Revelation 8:12

Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck. A third of the stars were darkened, a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the fourth angel blowing his trumpet during a sequence of divine judgments, immediately following the third angel's plague on fresh waters. This event occurs amid a series of escalating trumpet blasts directed at those dwelling on the earth.

The words — The Greek term ἐπλήγη (eplēgē) translates literally as "was struck," indicating a direct, violent impact upon the celestial bodies. Alongside tetartos (fourth), it marks this specific judgment within the sequential trumpet series.

The thread — This cosmic darkening echoes prophetic warnings in Isaiah 13:10 and Joel 2:10, where sun, moon, and stars lose their brightness before divine intervention. Unlike Joel 2:31, which isolates the sun and moon, this passage explicitly includes the stars in the darkness.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition of a measured, partial judgment that disrupts the created order's regular cycle. It calls the reader to acknowledge the authority behind the trumpet blasts before the final three woes unfold.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Cross-references

Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
Joel 2:10 Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
Zechariah 13:8 And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
Revelation 6:12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
Revelation 8:7 Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
Exodus 10:21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”
Joel 3:15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.