Revelation 8:8,9 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

As it were a great mountain burning, &c.— In the style of prophesy, a mountain signifies a kingdom, and the strength of it, its metropolis or capital city. See Jeremiah 30:24. Great disorders and commotions, especially when kingdoms are moved by hostile invasions, are expressed in the prophetic style, by carrying, or casting mountains into the midst of the sea. See Psalms 46:2. The sea, in the Hebrew language, is any collection of waters: now as waters are expressly made a symbol of people in this prophesy, ch. Revelation 17:15 the sea maywell represent the collection of many people and nations into one politic body or empire: and when a sea is considered as an empire, the living creatures in that sea will be the people or nations, whose union constitutes that empire. See Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 29:21. Ships, from their use in trade, are a proper representation of the riches of a people; and as they are of use in war, especially to the maritime nations, they are proper emblems of strength and power. As ships were of both uses in the Roman empire, they may well be understood both of the riches and power of that empire. Thus we have a description, in this part of the second period of prophesy, of a judgment to come on the empire, in which the capital should suffer much; many provinces should bedismembered, as well as invaded, and the springs of power and riches in the empire should be very much diminished: and accordinglywe find in history, that this was indeed a most calamitous period. The year 400 is marked out as the most memorable and calamitous that had ever happened during the empire. The Alans, Vandals, and other barbarous people, in the year 406, made the most furious irruptions into Gaul, passedinto Spain, and thence into Africa; so that the maritime provinces became a prey to them; the riches and naval power of the empire were much diminished, and almost quite ruined: but the heaviest calamities fell upon Rome itself, besieged, and oppressed with famine and pestilence. After Alaric and his Goths, the next ravagers were Attila and his Huns, who, for the space of fourteen years, shook the East and West with the most cruel fear, and deformed the provinces of each empire with all kinds of plundering, slaughtering, and burning. They first wasted Thrace, Macedon, and Greece, putting all to fire and sword, and compelling the Eastern emperor, Theodosius, to purchase a shameful peace. Attila then turned his arms against the Western emperor, Valentinian III.; entered Gaul with seven hundred thousand men, took, plundered, and set most of the cities on fire. But, at length, being vigorously opposed, he fell upon Italy, took and destroyed Aquileia with several other cities, slaying the inhabitants, and laying the buildings in ashes; and filled all places between the Alps and Apennines with depopulation, slaughter, servitude, burning, and desperation. Such a man might properly be compared to a mountain burning with fire; who really was, as he called himself, the Scourge of God, and the terror of men; and boasted that he was sent into the world by God for this purpose; that, as the executioner of his just anger, he might fill the earth with all kinds of evils: and he bounded his cruelty and passion by nothing less than blood and burning.