  CHAPTER 3 
“The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up” ( Revelation 8:7 ). Hail, fire, and blood are symbols used throughout Scripture in three main ways:
We will consider the Bible evidence for each of these points in turn: 1. Hail, fire, and blood are symbols of God’s punishment of His enemies who are also the enemies of His people. A. Hail: The seventh plague upon Egypt was hail mingled with fire. “There was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation” ( Exodus 9:24 ). In Joshua’s war against the Amorites, more of the enemy died because of great hailstones that God threw down upon them than were killed by Israel’s army ( Joshua 10:11 ).
B. Fire: The Psalmist wrote: “On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and brimstone; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face” ( Psalms 11:6 , 7 ). Of course, that was the experience of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” ( Genesis 19:24 ). Amos predicted that fire would destroy Damascus ( Amos 1:4 ), Gaza ( Amos 1:7 . ), Tyre ( Amos 1:10 . ), Edom ( Amos 1:12 . ), Ammon ( Amos 1:14 . ), and Moab ( 2:2 ). Isaiah’s prophecy against Assyria employed fire as a symbol of destruction. “Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame” ( Isaiah 10:16 , 17 ). C. Blood: The first of the plagues brought upon Egypt in the time of Moses involved the water of the rivers and ponds being turned to blood ( Exodus 7:14 - 24 ). The Psalmist uses blood as a symbol of the destruction that will be the experience of Israel’s enemies. “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked” ( Psalms 58:10 ). Isaiah employs blood as a symbol of the judgments to be poured out on Edom. “For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed. The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom” ( Isaiah 34:5 , 6; cf. Ezekiel 49:26 ; 21:32 ; 28:23 ; 32:6 ; 35:1 - 7 ).
2. Hail, fire, and blood are symbols of God’s judgments upon His unfaithful people. These judgments are often meted out by unbelieving nations whom the Lord permits to attack His apostate people. A. Hail: The Lord spoke to ancient Israel through Haggai: “I smote you and all the products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord” ( Haggai 2:17 ). Predicting the overthrow of the apostates in Samaria, Isaiah wrote: “Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he will cast down to the earth with violence” ( Isaiah 28:2 ). Speaking of the attack on Israel by the Assyrians, permitted by God, Isaiah wrote: “Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies” ( Isaiah 28:17 ). Prophesying against the false prophets in Israel, Ezekiel warned: “There will be a deluge of rain, great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind break out” ( Ezekiel 13:11 ; cf. 13 , 16 ). B. Fire: Hosea grieved at the unfaithfulness of his people. He conveyed the message from the Lord: “For Israel has forgotten his maker, and built palaces; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his strongholds” ( Hosea 8:14 ). Joel bemoaned the fact that, because of the apostasy of the people, fire had “devoured the pastures of the wilderness” and flame had “burned all the trees of the field” ( Joel 1:19 ). Because Israel had rejected His law, the Lord decreed through Amos: “I will send fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem” ( Amos 2:5 ; cf. Isaiah 5:24 ). Jeremiah foresaw the Babylonian invasion of Israel. Through the prophet, the Lord warned the people to repent “lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings” ( Jeremiah 4:4 ; cf. 11:16 ). The Lord’s rebuke was stern: “I will make you serve your enemies in a land which you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled which shall burn for ever” ( Jeremiah 15:14 ). Micah also used fire as a symbol of God’s coming destruction of His unfaithful people ( Micah 1:4 , 7 ) John the Baptist added to the warnings of the Old Testament prophets. The history of apostasy followed by destruction would recur unless Israel repented. John proclaimed: “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. . . . The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” ( Matthew 3:10 - 12 ). Jesus underlined the warnings of John the Baptist: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” ( Matthew 7:19 ). Israel was not bearing good fruit and divine retribution was coming. C. Blood: The Psalmist lamented the destruction of Jerusalem because God’s professed people were suffering. The heathen had “poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them” ( Psalms 79:3 ). The people suffered blood because their hands were “full of blood” ( Isaiah 1:15 ) Ezekiel’s predictions of tragedy upon Israel in view of her spiritual harlotry are terrible to consider ( Ezekiel 16:35 - 43 ). The Lord spoke through the prophet: “I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy” ( Ezekiel 16:38 ). God would forsake Israel to the ravages of her enemies. The Lord made it abundantly clear that when His people turned away from the path of righteousness, He would allow calamity to come upon them. He said: “Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut of from it man and beast; even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness” ( Ezekiel 14:19 , 20; cf. 22:1 - 6, 9- 16, 27- 31; 36:18 ). Jesus reiterated the warnings of the prophets in a manner that could not be misunderstood: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation” ( Matthew 23:29 - 36; cf. Luke 11:45 - 52 ).
