What does the phrase in Revelations Woe woe woe describe?

Answer 1

The woe, woe, woe is found in Revelations 8:13.Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

The context is the Tribulation period. This is the second of four trips through the tribulation period presented in Revelations Chpts. 6-19. Each time through is with a different emphasis regarding this period. This is like how each of the 4 Gospels spoke of the same time period of Jesus' 1st coming, each with different emphasis. Now bear with me, and I will lay this out for you, how and why these woes pertain to this time of tribulaiton.

This time the figure of trumpets are used to mark the flow of events in the tribulation. Where this verse (woe woe woe) occurs, four of the Seven Trumpets have already sounded and great devastation has already occurred on earth. This Woe, Woe, Woe (one for each of the remaining trumpets to sound), is because its about to get allot worst. The supernatural influence of events is about to go into high gear.

The first WOE (the fifth trumpet)is concerning some kind of supernatural demonic army released from the bowels of the earth that will torment men. They will be in so much pain from the sting of these creatures that they will desire to die but will be unable. Some have suggested this to be a description of a physical event like a release of chemical warfare upon parts of the earth, but the text seems more inclined to a supernatural agent than a natural, whatever exactly it might be.

The next woe (the sixth trumpet) is concerning a 200 million man army from the East, that is supernaturally (demonically) drawn to march against Israel, and meet with the other armies of the world and AntiChrist at the valley of Megiddo, in a final attempt to wipe out the Jewish nation and people for good, and this is where they all will be destroyed, by the return of Christ to this Earth with his armies. This phase of the war results in 1/3 of the remaining people on Earth to die. This event, or woe, cross refrences elsewhere in Revelaions, describing further the same period. See Rev. 16:12-21,

The third woe, (the final trumpet and/or the sounding of the voices of the seven thunders). The sounding of the seven thunders, (see Revelations 10) the words, John was told to not write. This is something that Christ says (to the inhabitants of the Earth, to the Devil, the Antichrist) upon His return to the Earth that will remain sealed and unknowable until the time it occurs. This Seventh trumpet, seven thunders, marks the very return of Christ to Earth with His heavenly armies, resulting in all of the armies of the Earth gathered around Israel to be annihilated.

This also corresponds to the effect this carnage has upon the citizens that remain in heaven(always in praising, worship, singing etc. at other times). But they see something, (so horrible, shocking, terrible, terrifying), that the result is dead silence. So what is so horrible to behold that produces spechlessness, silence? It is seeing what Christ with His army does to the armies of the Earth, in utter annihilating them.

(see Rev 14:14-20, and read Rev 19:14-21) These passages are both about Christ destroying the enemies upon His return. This is so bloody of an event, that the depth of the blood in the valley is to the depth of a horses bridle. This is also spoken about in Isaiah 9:5, and 63:3.

These are indeed woe, woe, woes. The result of all of this is summed up in another passage:

Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.