Revelation 8:9

9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

A. The part of man, which is spiritual (soul or spirit), is destroyed. This is not saying that 33% of all Christians will die. This is a warning that yielding to the persecution can cost you your spiritual life with God.

B. What is the meaning of the “ships” mentioned here? Listen to Paul as the literal ship taking him to Rome was about to sink. “Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:30-31) The spiritual parallel is that we must remain in the ship of believers, in the church, the ship of Zion, if we expect to be saved. Jumping overboard or abandoning ship will result in our spiritual death.