Revelation 8:10-11 “Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. (11) The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.”
In this section we want to discuss the sounding of the third trumpet and the corresponding judgement that will be initiated because of that trumpet’s sounding. The above quoted passage of scripture describes a great star burning like a torch, falling from heaven on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. This passage names the star Wormwood which causes a third of the waters to become wormwood, resulting in many dying from the water because it was made bitter. And so we see that God’s third judgement will be to strike the earth with another single large asteroid, although this asteroid will not be nearly as large as the one that strikes the Pacific Ocean. This passage teaches us that this asteroid will impact one third of the earth’s rivers and springs, thus making those waters undrinkable. There is one geographic location on the planet that meets the requirement of accounting for approximately one third of the earth’s rivers and springs. That region is the Amazon basin in South America, from which flows the Amazon River which accounts for approximately one third of the average discharge of all the rivers on earth. And so it is more than probable that this asteroid will strike the earth in this geographic location. So what about the asteroids name Wormwood? The Greek word translated “wormwood” is Apsinthos. This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament, and so being of uncertain origin the translators used the word wormwood to try conveying its meaning. The reason for this is because wormwood is a shrub that grows naturally in the earth and has the species name of Artemisia absinthium, which means “without sweetness” i.e. bitter. Clearly this asteroid will contain some form of mineral that will contaminate the springs and rivers in the Amazon basin area, making those waters bitter. The contamination will not only make the Amazon waters bitter however; they will also prove to be deadly to any who drink from it. And so we see that the waters in the Amazon River basin, which accounts for approximately one third of the average discharge of all the rivers on earth, will become undrinkable. As an aside, just as with the other two asteroid strikes, this asteroid will most probably destroy the earth’s remaining satellites, thus ending the global communication systems that are reliant on satellite technology.
Revelation 8:12 “Then the fourth angel sounded: 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 were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.”
In this section we want to discuss the sounding of the fourth trumpet and the corresponding judgement that will be initiated because of that trumpet’s sounding. The above quoted passage of scripture describes a third of the sun, moon and stars being struck, so that they were darkened and not shining for a third of the day and night. And so we see that God’s fourth judgement will be to strike the earth with darkness for a period of eight hours every day. This period of darkness is not to be confused with the normal period of night that the earth experiences as it rotates on its axis however, but rather this is a period of darkness that will override the normal day and night that the earth experiences during its twenty four hour rotation. So how will God bring this about? Mankind’s experience of this type of phenomena is called a solar eclipse. So what is a solar eclipse? When the moon orbits around the earth it sometimes passes between the earth and the sun, causing a solar eclipse to take place. When that happens, the moon’s shadow falls over the earth forming a partial eclipse of approximately six thousand five hundred kilometres in diameter and a full eclipse of approximately two hundred and fifty kilometres in diameter. The shadow of the full eclipse lasts for about seven and half minutes as the moon passes between the earth and the sun. During that time those who fall into the shadow of the full eclipse experience complete darkness. And so based on the principle of a solar eclipse, it is not inconceivable that God could place an asteroid belt in orbit around the earth. The asteroid belt will be sufficient in density, size and distance from the earth that when it passes between the earth and the sun it will cause a shadow to fall over the entire earth. That shadow will last for about eight hours each day as the asteroid belt passes over; and during that time those who fall into that shadow will experience complete darkness. So why do I speak of an asteroid belt and not simply one asteroid? The reason is because of the effects of gravity. Consider the following example. If a single asteroid were placed in orbit around the earth at a distance of approximately eight hundred thousand kilometres from the earth (which is twice the distance of the moon’s orbit from the earth), then the asteroid would have to be approximately sixteen times the size of the earth in order for its shadow to cover the entire earth. The problem is that the greater the mass of an object, the greater the gravitational pull that it exerts on objects around it. And so, an asteroid of this size will exert a greater gravitational pull than the earth, thus forcing the earth to rotate around the asteroid instead of the other way around. An asteroid belt on the other hand, even one that covers an area sixteen times the size of the earth will not exert any gravitational pull on the earth, but rather the asteroid belt will be subject to the gravitational pull of the earth, thus remaining in orbit around the earth. And so we see that an asteroid belt placed in orbit around the earth can certainly meet the requirement of this particular judgement. As an aside, this judgement will remain in place for the full duration of God’s wrath being poured out on the earth. It is also interesting to note that whereas the first three judgements will be localized to impacting certain geographic areas of the earth, this is the first judgement that will impact the entire earth.
Michael E.B. Maher
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