E. The Eagle (8:13)
E. THE EAGLE (8:13)
13. This verse marks an interlude in the trumpet sequence. John saw and heard (cf. 5:11; 6:1) ‘one’ eagle. The force of ’one’ may be ‘one solitary eagle’ (Barclay), ’a lone eagle’ (Schonfield). The eagle, a bird of prey (the word may mean ‘vulture’), is often a sign of disaster (cf. Mt. 24:28, and for its use in apocalyptic 2 Bar. 77:19ff.; Beasley-Murray finds the warning from an eagle unparalleled in apocalyptic). The eagle was in full flight in mid-air, an expression which means the highest point in heaven, the place the sun reaches at meridian. From this vantage point the eagle proclaims a threefold woe to the inhabitants of the earth (see note on 6:10). The triple woe is concerned with the three trumpets which are yet to sound. The first is said to be past in 9:12 and the second in 11:14. But the third is not specifically mentioned. It may be the descent of Satan in 12:12. The solemn words of the eagle show that the plagues to come are worse than those already experienced. There is a deepening of intensity.