THE THIRD TRUMPET
Burning As A Lamp!
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Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
We now reach the time of the sounding of the third trumpet. The first two trumpets have devastated different areas in the world. Hail mingled with fire and blood has burnt a third of the trees and grass. A mountain burning with fire has been cast into the sea - its impact causes the death of a third of sea creatures, turns a third of the sea to blood and any ships in the area are destroyed.
The question has been asked and answered in the previous three studies - Why is God sending these destructive judgments? God’s mercy, so freely given to all is about to come to an end! The ultimate event - Christ’s second coming is soon to take place. These trumpets are God’s warnings to the last generation that his coming is near - even at the doors (Matthew 24: 33)!
God’s witnesses (Revelation 11: 3, 6) at this time are sounding the trumpet warnings and the mighty three angel's messages. The first angels message is a key message for all the world and particularly emphasizes who the true and creator God of the universe is:
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice , Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Thus far the earth and sea have been impacted on by the first and second trumpet. The third trumpet affects the fountains of waters and rivers - they are made bitter or poisoned by the impact of a star that appears like a burning lamp as it enters the earth’s atmosphere and slams into the earth.
Water - essential to sustain life, is so contaminated that when drunk by the thirsty inhabitants of the region affected causes their deaths. Previous trumpets have impacted on the ability to transport essentials to those in need - the earth’s seas and atmosphere have been contaminated and travel via sea and air is deemed dangerous. Water which would normally be sent as quickly as possible after an event like this cannot reach its destination in a timely manner. People drink the water because they are so desperate, but die as a result.
An interesting verse in Isaiah 33 captures the difficulties experienced as a result of the outpouring of the judgments of God:
Isaiah 33:8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
Travel becomes extremely difficult as a result of the ruin caused by this star or meteor colliding with the earth. Communication networks are brought into disarray as some satellites are destroyed because they lie in the path of the approaching star.
God’s witnesses are protected and provided for at this time:
Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously: and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil
Isaiah 33:16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
The precious people of God during the time of the trumpets will be protected by God. This is the time that Job writes about:
Job 5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles : Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
God has provided unique and direct promises for God’s people to claim at this time. He states that your waters will be sure. God does not provide contaminated water. Just like he made bitter waters sweet for Israel (Exodus 15: 24,25) when they were wandering in the wilderness - God can also make bitter waters sweet for his end time people.
Will God’s people experience hardship and difficulties? Absolutely! But God is faithful and true to his word. Your water and bread will be sure!
However, because the trumpets are sounding during the loud cry, when God’s witnesses are prophesying in sackcloth, those in the prophetic church of Smyrna will be required to lay down their lives for the sake of God’s truth and the honour of his law. For more information about this fact please refer to the Revelation 11 study via this link.
The purpose of the trumpets is to plead with mankind to turn to the true God - the Creator of the universe whilst there is time. Each trumpet has been prophesied before it happens by God’s witnesses (Revelation 11:6). God’s witnesses echo the first angels message throughout the world:
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice , Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
God’s judgments have certainly arrived and these seven trumpets sound with mercy as they only impact on a third of God’s creation. Each of the trumpets are wake up calls for humanity. The time of the Gentiles is soon to be fulfilled:
Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
An obvious question to ask is : ‘Why does God call the star - Wormwood? The Greek word is only used twice in the King James Version of the New Testament and that is in Revelation 8:11:
And G2532 the G3588 name G3686 of the G3588 star G792 is called G3004 Wormwood: G894 and G2532 the G3588 third part G5154 of the G3588 waters G5 204 became G1096 wormwood; (G1519) G894 and G2532 many G4183 men G444 died G599 of G1537 the G3588 waters, G5204 because G3754 they were made bitter. G4087
The word Wormwood can be used figuratively or literally.
G894
ἄψινθος
apsinthos
ap'-sin-thos
Of uncertain derivation; wormwood (as a type of bitterness, that is, [figuratively] calamity): - wormwood.