Jesus added: “Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate” ( Luke 11:38 ). And the verdict was confirmed when, at Jesus’ trial, the people cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ( Matthew 27:25 ). (3) Hail, fire, and blood sometimes refer to end-time judgments that will be poured out in various ways before and during the second coming of Christ. A. Hail: It seems clear that the Psalmist is referring to God’s end-time intervention in the affairs of mankind when he writes: “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils” ( Psalms 18:7 - 15 ).
The Lord rains hailstones upon Gog: “With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples that are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and brimstone” ( Ezekiel 38:22 ; cf. Revelation 20:7 - 9 ). When the temple of God is opened at the return of Jesus, “heavy hail” will be one of the destructive forces unleashed upon the world ( Revelation 11:19 ; 16:21 ). B. Fire: In describing the horrors of the local day of the Lord when Israel was under attack, Joel seems to be forecasting the ultimate Day of the Lord. Speaking of the destructive power of the Lord’s army, Joel writes: “Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but after them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them” ( Joel 2:3 ). “The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his host is exceedingly great; he that executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?” ( Joel 2:10 , 11 ). Obadiah describes the same end-time Day of the Lord ( Obadiah 1:15 , 16 ). As part of this event, Obadiah tells us: “The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has spoken” ( Obadiah 1:18 ). Zechariah speaks of the same event: “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. . . . In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth” ( Zephaniah 1:14 - 18 ). Isaiah seems to be using the local day of the Lord as a type of the end-time Day of the Lord ( Isaiah 29:5 - 8 ): “You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire” ( Isaiah 29:6 ). In predicting the end of the world, Jesus reiterated the warnings of the ancient prophets: “The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” ( Matthew 13:39 - 43; cf. 25:41 ; Luke 12:49 ; 17:29 , 30; 1Corinthians 3:13 , 15; 2Thessalonians 1:7 , 8; Revelation 18:8 ; 20:9 ).
C. Blood: Isaiah wrote of the world’s end: “For behold, the Lord is coming forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her, and will no more cover her slain” ( Isaiah 26:21 ; cf. 34:1 - 4 ). Forecasting the suffering of the Messiah, Isaiah speaks of His garments sprinkled with the lifeblood of those for whom He was to die ( Isaiah 63:3 ). Then follows the retribution for those who reject Him: “I trod down the peoples in my anger, I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth” ( Isaiah 63:6 ; cf. 9:2 - 5 ). Jeremiah foresaw the Day of the Lord on which “the sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood” ( Jeremiah 46:10 ; cf. Psalms 68:21 - 23 ). The book of Revelation speaks of anti-typical Babylon. “In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who have been slain on earth” ( Revelation 18:24 ; cf. 17:6 ). The blood of the dead saints cries out from the ground: “How long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth” ( Revelation 6:10 ). They are then clothed in white robes ( Revelation 6:11 . ), symbolizing their ultimate vindication in the pre-advent judgment. Then follows the retribution for their persecutors: “He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants” ( Revelation 19:2 ). Before we determine just how the Bible’s discussions of hail, fire, and blood relate to the prophecy of the trumpets, we must consider the meaning of the other symbols used in Revelation 8:7 . “ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth” ( Revelation 8:7 ). Although the “earth” is very often a symbol of all the world’s peoples, on occasion the word refers in a special, restrictive sense to Israel, which is the subject of God’s supreme regard. Israel ( earth ) is blessed or cursed depending on its obedience or disobedience to Jehovah. The various Babylonian captivities resulted from Israel’s ( the earth’s ) neglect of the everlasting covenant relationship. For example, Isaiah 26:9 uses the earth in the sense of the entire world: “My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” ( Isaiah 26:9 ; cf. verse 21 ). On the other hand, Isaiah 28 speaks of the earth as God’s unfaithful people, upon whom judgments will fall: “Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he will cast down to the earth with violence. