Revelation 8:13

Strauss-' Comments
SECTION 29

Text Revelation 8:13

13 And I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice, Woe, woe, woe, for them that dwell on the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, who are yet to sound.

Initial Questions Revelation 8:13

1.

What does woe mean - Revelation 8:13?

2.

In view of our present involvement in a hymanistic, naturalistic, and rationalistic effort to provide a perfect society upon the earth quite distinct from God's power and purpose, what can we make of the declaration that there is more and worse to come?

Revelation 8:13

There is an innovation between the fourth and fifth trumpet. John has a vision of one flying eagle. What message does the eagle bring? Why the symbol of an eagle? It is an O.T. image for vengeance or wrath in general (see Deuteronomy 28:49; Hosea 8:1; Habakkuk 1:8). The eagle was also a bird of prey. What is the message of this bird of prey? The one eagle was flying in mid-heaven (mesourançmati - this means the meridian or the place the sun occupies at noon.) SAYING WITH A LOUD voice, Woe, Woe, Woe to the ones dwelling (katoikountas - present participle the one now dwelling or dwelling at present) on the earth. This vision demands both seeing and hearing (contrast some of John's visions - were seen - some heard). The next phrase tells us why the eagle was crying Woe, Woe, Woe. By reason of (literally ek tôn loipôn - from or out of the remaining) the remaining voices of the trumpet of the three angels being about (mellontôn - about to) to trumpet. The triple woes stand for the three remaining trumpets. Things have been bad, but they will get worse. John's message of the progressing forces of destruction is in harmony with Paul's teaching (2 Timothy 3:12). There will be more destruction and it affects will be worse than the last.

Review Questions for Entire Chapter 8

Much of the material in this chapter is self-explanatory within its context.

1.

What effect did the great persecution have on the spiritual and general prayer life of the saints - Revelation 8:3?

2.

What is the major source of the imagery in Revelation 8:7?

3.

What was destroyed and how extensive were the destructions - Revelation 8:8, etc.?

4.

How vital was shipping for the Palestine of John's day - Revelation 8:9?

5.

What does the symbol of Wormwood signify - Revelation 8:11? Discuss the appropriateness of the symbol.

6.

How important, chemically speaking, is the light of the sun for the existence and continuity of life (animal, plant, and man - Revelation 8:12?

7.

Why was the image of the eagle used in Revelation 8:13?

8.

What was the message of the eagle - Revelation 8:13?

9.

Compare and discuss the teaching of Christ (Matthew 24), Paul (especially I and II Thess.) and John in this passage regarding their doctrine of the last things.

Special Study on the word Psukç

(From Verse Nine the Form is Psukas)

This term translated soul has a long history. It is a very important term in the vocabulary of the Christian view of the nature of man. It is completely distorted and misunderstood by many, especially the rapidly growing cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Psukç, throughout the history of its use in extant Greek writers is dominantly a vital term, i.e., a word carrying with it the idea of life, and until Aristotle, who applies the term to plants, life involving some measure of consciousness, or possibility of consciousness.

The term means life, loss of which is death, sometimes of lower animals, but usually of men. This meaning is common from Homer to Xenophon.

Psukç means by metonymy, the joy of life. Euripides uses it in this sense in The Medea (Loeb Classic Library, Harvard University Press, Euripides). The term also means a shade, the soul of man existing after death, or departing from the body in death. Homer uses it with this significance. (See Homer, Illiad, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press.) This use clearly implies that the psukç exists in the body; since otherwise it could not depart from the body, and exist separately.

The term psukç also has the significance of a natural metonymy. The conscious element in man standing for the man himself - Sophocles uses it in this sense (Sophocles, extant play Oedipus at Colonus, Loeb Classical Library, op cit.

A new meaning of this term appears in Aristotle. Psukç, here denotes the principle of life in lower animals, plants, and the universe. (Aristotle, volume I, Loeb Classical Lib. op cit.) Plato's conception of the psukç is influenced by his doctrine of eidos (ideas or forms). Plato ascribes psukç to the sun and stars, and the universe as well as to man (see Plato, Meno, Phaedo, Republic, etc., Loeb Classical Library, op cit.)

Aristotle devotes three books of his De Anima to a discussion of psukç. It has no existence apart from the body. His rejection of Platonic dualism is inseparably related to his use of this term.

