What is the meaning of Revelation 8:11? The name of the star is Wormwood • John records, “The name of the star is Wormwood” (Revelation 8:11). This star is an actual object sent by God, much like the literal hail, fire, and burning mountain of the previous trumpet judgments (Revelation 8:7-10). • Naming the star signals its purpose. Throughout Scripture wormwood pictures severe divine judgment that produces bitterness and sorrow (Deuteronomy 29:18; Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15; Amos 5:7). • The star “fell from heaven” just as other celestial messengers are seen under God’s command (Revelation 9:1). Whether a meteor or an angelic being, it fulfills His precise plan. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil • The scope is exact: one-third of the freshwater sources—rivers, springs, and wells—become tainted. This mirrors the pattern of partial judgments in the trumpets, leaving opportunity for repentance before full wrath falls (compare Revelation 8:7-12). • As in Egypt when the Nile turned to blood (Exodus 7:20-21), God shows supremacy over what sustains life. Yet here the water becomes “bitter like wormwood oil,” an unmistakable sign of poisonous contamination (Jeremiah 8:14). • The judgment is physical and literal. Earth’s ecosystem will be altered in a moment, demonstrating that the Creator, not humanity, has final authority over creation (Psalm 24:1). Many people died from the bitter waters • The result is widespread death: those who drink the polluted water perish. The tragedy parallels earlier plagues that brought literal fatalities (Exodus 12:29; Numbers 21:6). • By specifying “many,” Revelation underscores escalating severity as the Tribulation unfolds. Later trumpets and bowls intensify the toll (Revelation 9:15; 16:4-6). • Such loss of life reveals the high cost of unrepentant sin. Hebrews 10:31 soberly reminds, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” summary Revelation 8:11 describes a future trumpet judgment in which a divinely sent star called Wormwood strikes Earth’s freshwater, turning one-third of it lethally bitter. The name links the event to Old Testament images of judgment, the bitterness signals divine wrath, and the resulting deaths demonstrate both God’s holiness and the urgency of repentance. |
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