The rivers smitten--(the third trumpet)--8:10-11. “ 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.” 1. A great star from heaven. The falling star, as in Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25 and Luke 21:25, represented the downfall of authorities and rulers of the persecuting governments-- falling as it were a burning lamp, or torch, as a spent meteor of the heaven, falling from their former power and dominion. The same imagery was in Isaiah’ s description of the fall of the Babylonian rulers; the constellations were used as the symbols of their positions, and the same figures of speech were used by the prophet as metaphors of the darkness that settled over the empire in the destruction of ancient Babylon. “ The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give. their light: the sun shall be darkened . . . and the moon shall not cause her light to shine . . . and I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquities.” (Isaiah 13:10-11) The Babylonian “ world” and its rulers were the objects of the punishment in this passage. The same familiar symbols are employed by Jesus in the records of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and by John in the visions of Revelation, foretelling the ruin of Jerusalem, the doom of Judaism and the downfall of their rulers. 2. And it fell upon rivers, fountains of waters: The smitten rivers are the representations of the drying up of the source of the existing powers. The fountain is the source of a stream; the river is the channel of its flow. When the persecuting powers were smitten the fountain of waters dried up, and the river of their power ceased to carry the evil flow. 3. The waters became wormwood and; many died because they were made bitter. Wormwood was the name of a plant, distinguished for intense bitterness, and used to denote anything offensive and nauseous. The use of it to designate either food or water was a sign of extreme suffering. In this connection the name of the falling star was called Wormwood, for the bitter effects accompanying the downfall of the powers here symbolized, which attended the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. It was so revolting that even the mental picture of the physical putrification turns to nausea, the bitterness of which only wormwood could signify. Matthew’ s record says “ for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:21) Mark’ s record reads: “ For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.” (Mark 13:19) Luke tersely says: “ For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.” (Luke 21:23)