Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 8:10

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters;" — Revelation 8:10 (ASV)

The third trumpet. John next sees a huge fiery star fall on the rivers and springs of water and turn a part of these fresh-water supplies into very bitter water. The star’s name is “Wormwood,” which refers to the bitter herb Artemesia absinthium found in the Near East and mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (Jeremiah 9:15; Jeremiah 23:15; Lamentations 3:15, 19; Amos 5:7). It is not clear whether John intended the star to be understood as an angel as in 9:1 and in 1:20. Here is the first reference in the plagues to the loss of human life (cf. 9:15, 20). This plague, aimed at the fresh water, is a counterpart of the preceding one, which was aimed at the sea.