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

Today's Scripture Reading (June 4, 2021): Revelation 8

In "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," John Locke argues that "For a child knows as certainly before it can speak the difference between the ideas of sweet and bitter (i.e. that sweet is not bitter), as it knows afterwards (when it comes to speak) that wormwood and sugarplums are not the same thing." Wormwood is a bitter plant and one that cannot be mistaken for something sweet. According to Locke, this is something that even a child understands. And it is something that every parent who has tried to convince their children to eat one more spoonful of vegetables before they can have their dessert also understands. We understand the concept of bitterness, or even something that is not sweet, even if we can't put that concept into words. And Wormwood has come to represent that type of extreme bitterness.

John says that he sees a star fall to earth, and the star was called Wormwood. The star's name comes from what results because the star falls to earth; the star turned a third of the fresh water on the planet bitter. And as a result of the poisoning of the water, many people died.

As is true with so much of Revelation, several theories have developed about what Wormwood means. Methodist theologian Adam Clarke (1762-1832) sums up some of the historical interpretations of this bitter star.

"Some say the star means Attila and his Huns; others, Genseric with his Vandals falling on the city of Rome; others, Eleazer, the son of Annus, spurning the emperor's victims, and exciting the fury of the Zealots; others, Arius, infecting the pure Christian doctrine with his heresy, [and so on and so on]. It certainly cannot mean all these; and probably none of them. Let the reader judge."

To the contemporary ear, what John sees seems to be less about a human military threat like Atilla, or a theological corruption, like that of Arius, and more likely an ecological disaster like neither John nor Adam Clarke could imagine in their era. Maybe it is a meteorite that falls from the sky and poisons the water of the world. Or perhaps it is something that we do that brings disaster to us. The Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario), located on the United States/Canada border, has had a complicated history with pollution. These lakes by themselves contain 21% of the world's surface freshwater.

But whatever Wormwood might be, something happens to the world water supply, and many die because of the bitterness of the water. And John Locke is right; bitterness is something that we all understand, and protecting our water supply should be one of our priorities so that hopefully we aren't the cause of Wormwood and the poisoning of our water.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation 9