What Old Testament events parallel the waters turning bitter in Revelation 8:11? Revelation 8:11—A Snapshot “The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” Old Testament Events That Echo Bitter Waters • Exodus 15:22-25 – Marah – Israel reached “Marah,” but “they could not drink the water…because it was bitter.” – God showed Moses a tree; he threw it into the water, “and the water became sweet.” – Parallel: sudden undrinkable water; divine control over the remedy or the judgment. • Exodus 7:17-21 – The First Plague on Egypt – Moses struck the Nile; “all the water was turned to blood…so that the Egyptians could not drink.” – Fish died, stench rose—loss of life linked to contaminated water, just as “many people died” in Revelation. • Numbers 5:17-27 – The “Water of Bitterness” – In the adultery test, a priest mixed holy dust into water, calling it “water of bitterness that brings a curse.” – If guilty, the woman’s body suffered; if innocent, she was unharmed. – Parallel: bitter water as an agent of divine judgment or vindication. • Deuteronomy 29:18 – Covenant Warning – A hidden “root that bears gall and wormwood” would poison the nation if they turned from the LORD. – Sets the pattern: idolatry invites bitterness and curse. • Jeremiah 9:13-15 & 23:15 – Wormwood Prophecies – “I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.” – A response to persistent rebellion and false prophecy. – “Wormwood” becomes a prophetic code-word for severe judgment. • Amos 5:7 & 6:12 – Social Injustice Turned to Wormwood – Israel “turns justice into wormwood.” – The picture: when righteousness is perverted, God lets the very waters of life become instruments of bitterness. Common Threads in the Parallels • God controls creation to bless or to judge; water—normally life-giving—becomes lethal under His wrath. • “Wormwood” consistently symbolizes bitter judgment for persistent sin, especially idolatry and injustice. • Physical consequences (undrinkable water, disease, death) mirror deeper spiritual realities—unfaithfulness brings corruption. • Exodus shows God can reverse the curse (sweetening Marah); Revelation 8:11 shows a final, irreversible outpouring for those who refuse repentance. Takeaway for Today The bitter waters of Revelation 8:11 stand on a long, literal record of God’s past judgments. Those accounts are preserved to warn and to invite repentance before the final, global replay—this time without a tree to sweeten the waters for the unrepentant. |
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