The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

own private judgment, and taking into consideration the nature of the times, the genius of
the country in which he lived, and the character and temper of those whom he was
appointed to rule and instruct, formed such a plan of Divine worship as he thought the
wisest and best. Hence, that variety of liturgies which were in use before the bishop of
Rome had usurped the supreme power in religious matters and persuaded the credulous
and unthinking that the model, both of doctrine and worship was to be given by the
'mother' Church, and to be followed implicitly throughout the Christian world."
With this brief summary of the history of those times we are enabled to understand the
meaning of these symbolisms. The "living creatures" dying in the sea would seem to refer
to the individual units of the Christian civilization of those times, represented by the
clergy and laity, dying to this extent of freedom enjoyed in religious matters, and
becoming absorbed, swallowed up in the Roman Catholic Papal system, which soon
followed the overthrow of the Western Roman Empire.
"Ships" represent inanimate objects and in this case seem to represent the many
denominations or sects. These, like the living creatures in them, were eventually
extinguished, and lost their independent existence by being swallowed up in the great
apostasy, the Papal system. Thus was the predicted hindrance removed. A new experience
was now coming to the "little flock" class, as it came in contact with this great persecuting
power--the Antichrist. The rise of this power, we believe, is portrayed in the symbolisms
of the third trumpet.
Chapter 18: Rev. 8:10-13
The Third and Fourth Trumpets
"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a
lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and
the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became
wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."--Rev.
8:10,11.
The Scriptures do not make any distinction between what are generally termed fixed stars,
and meteors; that is, only one Greek word, aster, is employed to designate both. However,
the very fact that the one in this third trumpet symbol fell from heaven, determines its
nature as that of a meteor or falling star. The fact that it was burning as a torch, shows that
it was of the nature classified by astronomers as an aerolite or "fire ball." The fact that it
embittered the rivers and fountains indicates that it exploded, and scattered its poisonous
elements upon them. That many men died because of the embittering of the waters,
implies the poisoning of these waters by the scattering of its poisonous substances upon
them. The deaths resulting must have been caused by drinking the waters, and imply that
the "waters" themselves in this symbol cannot picture peoples, as some historical
expositors in expounding this trumpet symbol teach, though it is manifestly true that in
some of the visions, "waters" are employed as symbols to represent peoples, as in Rev.
17:15.