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden under foot” ( Isaiah 28:2 ). The Assyrians would attack Israel, “for I [Isaiah] have heard from the Lord God of hosts, of decisive destruction on all the earth” ( Isaiah 28:22 , NASB ). The earth represents Israel. Jeremiah addressed Israel as the “earth.” “Hear, O earth; behold I am bringing evil upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not given heed to my words; as for my law, they have rejected it” ( Jeremiah 6:19 ). “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. . . .” ( Jeremiah 22:29 KJV ). Israel was addressed as “earth.” Jesus instructed His disciples: “Whatever you bind upon the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose upon the earth shave have been loosed in heaven” ( Matthew 18:18 ).1 The binding and loosing upon the earth is in fact binding and loosing within the church ( cf. the context, Matthew 18:15 - 17 ). Paul emphasized: “What have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside” ( 1Corinthians 5:12 , 13 ). In Revelation 13 , the lamb-like beast “rose out of the earth” ( Revelation 13:11 . ), by contrast with the leopard-like beast ( Revelation 13:1 - 10 ) which rose out of the sea ( Revelation 13:1 ). The sea ( waters ) represents “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” ( Revelation 17:15 ; cf. Daniel 7:3 , 17 ). The sea represents the peoples of earth from among whom the nations rise. In symbolic prophecy, when the earth is contrasted with the sea, it seems to symbolize the professed people of God, including those who are faithful and those who are apostate. The power represented by the lamb-like beast ( Revelation 13:11 - 18 ) rose out of the earth in two senses: (1) it rose out of a previously uninhabited region2 ; (2) it rose out of churches committed to specific religious and ecclesiastical principles. A similar contrast is to be observed between the first and second trumpets. When the first is sounded destruction falls upon “the earth” ( Revelation 8:7 ). When the second is sounded, “a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea” ( Revelation 8:8 ). Considering the manner in which the symbols “earth” and “sea” are used in Scripture, we receive the impression that the contrast is between judgments upon the church and more extensive judgments upon the world in general. The same contrast is apparent in the description of the first and second plagues ( Revelation 16:2 , 3 ). The first is poured out on “the earth,” and the second is poured out upon “the sea.” The impression is now mounting that after the historical and eschatological closes of probation, there would be an attack upon God’s professed people. What follows reinforces that impression. “ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up. . . . ”( Revelation 8:7 ). Trees in Scripture are often employed as symbolizing God’s professed people. In so far as the people are faithful to God, they are represented as flourishing, healthy trees. But when they are unfaithful, they are symbolized by trees that are no longer productive, and that will be cut down or destroyed by fire. Psalms 1:3 depicts the righteous person as “like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Speaking of himself, the Psalmist says: “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God for ever and ever” ( Psalms 52:8 ). Again the Psalmist proclaimed: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord, they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bring forth fruit in old age, they are ever full of sap and green, to show that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” ( Psalms 92:12 - 15; cf. Jeremiah 17:7 , 8; Hoses 14:4 - 7 ). Trees are sometimes symbols of the leaders of God’s professed people. Referring to Zedekiah and the manner in which he broke his covenant with the Babylonian monarch, God announced through Ezekiel that he would take a sprig from the top of a lofty cedar and plant it upon a high mountain. It would then become a flourishing tree under which animals would rest and in the branches of which the birds would nest. “And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it” ( Ezekiel 17:24 ). In other words, God would bless the faithful leaders of His people and reduce the unfaithful to nothingness. