8:10 star from heaven. This second heavenly missile, unlike the rocky mass of the first, is primarily burning poisonous gases. Instead of striking the sea at one point, it breaks up in the atmosphere, scattering lethal chemicals into a third of the rivers, springs, and wells of the earth.

8:11 Wormwood. “Wormwood” is a translation of the Greek absinthos, and is a stupefying, often lethal plant product. The exact composition of the poisonous chemicals associated with this falling “star,” however, is uncertain. Possibly earthly astronomers will be able to ascertain its chemical composition spectrographically, realize its deadly nature, and name it.