The Revelation Explained / An Exposition, Text by Text, of the Apocalypse of St. John

by F. G. Smith

The symbol of this trumpet is that of a volcanic mountain cast into the sea, whence it sends forth its streams of lava in every direction until a third of the creatures in the sea are destroyed, thus spreading desolation on every side. It would naturally remain where it fell, a permanent instrument of destruction.

We have here a description of the next step of importance in the downfall of the Western empire. The second great invasion was that of "the terrible Genseric" with his Vandal hordes, who pushed southward through Gaul and Spain, conquered the Carthaginian territory of northern Africa, and there formed a permanent independent government in A.D. 439. From this fixed place, he continued for years to make incursions upon the bordering cities and islands, burning the cities, murdering the inhabitants, and intercepting the commerce of the Mediterranean. During his military career, 429-468, he became the terror of the inhabitants of the empire, insomuch that historians designate him "the terrible Genseric." The depredations committed by his followers were but a repetition of such scenes of barbarity as have already been described in the invasions of Alaric under the first trumpet, therefore I will not devote much space to the historical facts in the case. Their deeds, however, were such that the very term Vandal has come to be used as a designation of any man of ferocious character. Concerning the important part that this chieftain acted in the downfall of the Western empire, Gibbon uses this significant language: "Genseric, a name which, in the destruction of the Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank with the names of Alaric and Attila." Vol. III, p. 370.

In the year 454 the empress Eudoxia wished to be revenged on Maximus, who had murdered her husband Valentinian and had grasped the throne, and she secretly invited Genseric to attack Rome. That fierce general, who is described by the Encyclopædia Britannica as "cruel to blood-thirstiness, cunning, unscrupulous, and grasping," was glad to undertake the task, and he soon landed an army of Vandals and African Moors at the gates of the city. It was soon taken and for fifteen days given over to be sacked by the barbarous soldiery. When they had glutted their savage instincts with the horrible deeds of murder and rapine, loaded with the spoils of the imperial city, they returned to Africa, taking with them an immense number of captives, including Eudoxia and her two daughters. This desolating incursion left the empire weak and tottering to its fall. Genseric "became the tyrant of the sea; the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia, were again exposed to his revenge and avarice. Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and before he died, in the fulness of years and glory, he beheld the FINAL EXTINCTION of the empire of the West." Gibbon, Vol. III, pp. 497, 498.

By "the sea" into which this burning mountain was cast is meant, not the Mediterranean nor any other literal sea, but the heart of the empire, and that in a state of agitation. The empire was in a state of comparative quiet when Alaric appeared; therefore the storm of hail and fire is represented as falling upon "the earth," as a result of which society was thrown into a state of great agitation, and moved to its depths, like an ocean in a storm. This was its condition when Genseric, from his fixed position in Africa, began his desolating incursions; therefore the next symbol is that of a mountain cast into "the sea." By the sea becoming blood is doubtless meant the destruction of life in the empire, and "the third part" denotes the vast extent of the destruction.

I must speak with hesitation on what is signified by "the creatures which were in the sea" and the "ships." By analogy I would be led to refer the former to the rulers and the dignitaries in the empire, they bearing an analagous position to the empire that fishes do to the waters of the sea; while the latter may refer to public monuments and structures.

10. 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;

11. 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.

The description given of this star is similar to that of a large burning meteor, such as we frequently see shooting athwart the heavens. It fell rapidly to earth, as such meteors often do, and struck the fountain-heads of the rivers, imparting to them such a poisonous quality as caused the death of those who drank the waters.

This symbol is also drawn from the natural world, and hence we must look for its fulfilment in political events. The rapidity of its fall and disappearance in the waters would direct us to an agent who would appear suddenly and soon disappear, and whose career would leave bitter results. The direct effects of this meteor were experienced by the rivers and the fountains of waters, which bear an analagous relation to the sea that bordering tribes and nations do to an empire. The heart of the empire, or "the sea," was directly affected by the burning mountain, under the preceding trumpet; while the tributaries of the sea, or the bordering tribes, are made the subject of direct attack under this symbol and the poisonous qualities of their waters carried to far distant points.