<p>8:12- see on Rev. 18:8.</p><p><em>And the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck and a third of the moon and a third of the stars- </em>The darkening of a third of the stars and a third of the sun and moon is very much the picture in Rev. 12:4, where a third of the stars fall to earth. The picture of a part of the heavens falling is exactly how the Koran envisages the last day judgment of apostates- &ldquo;A fragment of the heaven falling&rdquo; (Sura 52.44). The judgment they envisage upon others will come upon them, and it will be articulated in terms appropriate to their cultural understanding. This, I suggest, is the significance of the similarities between the Biblical pictures of the latter day judgments, and the wording of the Koran and Hadith.</p><p>Harry Whittaker sums up the various usages of sun, moon and stars as symbols of Israel: &ldquo;(a) Joseph&rsquo;s dream, where sun, moon and stars stand for his father, mother and brethren, <em>i.e. </em>the whole family of Israel.<br />(b) Revelation 12:1. The woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars similarly represents the nation of Israel. From this starting point the chapter yields a coherent and highly relevant interpretation (ch. 27).<br />(c) Genesis 22:17: &ldquo;I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven.&rdquo;<br />(d) Jeremiah 31:36: &ldquo;If those ordinances (sun, moon and stars; v. 35) depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever.&rdquo;<br />(e) Joel 2:10: &ldquo;The sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining&rdquo; - the final invasion of Israel in the Last Days (cp. ch. 3:15).<br />(f) Daniel 8: 10: &ldquo;The little horn waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.&rdquo;<br />(g) Amos 8:9: &ldquo;I will cause the sun to go down at noon&rdquo; is coupled with: &ldquo;I will turn your feasts into mourning.&rdquo;<br />(h)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Luke 23:45: &ldquo;And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple rent in the midst.&rdquo; Strange conjunction of phenomena in one verse except it is that both are symbolic of the same thing - the end of the Mosaic economy&rdquo;.</p><p>They are &quot;struck&quot;, using the same word as is used in the LXX of the smiting of Israel by the Assyrians (Is. 1:5; 9:13), who represent Israel's latter day invaders.&nbsp;</p><p><em>This meant that the third part of them were darkened; and the day would not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner</em>- Darkness coming upon the earth is the presage of a new creation (Gen. 1:2). The Old Testament prophets use the metaphor about the latter day invader of Israel bringing darkness upon the land (Is. 8:22; Am. 4:13), but that darkness is the necessary precursor for the Lord arising in glory upon the land (Is. 60:2). This language of a darkened earth is therefore the signal that we should expect imminently the active manifestation of God, through the return of His Son. These events therefore specifically reference the time of the immediate return of Christ. The unnatural eclipse of heavenly bodies recalls the period of darkness at the crucifixion. As so often in Revelation, the message is that the sufferings of the last days will enable people to identify with the crucifixion sufferings of Christ, and through that identification with Him to come to share in His resurrection. The essence of this means to salvation in Christ has gone on throughout the lives of all the Lord's people, at whatever time they have lived. However, the victims of the trumpet judgments are those who did not respond to those of the six seals. We again draw our breath in marvel at how the Lord will even seek with those stubborn people to bring them to identity with Him. Note that many of these judgments are a reversal of creation- for God initially made the sun, moon and stars to shine upon the earth (Gen. 1:15,17 s.w. LXX). </p>