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah: “To the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O house of David’ ” ( Jeremiah 21:11 ). “I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is round about her” ( Jeremiah 21:14 ). The message was for the royal house of King Zedekiah. Again the Lord spoke through Jeremiah to the leaders of the people: “For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: ‘You are as Gilead to me, as the summit of Lebanon, yet surely I will make you a desert, an uninhabited city. I will prepare destroyers against you, each with his weapons; and they shall cut down your choicest cedars, and cast them into the fire’ ” ( Jeremiah 22:6 , 7 ). Isaiah addressed the king of Assyria ( Isaiah 10:12 ): “The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down” ( Isaiah 10:19 ). John the Baptist warned the Israelite leaders of his day: “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” ( Matthew 3:10 ). Again and again in Scripture, the burning of trees is a symbol of judgments upon God’s unfaithful people. The Psalmist wrote: “I have seen a wicked man overbearing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. Again I passed by, and lo, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found” ( Psalms 37:35 , 36 ). Because the people of Judah had broken their covenant with God, Jeremiah wrote: “The Lord once called you, ‘A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed” ( Jeremiah 11:16 ; cf. Joel 1:5 - 7, 19 , 20; Ezekiel 15:6 - 8; Zechariah 11:1 - 6 ). Early in His ministry, Jesus used trees to symbolize the danger of spiritual fruitlessness: “Every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. . . . Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits” ( Matthew 7:17 - 20; cf. 12:33 ; Luke 6:43 - 45 ). Jesus represented the Jews of His day as an unfruitful tree that would eventually be destroyed. During the final week of His earthly ministry, Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree, symbolizing what would happen to the Israelite nation ( Mark 11:12 - 14, 20 ). The tree looked promising; outwardly it was attractive; but it was unproductive. Just so, the Jewish leaders put on a great display of piety, but, in fact, they were spiritually barren. How significant that the same day Jesus cursed the fig tree He drove the traders and money-changes out of the temple court. He dramatized His disapproval of the fruitless nation ( Mark 11:15 - 19 ). Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants ( Mark 12:1 - 12 ) harked back to Isaiah 5:1 - 7. The man who planted the vineyard represented the Lord Himself. The wicked tenants symbolized the unresponsive Israelite nation who rejected the prophets sent to them, and who eventually rejected the Messiah Himself. Jesus added: “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others”( Mark 12:9 ). Jesus was illustrating the perfidy of the Israelite leaders who were listening to His teaching. “And they tried to arrest him, but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them; so they left him and went away.” ( Mark 12:12 ). Jesus statement to His weeping women followers when He was being led to Calvary reiterated the impending doom for the unfaithful nation: “‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ “ ” The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up” ( Revelation 8:7 ). In Scripture, grass is sometimes used as a symbol of all the inhabitants of the earth. The Psalmist said of God: “Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream, like grass which is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are consumed by thy anger; by thy wrath we are overwhelmed” ( Psalms 90:5 - 7 ). “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more” ( Psalms 103:15 , 16; cf. Isaiah 40:6 - 8; 51:12 ; 1Peter 1:24 , 25 ). On other occasions, grass symbolizes the faithful people of God. Job was reassured: “You shall know also that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth” ( Job 5:25 ). Uttering a prayer for the righteous king, the Psalmist pled for his subjects: “May men blossom forth from the cities like the grass of the field!” ( Psalms 72:16 ). On yet other occasions, grass represents the unfaithful people of God, and the destruction of grass designates their destruction. Addressing Sennacherib, whom He had permitted to punish His unfaithful people, the Lord proclaimed: “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins, while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field, and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops; blighted before it is grown?” ( 2Kings 19:25 , 26 ).