Total KJV occurrences: 2
The star is called wormwood and contaminates a third of the rivers and fountains of waters - they actually become wormwood or bitter as a result. The many men dying as a result of the contamination of the waters is a judgment from God.
This judgment was prophesied in the Old Testament a long time ago and goes like this:
Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
Jeremiah 9:13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink.
Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
First it is interesting to note the conditions on the earth at the time of this prophecy: for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? The first trumpet certainly involved the burning up of a third of the trees and all the green grass. The earth does truly look like a wilderness and none passeth through! But what are the reasons God has sent these trumpet warnings to mankind for?
The spiritual state of the world and the church are as barren as the wilderness they dwell in. Verse 13 and 14 explain the reason why this is the case. The points made are as follows:
· They have forsaken God’s law.
· They have not obeyed God.
· They have walked after the imagination of their own hearts.
· They have walked after Baalim which their fathers taught them
Mankind, including the church and the world are on the verge of spiritual bankruptcy. The time of the ‘loud cry’ and the three angel’s messages is their final opportunity to be snapped out of the Laodicean state they are in and wake up to their spiritual blindness and nakedness:
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind, and naked:
Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayes be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayes be clothed ad that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Ellen White writes of such a time when the law of God has been forsaken:
Truth is sown for the righteous. Christ came to sow the world with truth, that man might have a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. If men receive the truth in its correct bearings, it will be because they search the Scriptures to understand for themselves what saith the Lord, that they may obey His voice. But in this age of the world the masses of the people have turned away their ears from hearing the Word of the Lord, lest they should be disturbed by His plainly specified requirements. Their condition is described by the prophet Jeremiah: Ms 60—1900.1
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord: Shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I harkened and heard, but they spake not aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turneth to his course as a horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming: but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? MS 60—1900.2
This description is now being fulfilled to the letter in the religious world. The Lord declares: “Every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness from the prophet, even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down,” saith the Lord. MS 60—1900.3
This representation is true of those who claim to be teachers of the people and who are leading them astray. They refuse obedience to the Word of the Lord. Yet they say, The law of the Lord is with us. “Especially is this fulfilled in their course with regard to the original Sabbath of Jehovah. Instead of observing the memorial Sabbath, the day that God has blessed and sanctified they honor a spurious Sabbath, a heathen idol Sabbath. They exalt it by their man made theories. And they declare. the law of the Lord is with us. “and all who violate the Sunday will be dealt with according to our laws. MS 60 - 1900.4
At the time of the ‘Loud Cry’ and the warning sound of the seven trumpets the majority of the religious world reveals contempt for God by choosing to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week in direct violation of the law of God as given to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is the crisis point! Who do you obey? Do you obey God or man?
This is the issue that will rock the world. Man made theories and traditions are exalted above the law of the true, creator God. Another clue from Jeremiah is that the people who will be given wormwood and gall to drink are following after the imagination of their own hearts and after Baalim (Jeremiah 9:14).
Who is this false God that they worship?
Satan is working to the utmost to make himself as God and to destroy all who oppose his power. And today the world is bowing before him. His power is received as the power of God. The prophecy of the Revelation is being fulfilled, that all the world wondered after the beast. Revelation 13:3. MS 394, 1907 par 13
Under Satan’s direction men have set up an image to be worshipped, even as Nebuchadnezzar set up an image on the plains of Dura and commanded all men to fall down and worship it. They have exalted the first day of the week, putting it in the place of the Sabbath of the Lord.
Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou has said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Satan is that false god whom the majority of the religious world bows down to. It has been his sole purpose, ever since being ejected from heaven, to seduce and mislead humanity and literally become recognized as God by the world.
