Revelation 8 Dimmed

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Revelation 8:12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

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!”​

Amazingdiscoveries.com offers that the growing darkness has something to do with Rome.

The Fourth Trumpet: A “third” of the “sun…moon” and “stars” are “smitten” with darkness. This represents the removal of Western Rome’s leaders. In A.D. 476 Odoacer, king of the Heruli, deposed the Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, bringing an end to the Western Roman Empire. From then on the Pope was the dominant figure in Western Europe.

I just don't understand. Is the commentary saying that rise in power of the pope over western Europe was a dimming of light?

This is from revelationcommentary.org.

And the fourth angel sounded, and (1) a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten, (2) so that a third of them might be darkened and (3) the day might not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

1. A third of the sun…moon…and…stars were smitten = again indicates an affect on the heavenly light sources.

2. So that a third of them might be darkened = Unlike the sixth seal where all light sources were temporally darkened, here only a third of the stars are darkened.

3. The day…and the night (might not shine) = what the exact affect of the fourth trumpet is not clear. Whether a twenty-four hour day becomes a sixteen hours day or whether three eight hour segments (day, night, and darkness) are intended cannot be dogmatically stated. At any rate, man loses a third of his light.​

And I looked, and (1) I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, (2) "Woe, woe, woe, to (3) those who dwell on the earth, because of the (4) remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

1. I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying = is obviously a figure of speech. One cannot hear an eagle flying, but normally one sees an eagle flying. Equally, eagles do not speak normally. It is possible that this particular eagle will speak in the same way Balaam’s ass spoke (Num 22:22-30). However, a solution that is more probable is that the eagle is a figure of speech. The actions of an angelic being moving in midheaven can be compared to an eagle flying in the sky. Flying suggests horizontal movement rather than the descending/ascending movement typical of angels.

2. Woe, woe, woe = a sign of trouble. The three "woes" are critical to the debate concerning the chronology of the Revelation. See the discussion of the structure of the book for more details.

3. Those who dwell on the earth = this is the third occurrence of this important phrase. The eagle makes clear that the intended victims of the trumpet judgments are the earth-dwellers. These individuals are consistently portrayed throughout the Revelation as enemies of God and the objects of God’s wrath.

4. Remaining blasts = there are three blasts or trumpets left to blow. These three trumpets are the three "woes." The severity of the three last trumpets is clearly emphasized.​

I watch a lot of Discovery Channel's show called "Dual Survivor". Two men, trained to survive, are plopped out in the middle of nowhere and they show how to survive the elements and get to a place where they can be saved. I can just hear them now.... "The sun is getting dim and the animals are hungry. We have no shelter except this cave.... but we don't know when another quake or aftershock will turn this cave into our tomb. We have no food. Our supplies were all swallowed up by the earthquake. There aren't any crops since God hit us with his blowtorch. Most of all, we have no water.... if we don't get water tomorrow... it's all over for us. Look it's getting darker sooner.... we have to hide. It's going to be a long night... Look an eagle.... "woe, woe,woe" Oh this isn't good. Maybe Aunt Becky was on to something with this Jesus and Salvation stuff. We could use some salvation right about now."

It' only going to get worse.... woe, woe, woe.... whenever something is repeated three times... it's so true.

:coffee:
 
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