The Three Woes

An eagle "flying in mid-heaven" announces the last three trumpets, the three woes unleashed against the Inhabitants of the Earth – Revelation 8:13.

The first four trumpets have sounded. Now, an “eagle flying in mid-heaven” announces the final three trumpets and calls them “woes.” Unlike the first four trumpets, the plagues unleashed by the last three afflict the Inhabitants of the Earth directly. The first four trumpet blasts damaged the infrastructure on which the World Empire depends – agriculture, commerce, freshwater supplies, and light/energy.

The three woes correspond to the final three trumpet blasts. The plagues of the first four trumpets have prepared the reader for this new information by identifying the three areas impacted by the first four trumpet blasts.

[Alaska 1964 - Photo by NOAA on Unsplash]

The First Trumpet caused the destruction of one-third of the earth’s vegetation, damaging the agricultural section of the Empire. The Second Trumpet killed one-third of the sea’s creatures and destroyed one-third of the world’s ships, curtailing seaborne commerce. The Third Trumpet rendered one-third of the world’s freshwater supplies undrinkable. Finally, the blowing of the Fourth Trumpet darkened one-third of the heavenly bodies - sun, moon, and stars.

• (Revelation 8:13) – “And I saw, and I heard one eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the remaining voices of the trumpet, of the three angels who are about to sound.”

The literary effect of announcing three “woes” highlights the intensification of events that will now take place as the final three trumpets are heard. The first four trumpets were only preliminary and preparatory.

The term “mid-heaven” is a verbal link to two later passages. First, the “angel flying in mid-heaven” who will declare the “everlasting gospel” to the “inhabitants of the earth” before the pronouncement of Babylon’s fall. Second, the “birds in mid-heaven” that are summoned by an angel to the “supper of God,” the aftermath of the final battle between the one riding on the white horse and the Beast and its allies - (Revelation 14:6-11, 19:17-21).

The target of the three woes and of the plagues they unleash is identified explicitly - The Inhabitants of the Earth.

Throughout the Book of Revelation, this group represents unrepentant humanity that is firm in its opposition to the Lamb and in its refusal to repent. It is comprised of those who willingly, if not eagerly, take the Mark of the Beast - (Revelation 3:10, 6:10, 11:10, 13:8-12).

LITERARY STRUCTURE

The first four trumpets were heard in quick succession, and in each case, Revelation provided only brief descriptions. In each case, nothing was said concerning the end of the trumpet and its plague or of the next trumpet blast.

In contrast to the first four trumpet blasts, each of the three woes is described in detail, and the first two woes end with warnings about what is coming next:

• “The first Woe is past. Behold, two woes are yet to come after this” – (9:1-12).

• “The second Woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly” – (9:13-11:14).

While the First Woe warns that the next one is coming “after this,” the Second Woe concludes on a more ominous note. The Third Woe is coming “quickly,” and right after the martyrdom of the Two Witnesses – (Revelation 11:7-8).

The Second Woe provides the most detailed description. Based on the literary structure, in addition to the unleashing of the hostile horde “from beyond the Euphrates,” this “woe” includes “the Little Scroll,” the “measuring of the sanctuary,” and the ministry of “the Two witnesses” in its description.

The longer description of the Second Woe does not indicate that it lasts longer than the other six trumpet blasts. What it does is focus our attention since the Second Woe is the most pivotal of the seven trumpets for the narrative of the seven trumpets.

The description of the final “woe” is much shorter, not because it is less important, but because it concludes the entire series of seven trumpets with the final judgment. Once the seven trumpets are complete, the kingdoms of the earth are overthrown and replaced by God’s kingdom, the righteous are rewarded, and the unrepentant men and women of the Earth are judged and condemned:

• “And the seventh angel sounded. And there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And he will reign for ever and ever <…> and there followed flashes of lightning, voices, claps of thunder, an earthquake, and great hail” – (Revelation 11:15-19).

Like the sevenfold series of seven seals and the seven bowls of wrath, the conclusion of the seven trumpets is punctuated by “flashes of lightning and voices and claps of thunder and an earthquake, and great hail” – (Revelation 8:5, 16:18).

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SEE ALSO:

• The First Trumpet - Hail - (The first trumpet blast unleashes forces that impact agriculture. It is modeled on the seventh plague of Egypt – Revelation 8:7)

• Second Trumpet – the Burning Mountain - (The second trumpet harms the commerce on which human society and political institutions must depend for survival – Revelation 8:8-9)

• Third Trumpet - A Great Star - (The third trumpet results in a great star falling into the sources of freshwater and embittering them – Revelation 8:10-11)

• The Inhabitants of the Earth - (The Inhabitants of the Earth represent the men who are omitted from the Book of Life because they embrace the Beast from the Sea)