III: Exodus and Wilderness

Wormwood

Yahuah's teaching corrupted from within

Root
Deut 29:18 · la'anah (H3939)
Old Testament chain
  1. Deut 29:18
  2. Prov 5:4
  3. Jer 9:15
  4. Jer 23:15
  5. Lam 3:15, 19
  6. Amos 5:7
  7. Rev 8:11
New Testament
Rev 8:10; Rev 8:11; John 7:38

Moses warned against any root among Israel "that beareth gall and wormwood," a heart turning from Yahuah to serve other gods (Deut 29:18). The Prophets carried the image: Yahuah would feed the people "with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink" (Jer 9:15), the sentence also passed on Jerusalem's prophets (Jer 23:15), while Amos charged them with turning judgment to wormwood (Amos 5:7). In Revelation 8:10-11 a great star falls upon the rivers and fountains, and they become wormwood: Yahuah's teaching corrupted through idolatry and false prophets, the fountains of true teaching spoiled from within. Survival through compromise can be more destructive than persecution. Readings that make Wormwood a literal asteroid or Chernobyl miss the Torah root entirely.

From The Courtroom of Heaven, pp. 121–122