbol of his body).

4. The sale of indulgences. (Lyon 269). Indulgences guaranteed the crusader´s entry into heaven and reduced or abolished his time in purgatory. (Lyon 333). Under Pope Sixtus there was a need for greater amounts of money in the form of gifts and this led to the peddling of indulgences.

(There is no text in the Bible referring to indulgences. It is a teaching thought up by the papacy to enlarge the coffers of the Church).

5. Purgatory is a place of spiritual purging of sins when one has died and on the road to heaven. (There is no scriptural reference for this teaching).
6. Salvation by works and belief in Christ.

(One is only saved by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. Ephes 2:8.9).

7. Forgiveness of sin can only be done by the pope, bishops and priests.

(This is not scriptural. Only God can forgive sins. Luke 5:21. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9).

8. The papacy say that Gods word from the Bible is no rule of faith.

(The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness).

9. The papacy has changed the 10 commandments of God in their own Bible compared to the original Hebrew.
10. They have ruled out the second commandment saying, “you shall not make for yourself a graven image – – – and you shall not bow down to them or serve them.”
11. They do not specify what the Lord´s day is, like the Sabbath which is the seventh day of the week.
12. They have divided the last commandment into two commandments which is, thou shalt not covet. To compare see Exodus 20:2-17 and- the Catechism of the Catholic Church at www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism
13. The papacy has changed the Sabbath day from Saturday the seventh day of the week to Sunday the first day of the week.

Peter Geiermann, The Convert´s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1957, p.50. Copyright 1930 by B. Herder Book Co., St Louis. (Q=Question, A=Answer)[8]

1. Which is the Sabbath day?
2. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
3. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
4. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.

The correct Sabbath is the seventh day of the week on a Saturday installed by God at creation Gen 2:1-3.

11. The papacy believe in the veneration of the saints.

(The Bible says in the ten commandments Exodus 20: 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them.” This includes the worshipping of saints and their images).

12. The papacy believe in the immaculation of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ.

(Immaculation means that the virgin Mary was conceived free from the taint of original sin. In 1854 it was declared in an article of faith of R.C. Church. However, the Bible says in Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This includes the mother of Mary).

The question is, how do these false teachings take away the truths of the heavenly sanctuary?

First of all, the Roman Catholic Church system of priests forgiving their members of their sins in a booth, indulgences, purgatory, is a substitute of the forgiving of sins by our heavenly Father in the heavenly sanctuary through the Lamb of God. Hebrews 8:1.2. “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, which is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man.” John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So, the only priest we have to come to for the forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:9), is in the heavenly sanctuary and not any institution on earth. This is Christ only. The pope is not the supreme authority and High priest over all the church and churches in Christendom. Christ is our only High Priest and has supreme authority in the heavenly sanctuary and over all men on earth. Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus Christ the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.” Hebrews 8:1.2. Hebrews 9:11. Ephesians 5:23.24.

Furthermore, salvation in the heavenly sanctuary is not by works but by faith alone on the merits of Christ the Lamb of God and Christ as our High Priest. John 1:29. Ephesians 2:8.

In addition, the Roman Catholic teaching of the Mass: where Christ is sacrificed each time one partakes of the mass, and the bread turns into the actual body of Christ, and the wine changes into the actual blood of Christ; this is also a false teaching opposite to the sanctuary teaching in heaven. Hebrews 9:25 “not that He (Christ) should offer himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another,” Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”

As regarding to the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, these were written by Gods own finger on stone and placed in the ark in the Most Holy Place. Exodus 31:18. Deuteronomy 10:1-5. There is no place in the Bible where it says that the Ten Commandments were done away with at the cross. They are still binding on all men and Christians because if they were done away with, all men would be allowed to steal, murder, and commit adultery etc. However, God does not allow this in his kingdom therefore the commandments are still binding in his heavenly sanctuary and are still binding on us today on earth. Rev 11:19. Rev 14:12. Rev 12:17

[1] Siegfried H. Horn, Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Dictionary, (Washington D. C.: Review & Herald Pub. Assoc., 1979), 1184.

[2] Ellen G. White, Early Writings (Washington D. C.: Review & Herald Pub. Assoc., 1945), 211.

[3] Ellen G. White, Confrontation (Grantham, Lincolnshire: The Stanborough Press, 1978), 50.

[4] Ibid., 50.

[5] Ibid., 51.

[6] Ibid., 54.

[7] George La Piana and John Swomley, Catholic Power VS. American Freedom (New York: Prometheus Books, 2002, 211.

[8] Don F. Neufield and Julia Neuffer, Ed., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students´Source Book, Vol. 9 (Washington D.C.: Review & Herald Pub., 1962), 886.