Three Woes
An eagle "flying in mid-heaven" announces the last three trumpets, the "three woes" – Revelation 8:13.
There are three “woes” because they correspond to
the final three
trumpet blasts. But the first four trumpet plagues have prepared the reader for
this new revelation by identifying the three areas impacted by each of the
first four trumpet blasts.
Thus, the first
trumpet “burned up” a third of the earth, trees, and “green grass.”
The second polluted a third of the sea, killed a third of the sea’s creatures and destroyed a third of the world’s ships. The third trumpet harmed a third of the rivers and the “fountains of the waters,”
and “embittered”
a third of the “waters,” making them undrinkable. Finally, the fourth
trumpet “struck” the sun, and darkened a third part of the moon and
stars.
- (Revelation 8:13) – “And I saw, and I heard one eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the remaining voices of the trumpet, of the three angels who are about to sound.”
The literary effect of announcing “three woes” highlights the intensification
of events that takes place during the next three trumpet blasts. The first four
were only preliminary.
“Mid-heaven” is a verbal link to two later (and related)
passages. First, the “angel flying in mid-heaven” that pronounced the “everlasting
gospel” to the “inhabitants of the earth” prior to
the pronouncement of Babylon’s fall. Second, the “birds in mid-heaven” that
were summoned by an angel to the “supper of God,” the aftermath of the
final battle between the one “riding the white horse” and the “beast”
and its allies - (Revelation 14:6-11, 19:17-21).
The target of these next “plagues” is identified explicitly
- The “inhabitants of the earth.” In Revelation,
this group represents humanity in its opposition to the
“Lamb” - the men and women who refuse to repent and take the “mark of the
beast” - (e.g., Revelation 3:10, 6:10, 11:10,
13:8-12).
The first four trumpets came in quick succession, and in
each case, with only a brief description. Each time, nothing was said
concerning the end of the trumpet and its “plague.” In contrast, each “woe”
is described in detail, and the first two both end with a concluding statement that
warns about the next “woe”:
- “The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter” – (9:1-12).
- “The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe is coming quickly” – (9:13-11:14).
While the first “woe” warns that the next one is
coming “hereafter,” the next one concludes on a more ominous note – The third
“woe” is coming “quickly,” right on the heels of
the deaths of the “two witnesses.”
The second “woe” provides the most detailed description.
Based on the literary structure, in addition to the unleashing of the hostile
horde “from beyond the Euphrates,” the “second woe” includes the “little
scroll,” the “measuring of the sanctuary,” and the ministry of the “two
witnesses.”
The longer description of the “second woe” does
not mean that it lasts longer than the other six trumpets. What it does do is
focus the reader’s attention, for this is, arguably, the most pivotal of the
seven trumpets.
The description of the final “woe” is much shorter,
not because it is less important, but because it culminates in the final
judgment. Once it is complete, the kingdoms of the earth are overthrown, the
righteous are rewarded, and the unrepentant “inhabitants of the earth”
are condemned. Those who were “destroying the earth” are themselves “destroyed.”
The final “woe” brings the “seven trumpets”
to their conclusion, which is punctuated by “flashes of lightning
and voices and claps of thunder and an earthquake, and great hail,”
the same phenomena seen and heard at the end of the “seven seals.”
Comments
Post a Comment
We encourage free discussions on the commenting system provided by the Google Blogger platform, with the stipulation that conversations remain civil. Comments voicing dissenting views are encouraged.