Revelation 8:10-11

10          Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

11          The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

“Bitterness” is also referred to as “Wormwood” in different translations. It’s the Greek word apsinthos (ap’-sin’-thos). This word can also be found in the original Hebrew in Deuteronomy 29:18 and Jeremiah 9:15. In the New Testament, where we find John’s words, it refers to the plant with a strong and bitter taste. It can also refer to something that’s represents bitterness and sorrow. This plant was often used for medicine but was often associated with bitterness and calamity.

Understanding this interpretation of the star shows that the burning passion of bitter will end up destroying people. We should look at the two Old Testament passages to see if we can build a deeper understanding of what this bitterness represents.

The Hebrew word for “wormwood” is la’anah (lah-an-aw’). The bitterness of the wormwood represented the consequences of sin and disobedience to God. It was often used to illustrate the severity of God’s judgment and the consequences to idolatry and injustice.

We now understand the bitterness to represent God’s disdain for people committing idolatrous acts and injustice. We continuous put something ahead of God. It could have been our job, our possessions, our relationships, or something else completely different. When we put these things ahead of God, we lose sight of the overall purpose that God created us with. We start to slowly lose the teachings of life from God and become infatuated with follow whatever we have reigning above God. It forces us to lose out on the most important that Jesus teaches: to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

The other thing that we tend to do is commit acts of injustice, both intentionally and not. We can often get so caught up in our own lives that we often hurt others and cause them distress without realizing it. We can hurt others because of how selfish and self-centered we can become.  We can be so set in our ways that we will do whatever we want however we want without caring about who is in our way. God wants us to fulfill the second greatest command, at least by Jesus standard: to love our neighbors as he loved us.

Associated Scripture:

Revelation 8:10          Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 6:13, 9:1, 16:4

Revelation 8:11          Jeremiah 9:15

Read the next part here: The Trumpet Sounds – Part 4