King David had every reason to know of the evil designs of enemies and of God’s willingness to take care of them. He wrote: “Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb” ( Psalms 37:1 , 2 ). Again the Psalmist wrote: “Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction for ever, but thou, O Lord, art on high for ever” ( Psalms 92:7 , 8; cf. 129:5 - 7 ). Why does Revelation 8:7 announce that a third of the earth and of the trees would be burnt up, and all the green grass would be burnt up? Why a third? The suggestion seems to be that the destruction would not be universal. The retribution and destruction that God would bring upon His unfaithful people would be partial. God instructed Ezekiel to cut the hair of his head and beard and divide the hair into three parts ( Ezekiel 5:1 - 4 ). He was to burn a third of the hair in fire; another third he was to “take and strike with the sword round about the city”; and the final third he was to “scatter to the wind.” The thirds denoted the three ways in which God would permit His unfaithful people to be punished. The Lord applied the acted prophecy: “Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries round about her. And she has wickedly rebelled against my ordinances, more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries round about her, by rejecting my ordinances and not walking in my statutes. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are round about you, have not walked in my statutes or kept my ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are round about you; therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations. And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in the midst of you, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. . . . A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in the midst of you; a third part shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them” ( Ezekiel 5:5 - 10; cf. Zech 13:8 , 9 ).
Revelation 8:7 tells us that a third of the earth and of the trees were to be burnt up, but all the green grass. Evidently all the grass would be burnt up in the third where the trees were to be burnt.3 In the light of the symbolic meanings that we have discovered in Scripture, how should we now interpret the first trumpet ( Revelation 8:7 )? We have discovered that hail, fire, and blood often are symbols of God’s judgments upon His unfaithful people-judgments that are meted out by unbelieving nations whom the Lord permits to attack His apostate people. We have discovered that the “earth” often refers to Israel, God’s professed people. We have noted that trees are sometimes symbols of the leaders of God’s professed people, and grass often symbolizes the unfaithful people of God who will be destroyed. We also observed that a third of the earth and the trees being burnt up implies that a portion of Israel and some of her leaders will be destroyed as retribution for their sins. All the green grass being burnt up means that all the green grass will be destroyed in the territory in which the third of the trees are destroyed. In other words, the unfaithful in that area would be wiped out. Now let’s put the first trumpet in its historical setting. As we have seen, Revelation 8:5 , describing Christ’s casting the censer into the earth, refers to the close of probation. Daniel predicted a close of probation for the Jews at the end of the 70 weeks of years, that is at the conclusion of 490 years, beginning in 457 B.C. and closing in A.D. 34 ( Daniel 9:24 - 27 ). The Jews rejected Christ, and their probation as the chosen nation closed in A.D. 34. Daniel predicted that after that event “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood. And till the end of the war desolations are determined” ( Daniel 9:26 ). Quoting Daniel, Jesus predicted the same destruction of Jerusalem and the temple ( Matthew 24:15 - 21 ). As we have seen, during His ministry, Jesus often warned of the coming destruction ( Matthew 22:7 : 23:37 - 39; Mark 12:1 - 9; Luke 19:42 - 44: 23:28 - 31 ). The first trumpet sounded after the close of probation for Israel as a nation. Significantly, the predicted destruction of Jerusalem and the temple occurred in A.D. 70. At this time, “hail and fire , mixed with blood” were poured out on the earth in the sense that the professed Church of God, centered in Jerusalem was the brunt of the Roman attack. The faithful Christians escaped, but a large number of Jews was killed. A third of the earth was burnt up in the sense that, although the slaughter was devastating, it did not comprise a total massacre of the professed people of God. A large number of the Israelite religious leaders ( trees ) was destroyed, and retribution was meted out upon the unfaithful ( grass ) within the city.4 “When Christ should hang upon the cross of Calvary, Israel’s day as a nation favored and blessed of God would be ended. The loss of even one soul is a calamity infinitely outweighing the gains and treasures of a world; but as Christ looked upon Jerusalem, the doom of a whole city, a whole nation, was before Him-that city, that nation, which had once been the chosen of God, His peculiar treasure.”5
“The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable. That barren tree, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Saviour desired to make plain to His disciples the cause and the certainty of Israel’s doom. For this purpose He invested the tree with moral qualities, and made it the expositor of divine truth. The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been specially favored by Him, and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people. But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements of God, and were full of hypocrisy. Like the barren tree, they spread their pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance, and beautiful to the eye, but they yielded ‘nothing but leaves.’ The Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple, its sacred altars, its mitered priests and impressive ceremonies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but humility, love, and benevolence were lacking.”6
