Revelation 8:12; The Day Shone Not

Revelation 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. 

Darkness came upon the earth for three hours from 12 noon to 3 pm when our Lord Jesus Christ hung upon the cross two thousand years ago, bearing the sins of men. It was to redeem men!

This darkness that came upon the earth during the Great Tribulation at the 4th trumpet judgment was for four hours – the day shone not for a third part of it, making the estimate of 12-hours of daylight. It was God’s judgment against men who reject the Lord’s salvific plan and continue in their willful rebellion against their Maker and Sustainer!

Israel’s God sent thick darkness upon Egypt for three days that Pharaoh might see His power and acknowledge and submit to Him, as the only living and true God. It was the ninth plague.

Heaven was sending a message to the dwellers on earth of displeasure. It was God who made the sun and the moon to provide the light to order the day and the night – Genesis 1:14-18 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 

Men on earth have taken for granted that the day will come after the night. It was by the mercy of God that He made the sun and the moon to order the day and the night. The disruption on this fourth trumpet judgment was to cause men to awake and repent of their sins against their Maker.

May we awake each morning with thanksgiving for each new day that God has given us and live it for His honour and glory. Amen.