Biblical Types, Symbols & Patterns
Wormwood
Claim-level biblical evidence review with contextual controls, canonical relationships, and preserved interpretive history.
How to read this entry
Evidence grades apply to individual claims, not to the headword as a whole. Strong biblical identification is kept separate from plausible or traditional interpretations, and unsupported proposals remain visible as negative evidence rather than being silently removed.
Wormwood is associated with intense bitterness, and Scripture recurrently employs it in contexts of poisoned fruit, grievous experience, corrupted justice, affliction, and divine j…
Wormwood is associated with intense bitterness, and Scripture recurrently employs it in contexts of poisoned fruit, grievous experience, corrupted justice, affliction, and divine judgment; the legacy bitterness association is strongly supported when bounded by those contexts.
Context control: Bitterness is strongly attested; the precise theological referent remains passage-specific.
Wormwood is associated with intense bitterness, and Scripture recurrently employs it in contexts of poisoned fruit, grievous experience, corrupted justice, affliction, and divine judgment; the legacy bitterness association is strongly supported when bounded by those contexts.
Grade 4: Recurrent canonical motif or strong thematic patternScope: Bitterness is strongly attested; the precise theological referent remains passage-specific.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
Revelation 8 names the fallen star “Wormwood,” says the waters become bitter, and records resulting deaths, but the vision does not identify Wormwood with Satan or define it as “Sa…
Revelation 8 names the fallen star “Wormwood,” says the waters become bitter, and records resulting deaths, but the vision does not identify Wormwood with Satan or define it as “Satanic power of death.” Revelation explicitly identifies Satan elsewhere when that identity is intended.
Context control: Bitterness and death are explicit effects in Revelation 8; Satanic identity is not.
Revelation 8 names the fallen star “Wormwood,” says the waters become bitter, and records resulting deaths, but the vision does not identify Wormwood with Satan or define it as “Satanic power of death.” Revelation explicitly identifies Satan elsewhere when that identity is intended.
Grade 7: Insufficient biblical evidenceScope: Bitterness and death are explicit effects in Revelation 8; Satanic identity is not.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Scripture
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
Negative guardrails
- NEGATIVE_GUARDRAIL_INSUFFICIENT: No positive canonical type/symbol relationship is promoted beyond the source evidence: Revelation 8 names the fallen star “Wormwood,” says the waters become bitter, and records resulting deaths, but the vision does not identify Wormwood with Satan or define it as “Satanic power of death.” Revelation explicitly identifies Satan elsewhere when that identity is intended.
Study-aid notice
This page is part of an AI-assisted conservative evangelical Bible-study project. It has passed structured research, review, and QA gates, but it is not inspired or infallible and does not replace Scripture, prayer, pastors, teachers, or local church discernment.
Claims should be tested against Scripture in context. Corrections and Review Policy.