Heraclitus said that the origin of all things is soul (psukç), and with this agrees Diogenes Laertius. According to them, all things are full of souls and demons, and that no one can possibly find out the limits of the psukç.

Polybius uses the term psukç as synonymous with life, loss of which is death. (See his Histories Loeb Classical Library)

It would be no serious problem to show the term in its historical development, but our purpose here is to give a brief sketch and provide bibliography for further study.

It is most important to point out that the N.T. authors use psukç, and that they follow Hebrew usage. The O.T. or Hebrew concept is not the concept that appeared in Judaism after the coming of Hellenism. We can not here even briefly consider the Hebrew psychological vocabulary, but we will provide information for study in our annotated bibliography.

See C. Ryder Smith, The Bible Doctrine of Man; H. W. Robinson, The Christian Doctrine of Man; the Classic Franz Delitzsch, A System of Biblical Psychology, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1867. Unsurpassed by anything today, with one exception, Pedersen's Israel.

For the N.T. usage of psukç and its various forms see Moulton and Geden, Concordance to The Greek Testament, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, reprinted 1953, pp. 1022-1023.

For preSocratic usage see Hermann Diels, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 6th edition by W. Kranz, three volumes, 1951-52 printing, originally Berlin, 1912.

Psukç often means the self and this follows the common Hebrew (nephesh) manner of expressing the individual ego or self. In contexts where the word means self it would be wrong to translate pseukç (or nephesh) as soul. James 1:21 is one of many places where a soul is the possession of a self. (Literally - Wherefore putting away all filthiness and superfluity of evil in meekness receive ye the implanted word being able to save your (humôn - of you-showing possession) souls (psukas). (See also 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Peter 2:25; James 5:20.)

In the O.T. vocabulary nephesh is used 756 times and ruach 378. (See S. Mandelkern, Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae. Full information in following bibliography.)

We cannot here consider the thesis that Paul's psychological vocabulary was that of Hellenism. For now, we only make this pontification - Paul's psychological vocabulary was not that of Hellenism! Paul's and John's usage is in absolute harmony with the O.T. data. For those so inclined to study this problem see the following bibliography for the tools of research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lexicons: Greek

Arndt, W. F. and Ginrich, F. W., A Greek-English Lexicon of The New Testament and Other Greek Literature from Inscriptions and Papyri. University of Chicago Press and the Syndics of The Cambridge University Press, second impression (Chicago, 1957).

Jones, H. S. and Mckenzie, R., et al., editors. Liddell and Scott Greek English Lexicon. Oxford at the Clarendon Press, London: 1953, new edition reprinted.

Preusohen, E. Griechisch - deutsches Taschenworterbuch zum Neuen Testament, 1948. Must use this with care.

Sophocles, E. A. Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Greek Periods (From B.C. 146 to A.D. 1100) Cambridge 1887, reprinted New York, 1957.

Hebrew Lexicons

Brown, F., Driver, S. R., and Briggs, C. S. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of The Old Testament with an Appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic Based on Lexicon of Wm. Gesenius as translated by E. Robinson. Oxford University Press, London: 1907, reprinted 1959.

Davidson, B. The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon. Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, n.d.

Köhler, L. and Baumgartner, W., Hebrew Lexicon to The Old Testament - English - German - Hebrew and Aramaic. Wm. B. Eerdman Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mandelkern, S. Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae Hebraica Atque Chaldaicae. 2 volumes, Gregory Lounz, New York - This is the standard Hebrew Concordance. Nothing else like it in existence in any language.

Secondary Materials

Peake, A. S. editor. H. W. Robinson Essay, (The Psychology of The Hebrew in The People and The Book. Clarendon Press, 1925.

Pedersen, J. Israel: Its Life and Culture, 4 volumes (Vol. I - volumes 1 & 2; Vol. II - volumes 3 & 4). Blackwells, 1947. He is the internationally recognized scholar on the Psychology of The Hebrews. His discussions are indispensable.

Onians, Richard B. The Origins of European Thought, Cambridge University Press, 1954 all editions; also Rhodes, Psyche. These very scholarly works are anti-Christian in intent and both commit the genetic fallacy. They think that when one shows the origin of a concept that one has also shown the mutational aspects of that particular concept. Both authors think they have shown that the Christian view of soul, body, mind, etc., can be explained via Greek and Roman concepts.