This description is now being fulfilled to the letter in the religious world. The Lord declares:
“Every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness from the prophet, even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore many, and Satan has purposed to interpose himself between God and the human soul, so that men shall not give homage to God in keeping his law. Satan has wrapped about him garments of angelic brightness, and he comes to men as an angel of light. He causes the guilty soul to see things in a perverted way, so that he hates that which he should love and loves that which he should hate and despise. God is so misrepresented to him that he cares not to retain the true and living Father in his knowledge, but turns to the worship of fake Gods. He knows not the love of of God is without parallel, yet Christ has revealed that love to a fallen world. John calls upon the world. To behold the wondrous love of God, saying, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. RH March 9 1897
We are reminded of Jeremiah's prophecy and why people are given wormwood to consume:
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
Jeremiah 9:14 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink.
When we disobey the almighty creator God of the universe and prefer to worship Baalim or other God’s we are by choice worshipping Satan.
God has a controversy with the inhabitants of this world. Satan has come to them disguised as an angel of light, and under his direction the majority of Christians bow at idolatrous shrines and worship an unknown god. MS 63 1897 1897
The above quote makes it clear. The controversy God has with humanity is that they are worshipping an unknown God. Note who is worshipping this unknown God - THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS! The first six trumpets are warnings to the professed followers of God who are in reality, worshipping an unknown God to turn to the only true God and creator of the universe. This unknown God is the TRINITY, a god of man’s creation, a god whose three persons exist co-eternally, denying that the heavenly Father ever had a literal son. Jesus Christ is only playing the role of a son. There are several articles on the Prophesy Again website which clearly outline the issues connected with worshiping the trinity and why it is abhorrent to God. Recommended studies include : The Son of God, The SDA Golden Calf and Trinity: Truth or Tradition. Click on each link to head to this extra information essential to your understanding of this critical issue.
Ezekiel prophesied of a time when God’s people follow the imagination of their own hearts:
Ezekiel 8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
Jeremiah and Ezekiel agree. It is the ancients of the house of Israel in Ezekiel that are in the dark spiritually, as in their innermost imagination they believe God cannot see them and has forsaken the earth. In Jeremiah 9:14 the fathers or ancients of Israel have taught Israel to follow Baalim, who is now embedded in the imagination of their hearts. Baalim is the ‘image of jealousy’ that sits in the gate in the north:
Ezekiel 8:5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Comparing Ezekiel and Jeremiah, it is Baalim or the ‘image of jealousy’ that initiates God’s judgments upon his people. It is the worship of false God’s and ultimately Satan that causes God to state: “Therefore...Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. This judgment is described as a sword.
Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Leviticus 26:15 I also will do this unto you;...
Leviticus 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
Leviticus 26:46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
God declared to the children of Israel that a sword or judgment would come upon them if His statutes, commandments and covenant were broken and despised. David disobeyed God when he numbered Israel. The prophet Gad informed David that he had to make a choice of punishment for disobeying God’s commands:
1 Chronicles 21:12 Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before their foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
David chose the ’sword of the Lord’. The third trumpet will be a sword to God’s professed people and they will be given wormwood and the water of gall to drink. The third trumpet is a judgment or sword of God that is given with mercy for those who are still not wholly given to sin and the total disregard of the commandments of God:
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Just like the previous two trumpet warnings, only a third of God’s creative works are affected: one third of the rivers and fountains of waters are impacted upon. This is the time of the ’loud cry’ and the time when God’s witnesses are prophesying in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3) preaching the three angels messages and drawing the attention of the whole world to the importance of honoring their creator and being obedient to him by keeping all his commandments.
There are many who will tell you that if you keep the law of God you have fallen from grace. They make strong assertions for which they have no foundation, to lead people astray, for they do not know whereof they speak. The prophet says, " Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” Those who are seeking to destroy the law are not of the class who are sealing the law among the disciples of Christ, but they are of the class who shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. “The dragon is represented as persecuting those who keep God’s commandments. Evil angels conspire with evil men against God and his people. Persons of influence are stirred with a power from beneath; the energies of apostasy are united to deceive or to destroy the champions of truth. ST, April 22, 1889, par 8
Those prophesying in sackcloth are God’s true witnesses and are described thus in Revelation:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
The message the saints/witnesses are giving to humanity is that they need to:
- Fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come
Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The call to come out of Babylon reverberates around the world. Babylon, that ‘great city’ which has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication is destined for destruction. For too many years she has spread her false doctrine throughout the empire of the papacy, but now even the Protestant churches have totally embraced her beliefs and are prepared to promote legislation which makes void the law of the ten commandments.
