Revelation 8:12-13

12         Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

13         Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to the world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

Let’s do a couple word studies for this passage for the words that repeat often: dark and terror.

There are two descriptions of dark: “were darkened” (referring to sun, moon, and stars) and “was without light.” (referring to the day) These are two different Greek phrases, so let’s break them both down.

“Were darkened” is the Greek verb skotizó (sko-TID-zo). The connection to the Old Testament with this work is choshek, which represents the concept of darkness as a lack of spiritual and physical light. Spiritually, it refers to an obscuration of understanding or having one’s heart becoming hardens. It’s often used in the New Testament to indicate a lack of understanding or enlightenment in relation to God’s word.

“Was without light” is the Greek verb phainó (fah’-ee’-no). It’s used in the New Testament to refer to the act of becoming visible or manifest. It implies making something known, taking something from obscurity to clarity.

The lights of the world were obscured. They lost the light they once carried. They no longer served the purpose that God created them to fulfill. Everything went dark. At times, don’t we feel that way? Everything goes dark inside of us. Our hearts harden when we see the pain, chaos, agony, and anxiety going on in our community, with our loved ones, and all around the world. We can lose our light when the chaos around us starts to make an impact on our souls. If we’re without light, we lose the ability to reflect God’s love and compassion to the world. If the earth was without light, we become a void and a place of emptiness, isolation, and chaos.

The word for terror is often translated as “Woe” which is the Greek interjection and noun as ouai (oo-ah’-ee). This is used to express deep distress and lamenting. In the New Testament, it’s often used by Jesus to proclaim judgment or express sorrow over the spiritual state of a group of people or specific individuals. There’s an announcement by this eagle (more on that shortly) that is expressing judgment of all who are not believers of Christ, foreboding and preparing us for what will happen over the next three trumpet blasts. It’s a concern for this eagle, but why an eagle?

The prophet Habakkuk also used the image of an eagle to symbolize swiftness and destruction. The eagle is warning us of the terrors yet to come. Reminder, this is what happened in the first four trumpet blasts:

• Trumpet #1:   
  • Action: Hail and fire mixed with blood hit the earth
  • Result: 1/3 of the earth was on fire, 1/3 of the trees burned, and all the green grass burned.
• Trumpet #2:
  • Action: Great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea
  • Result: 1/3 of the of the sea water became blood, 1/3 of the living things in the sea died, and 1/3 of the ships were destroyed.
• Trumpet #3:
  • Action: Great star fell from the sky and fell on 1/3 of the rivers and water springs.
  • Result: 1/3 of the water became bitter and killed many people.
• Trumpet #4
  • Action: 1/3 of the sun went dark; 1/3 of the moon went dark; 1/3 of the stars went dark
  • Result: 1/3 of the day went dark; 1/3 of the night went dark.

How scary this imagery represents, and this eagle represents that worse things are to come. While both believers and unbelievers will experience these terrors, those “who belong to the world” will meet spiritual harm through the next three trumpets. Let’s actually take a sneak peek as to what those trumpets are:

• Fifth Trumpet: plague of locusts sent to torture with painful stings.
• Sixth Trumpet: four angels bound at the Euphrates were released to kill 1/3 of the earth’s population via fire, smoke, and burning sulfur.
• Seventh Trumpet: Temple of God opens, and the Ark of the Covenant is revealed; lightning, thunder, earthquake, and hailstorms happen

Scary, but let’s take some time to understand the imagery here. Until next, time stay blessed!

Read the next part here: The Trumpet Sound – Part 5