Who or what is Wormwood? In reading the Book of Revelation, there are many incredible things going on. By the time we get to the 8th chapter it seems like nothing will phase us any more than what has already been recorded. Then we read about a star named Wormwood. I’d have to admit that this was unexpected. In any event, there it is crashing to the earth and turning the waters bitter. As with many things found in Revelation, this requires some research.
“The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. “
Revelation 8:10-11
Words: 1771 / Time to read: 9 minutes
Wormwood in Bible Times
For those of us who use modern versions of the Bible, this may be the first mention of Wormwood we remember. As it turns out, wormwood is a common plant and the first readers of John’s letter would have been very familiar with this bitter herb. It grows naturally in desert climates and has been adapted to grow in many climates around the world.
Upon further research, I discovered that the Bible used the association of the bitter plant known to the people in Bible times with the hardship and toils of life. I personally missed this association because modern translations don’t use the term wormwood, instead substituting it with terms like gall and bitterness – even adding in the idea of a poisonous or harmful substance.
Here is an example comparing Deuteronomy 29:18 in KJV and NIV:
“Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood (King James Version).”
“Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison (New International Version).”
Similar translation liberties are taken in the following passages:
Proverbs 5:4 …bitter as gall.
Lamentations 3:15,19 …bitter herbs / the bitterness and the gall.
Amos 5:7, 6:12 …into bitterness / But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
Jeremiah 9:15, 23;15 …See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. / …bitter food.
So, for starters, it is helpful to know that wormwood is a plant related to sagebrush that is grown around the world. It is used as a source of an essential oil which is pressed from the leaves of the plant. It is a bitter, aromatic herb used for a variety of medicinal purposes such as digestive problems and a host of other ailments. You can log on to Amazon and order a bottle for a few bucks.
Additionally, the Bible used the bitter tasting wormwood oil as symbol of the hardships and unpleasant experiences of life. In some contexts, it characterizes wormwood more like a poison than something beneficial, something unpleasant and even a punishment.
Stars Associated with Personages
In the first chapter of Revelation, Christ revealed himself to John and told him to write a letter to seven churches. John sees Christ holding seven stars in his hand. Christ explains that the stars he holds “are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20a)”.
In the ninth chapter of Revelation we read “The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace (Revelation 9:1-2a).” So here we have a nearly identical situation as with Wormwood; a star is seen falling from the sky to the earth. With Wormwood, we are given its name, with this one, no name is given. With Wormwood, we are told that the waters turned bitter, but nothing is said about how exactly that was accomplished. With this one, the star is described as acting like an angel or human in the fact that he was given a key and used it to open the shaft of the Abyss. Normally, an inanimate star would not be described in that way. From this brief comparison, we may conclude that the star of chapter 9 was an angel and that Wormwood, the star with a proper name, may have also been an angel.
In Revelation 22 we read that Christ is described as the bright Morning Star. While this may be intended as figurative, it is indeed another case where a star is associated with a personage. Christ is of course the Second Person of the Trinity, therefore he is God, but nevertheless he is called a “bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16b)”. See also 2 Peter 1:19 and Revelation 2:28 which also refer to Christ as the morning star.
Back in Genesis we read about Joseph’s dream where he saw in his dream “the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me (Genesis 37:9b).” While this was only a dream, it was apparently a divinely inspired dream in which the sun and the moon represented his parents and the 11 stars represented his siblings. In any event, it’s another case where a star is connected to a person.
In Revelation 12 we read in awe of the marvelous signs that John saw, a woman who we must deduce is Mary, the mother of Christ with “a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1b).” She is apparently representative of the nation of Israel, that notion bolstered by the 12 stars which we must conclude represent the heads of the twelve tribes. This chapter doesn’t explain if John saw this in the stars, or as a vision in the sky or how he interpreted what he saw so it may be difficult to press the issue too far. But at a minimum, we see twelve stars associated with 12 heads of the tribes of Israel.
In Numbers 24 we read of Balaam’s prophecy which states, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17a).” These words were uttered by Balaam, a prophet-for-hire yet they were the words given him by God (see Numbers 22:35-38). So in this divine prophecy we see Christ figuratively pictured as a star.
In Isaiah 14 we read a description of what must be none other than Satan who is described as a morning star, ‘“How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!’(Isaiah 14:12).” We know that Satan’s goal was to like the Most High and has been working a plan to counterfeit Christ in every way he can. We can rest assured that Christ will prevail as “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him (Revelation 12:9).” And also “[The Dragon’s] tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth (Revelation 12:4)” may connect stars to fallen angels.
As we can see from many passages, stars have been used to represent Christ, Satan, holy angels, fallen angels and human beings. Whether or not Wormwood is an angel or an inanimate star, we don’t know. Even though it has been given a proper name, that is not necessarily conclusive because “He [God] determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name (Psalm 147:4).” Angels take on many forms such as the four creatures around God’s throne as mentioned in Revelation 4:6-9 and Ezekiel 1:12-20. They may appear as humans (Genesis 18:1-19). Sometimes they appear in a way that frightens people (Matthew 28:4 and Luke 2:9). Isaiah saw angels with six wings (Isaiah 6:2). The fact is that angels are spirit beings and appear to be able to take on a variety of physical characteristics appropriate to their mission (Hebrews 1:14). Angels were present before the creation of the world (Job 38:4-7) and they were mentioned in many important milestones of history which the Bible records. They, of course, are prevalent in Revelation and the destruction of the world as well.
So again we may wonder, who or what is Wormwood of Revelation 8? The conclusion I would have to draw is that it was just a star. There are many cosmic disturbances that are predicted during the Great Tribulation and the prospect of one of those stars crashing through the earth’s atmosphere and causing a worldwide water problem isn’t beyond the scope of possibilities as the end of the world draws near. In Revelation 6, John stated “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind (Revelation 6:12-13).”
However, I’m sure there are many who would conclude Wormwood is an angel. The fact is that we just don’t know. The main point is that whether it was just a star or an angel, the act of it crashing to the earth and turning the water bitter is a divinely ordained event which must be included in the Scroll. Wormwood will be used to complete the task and many people will die because of the bitter water. God’s wrath will continue to increase until it reaches its full measure.
“But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”
Mark 13:24-27
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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