The great sin charged against Babylon is that she “made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world represents the false doctrines that she has accepted as the result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ. GC 388.2
Babylon’s god is the trinity, her Sabbath is Sunday and she teaches doctrines that are “opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ.” God’s witnesses proclaim the call “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
The third trumpet is a wake up call to Babylon:
Jeremiah 2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Jeremiah 2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Why should the heavens be astonished, horribly afraid and desolate? God’s professed people worship gods that are ‘no gods’. They have forsaken the true God, the Creator God who is the ‘fountain of living waters’. Their broken cisterns can hold no water. They are devoid of the spirit of God.
The heavens have released the star, burning as a lamp which has devastated a third of the rivers and fountains of waters, but the next trumpet will smite the heavens – the sun, moon and stars. The heavens should be astonished! It is their turn next!
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jeremiah 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain:…
The Word of God is very clear there are going to be “signs of heaven” and the heathen will be dismayed at them! Why? Because their customs are in vain!! If you read on in Jeremiah Chapter 10 you will find that those customs are their worship of their self-made gods. Read it for yourself! The trinity is a god manufactured from the traditions of Rome or the papacy. The trinity has been adopted by the majority of Protestant churches. Rome now bears sway in these religions. The doctrines of the wine of the wrath of her fornication have been imbibed. The true and Creator God of the universe send signs from heaven to try and awake those who are drunk with the Papacy’s doctrines. The heathen are dismayed! Their trinity god who they have honoured throughout their lives is very real to them. The counterfeit trinity god has been constructed to be so like the true God that they cannot even bear to dishonour him by investigating the truth of the matter. Satan’s masterpiece – the trinity has helped him become the god of this world – he gladly receives their honour and praise and ultimately deceives the whole world when he counterfeits the second coming of Christ. (See the article :Satan’s Personation of Christ for more details).
The third trumpet is surely a sign from heaven. Prophesied by Jeremiah so long ago the wormwood and gall that the idolatrous were warned about finally becomes a reality as that star or meteorite burning as a lamp crashes to the earth poisoning one third of the earth’s water supplies.
These signs from heaven are also mentioned elsewhere in the Bible:
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Joel’s reference to the wonders in heaven is during the time of the latter rain. This is the time of the Loud Cry (Revelation 18) and the three Angel’s messages (Revelation 14) and the prophesying in sackcloth of God’s witnesses (Revelation 11). Christ’s coming is imminent and the seven trumpet warnings including signs from heaven are designed to be his final call to humanity. He desperately desires for Laodicea to awake before it is ever too late. He longs for the Gentiles to come to the light of his truth and presence.
Addendum : Should the third trumpet be interpreted symbolically?
In traditional Adventist teaching the seven trumpets have been interpreted symbolically. The first four trumpets, are not symbolic. The use of the term ‘star’ is referred to in:
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Revelation 8:12 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.
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Quite a few commentators believe that the star mentioned in the third trumpet is the same as the star that falls from heaven in the fifth trumpet. Let’s examine the scripture itself to determine whether that is so. The key difference between the fifth and third trumpet star is that in the fifth trumpet we know the star is symbolic because ‘to him was given’ the key of the bottomless pit. The context of the verse easily identifies the use of a symbol. Who the ‘him’ is in the fifth trumpet can be determined by comparing scripture to scripture.
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isaiah 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
The above two scriptures absolutely confirm who the star is in the fifth trumpet – it is none other than Satan himself. The use of the word ‘him’ has clearly denoted that that the word star is used in a symbolic sense. This is not however the case in the third or fourth trumpets.
