Revelation 8:13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 8:7-13

Observe, I. The first angel sounded the first trumpet, and the events which followed were very dismal: There followed hail and fire mingled with blood, etc., Rev. 8:7. There was a terrible storm; but whether it is to be understood of a storm of heresies, a mixture of monstrous errors falling on the church (for in that age Arianism prevailed), or a storm or tempest of war falling on the civil state, expositors are not agreed. Mr. Mede takes it to be meant of the Gothic inundation that broke in... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 8:13

8:13 And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven crying with a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe! for those who dwell on the earth, because of what is going to happen when the rest of the trumpets speak, which the three angels are about to sound." Here we have one of the pauses in the story which the Revelation uses so effectively. Three fearful woes are to come upon the earth when the three angels sound the last blasts on the trumpets; but for the moment there is a pause. In this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 8:13

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven ,.... The Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, instead of "an angel", read "an eagle"; and to "fly" agrees with either of them, and the sense is the same let it be read either way; and this angel may design either Christ, or a created angel, or a minister of the Gospel, as in Revelation 14:6 ; did the next trumpet introduce Popery, as some have supposed, Gregory... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 8:13

I - heard an angel flying - Instead of αγγελου πετωμενου , an angel flying, almost every MS. and version of note has αετου πετωμενον , an eagle flying. The eagle was the symbol of the Romans, and was always on their ensigns. The three woes which are here expressed were probably to be executed by this people, and upon the Jews and their commonwealth. Taken in this sense the symbols appear consistent and appropriate; and the reading eagle instead of angel is undoubtedly genuine, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 8:1-13

The purpose of revealing judgment. The process of the conquest of evil is varied. It is now by severity of judgment, now by the gentleness of mild rebuke or moderated chastisement. Again the voice of the teacher arrests attention, and the appeals of truth stimulate to righteousness. Hidden behind all is the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, working all things according to the counsel of his holy will. His hand is unseen, and the revelation is needed to show and assure men... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 8:6-13

Restricted judgment. In wrath the Lord ever remembers mercy. In the sounding of four of the seven angels this idea is most prominent. Afflictions of various kinds are seen to rest upon the earth, but they are confined in each case to one third. It is not a final overthrow, nor is it a vision of destruction. In the disturbance of the material world is portrayed the upheaving in the spiritual, and the gentle threat of the Divine displeasure. The avenging his own elect is a call to men to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 8:13

And I beheld, and heard an angel. "An eagle" (Revised Version) is read in א , A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, etc., while "angel" is found in P, 1, 16, 34, 47, etc. One manuscript (13) has ἀγγέλου ὡς ἀετοῦ . St. John sees one eagle, the symbol of what is swift and unerring in swooping upon its prey. Thus Job 9:26 , "The eagle that hasteth to the prey" (see also Habakkuk 1:8 ; 2 Samuel 1:23 ). This is the meaning of the appearance of the eagle, which announces the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 8:13

The body and the bird. "And I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven,… Woe, woe, woe, for them that dwell on the earth!" The true reading of the text is given in the Revised Version. It was not "an angel flying," but a solitary eagle or vulture, that St. John saw. Hovering high overhead, a mere speck in the sky, and its harsh cry sounding as if it uttered over and over again the ominous words, "Woe, woe, woe!" Now in vision, but often in reality, he had doubtless seen such... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 8:13

The bitter consequences of iniquity. Before the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, a vision is granted of a flying eagle, which, with "a great voice," declared "Woe for them that dwell upon the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are yet to sound!" Corrective judgments have already been manifested, but the full fruits of evil, in themselves judgments and designed for correction and restraint, have not been developed. The voice of the great eagle... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Revelation 8:13

And I beheld - My attention was attracted by a new vision.And heard an angel flying, ... - I heard the voice of an angel making this proclamation.Woe, woe, woe - That is, there will be great woe. The repetition of the word is intensive, and the idea is, that the sounding of the three remaining trumpets would indicate great and fearful calamities. These three are grouped together as if they pertained to a similar series of events, as the first four had been. The two classes are separated from... read more

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