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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 8

1 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.⁠ 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.⁠ 3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.⁠ 4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.⁠ 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood,⁠ and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.⁠ 8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood,⁠ 9 and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed. 10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; it landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.⁠ 11 (Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.⁠ 12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day and for a third of the night likewise.⁠ 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!”

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 13:10 and Revelation 8:12

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s image of the sun, moon, and stars becoming dark echoes Isaiah’s description of Babylon's fall, where their fading light symbolizes collapse. Revelation reshapes it with the plague of darkness from Exodus, into a universal judgment on empire.

Passages

Isaiah 13:10

Hebrew Bible
6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the Sovereign One. 7 For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage. 8 They panic—cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red. 9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment is coming; it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, destroying the earth and annihilating its sinners. 10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine. 11 I will punish the world for its evil and wicked people for their sin. I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Revelation 8:12

New Testament
12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day and for a third of the night likewise. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!”
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The symbolic nature of the recapitulated descriptions of these judgments is supported by the way the Hebrew prophets used similar language of cosmic upheaval to symbolically describe God’s judgments against nations that were carried out historically by human armies (the defeat of Babylon [Isaiah 13:10–13], Edom [Isaiah 34:4], Egypt [Ezekiel 32:6–8], and Israel’s enemies [Habakkuk 3:6–11]) ... The hardening function of the judgments parallels the effect of God’s judgments on Pharaoh who likewise was hardened and refused to repent (Exodus 7:22–23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34–35; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:5). This parallel is strengthened by the obvious connection of the trumpet and bowl judgments with the plagues sent against Egypt leading up to the Exodus ... The first trumpet brings hail and fire (Revelation 8:7) and corresponds to Exodus 9:22–25. The second and third trumpets turn water to blood (Revelation 8:8–11) and correspond to Exodus 7:20–25. The fourth trumpet brings darkness (Revelation 8:12) and corresponds to Exodus 10:21–23 ..."
Alexander Stewart, Soteriology as Motivation in the Apocalypse of John (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2015), 105.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 13:10 and Revelation 8:12

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