Miller’s interpretation of symbols was applied to the seven trumpets using proof texts to determine what the symbols represented. Stars and Waters were interpreted as follows:
STARS – Ministers in the church, or rulers in the world
Rev. 12:1; Dan. 8:10; 12:3; Jude 13
WATERS – Flesh or people
Num. 24:7; Isa. 48:1; 8:7; John 5:8; Rev. 17:
RIVERS – People living on the rivers, mentioned
Isa. 8:7; Rev. 8:10; 16:4
Let us apply these symbol interpretations to the third trumpet:
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great ‘ruler’ from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and ‘the ruler’ fell upon the third part of the ‘people living on the rivers’, and upon the fountains of ‘people’;
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the ‘ruler’ is called Wormwood: and the third part of the ‘people’ became wormwood; and many men died of the ‘people’, because they were made bitter.
Where else are rivers and fountains of waters referred to in Revelation? Comparing scripture to scripture especially in the same book will help reveal if applying symbols is a valid method of interpretation in this context. The exact terminology is also used in the seven last plagues:
Revelation 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Revelation 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Revelation 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Consistency in interpretation is warranted when considering the identical nature of the elements being impacted. Let us make this passage symbolic and see if it makes sense:
Revelation 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the people and fountains of people; and they became blood.
Revelation 16:5 And I heard the angel of the people say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Revelation 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
The first issue that arises is the repetition that the vial is poured upon the people and upon the fountains of people. Does ‘fountains of people’ make sense? The Hebrew word for ‘Fountain’ is used 12 times in the New Testament and refers to the idea of gushing or a source or supply of water and can refer to other sources eg. Blood, ‘water of life’, etc. Nowhere else in scripture are people referred to as a fountain. The application of people as ‘fountains’ is questionable in this scriptural context and in the context of the seven trumpets.
Notice that if waters are symbolic for people in this context that according to Verse 4 the people became blood. If this is the case obviously a mass slaughter has taken place. But the question must be asked: If the people truly became blood why in Verse 6 does it state:” thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy?” If the people are blood, how can they drink blood?
It is obvious when interpreting ‘waters’ as people in the context of the seven plagues or vials it is ridiculous to say the least. Yet the very same terminology is used in the seven trumpets and the application of ‘waters’ as people in that context is deemed to be an accurate application. The application of the symbol in the trumpets is inconsistent when compared to the way other scripture within the same book is interpreted.
A very important rule that William Miller also relied upon in prophetic interpretation is:
How to know when a word is used figuratively: If it makes good sense as it stands, and does no violence to the simple laws of nature, then it must be understood literally; if not, figuratively. Revelation 12:1,2;17:3-7.
The use of the symbol ‘waters’ for people is definitely used in Revelation 17:
Revelation 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
It must be noted that in the very same chapter that symbols are used that the explanation of what those symbols mean is also given. This is a commonplace occurrence throughout prophecy. If symbols are used they are explained by God there and then. The ‘waters’ that the whore sits on are representative in Revelation 17 of: peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The very important point must be made is that just because the symbol is relevant in the vision in Revelation 17 does not give us licence to apply it holus-bolus throughout the whole of Revelation and scripture.
Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Imagine applying the symbol of ‘people’ for ‘waters’ in the above context:
Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of ‘people’: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
The application of the symbol in this context does not make sense. Likewise applying the symbol in trumpet three destroys the true meaning of the text:
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great ‘ruler’ from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and ‘the ruler’ fell upon the third part of the ‘people living on the rivers’, and upon the fountains of ‘people’;
Fountains of people as we have highlighted in previous texts is a reference that is made to a literal water or fluid not to people. In the same context we also have the next statement:
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the ‘ruler’ is called Wormwood: and the third part of the ‘people’ became wormwood (‘the ruler’); and many men died of the ‘people’, because they were made bitter.
Many men died of the people could also be phrased: ‘Many people died of the people’. Again we can see that applying a symbol in this context just does not work. Truly Miller’s following rule of prophetic interpretation applies in this case:
“How to know when a word is used figuratively: If it makes good sense as it stands, and does no violence to the simple laws of nature, then it must be understood literally.”
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