“Not one Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Christ had given His disciples warning, and all who believed His words watched for the promised sign. ‘When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies,’ said Jesus, ‘then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out.’ Luke 21:20 , 21. After the Romans under Cestius had surrounded the city, they unexpectedly abandoned the siege when everything seemed favorable for an immediate attack. The besieged, despairing of successful resistance, were on the point of surrender, when the Roman general withdrew his forces without the least apparent reason. But God’s merciful providence was directing events for the good of His own people. The promised sign had been given to the waiting Christians, and now an opportunity was offered for all who would, to obey the Saviour’s warning. Events were so overruled that neither Jews nor Romans should hinder the flight of the Christians. Upon the retreat of Cestius, the Jews, sallying from Jerusalem, pursued after the retiring army; and while both forces were thus fully engaged, the Christians had an opportunity to leave the city. At this time the country also had been cleared of enemies who might have endeavored to intercept them. At the time of the siege, the Jews were assembled at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and thus the Christians throughout the land were able to make their escape unmolested. Without delay they fled to a place of safety-the city of Pella, in the land Perea, beyond Jordan.”7
“In the siege and the slaughter that followed, more than a million of the people perished; the survivors were carried away as captives, sold as slaves, dragged to Rome to grace the conqueror’s triumph, thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheaters, or scattered as homeless wanderers throughout the earth. . . . “The horrible cruelties enacted in the destruction of Jerusalem are a demonstration of Satan’s vindictive power over those who yield to his control.”8
We have observed in chapter 2 of this book that Revelation 8:5 also refers to the end-time close of probation. After this the first trumpet identifies a massive attack on the professed Christian Church ( the “earth” ). As in the destruction of Jerusalem the faithful servants of God were able to escape, so after the end-time close of probation those in the universal Church who are God’s sealed saints, though under attack, will be unharmed ( Revelation 7:1 - 4; 9:4 ). Evidently there is to be a devil-inspired assault upon the Christian Church. This will be an attack upon sealed believers ( Revelation 12:17 ; 13:7 , 8, 15- 17 ) and unsealed adherents of anti-typical Babylon ( Revelation 18:4 ) who profess to belong to God’s true church. Many unfruitful, professed Christians leaders ( trees ) and erstwhile believers ( grass ) who have not made the necessary spiritual preparation but have given allegiance to the image of the beast will be wiped out. At the same time as this attack on His professed people is in progress, God will pour out the first of the seven plagues upon many of those who have the metaphorical “mark of the beast” and who are worshiping its “image” ( Revelation 16:2 ). The plague of “foul and evil sores” will not only punish the adherents of anti-typical Babylon, but will also counteract and somewhat restrain the destructive work of Satan. “Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God. The woes of a fallen race, pressing upon His soul, forced from His lips that exceeding bitter cry. He saw the record of sin traced in human misery, tears, and blood; His heart was moved with infinite pity for the afflicted and suffering ones of earth; He yearned to relieve them all. But even His hand might not turn back the tide of human woe; few would seek their only Source of help. He was willing to pour out His soul unto death, to bring salvation within their reach; but few would come to Him that they might have life. . . . Jesus, looking down to the last generation, saw the world involved in a deception similar to that which caused the destruction of Jerusalem. The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ; the great sin of the Christian world would be their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. The precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at nought. Millions in bondage to sin, slaves of Satan, doomed to suffer the second death, would refuse to listen to the words of truth in their day of visitation. Terrible blindness! Strange infatuation!”9
“Noah was shut in, and the rejecters of God’s mercy were shut out. The seal of Heaven was on that door; God had shut it, and God alone could open it. So when Christ shall cease his intercession for guilty men, before his coming in the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut. Then divine grace will no longer restrain the wicked, and Satan will have full control of those who have rejected mercy. They will endeavor to destroy God’s people; but as Noah was shut into the ark, so the righteous will be shielded by divine power.”10
“When He [Christ] leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. . . . “Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have received the message, and Satan will excite to still great intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution. . . . “When God’s presence was finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation, priests and people knew it not. . . . So when the irrevocable decision of the sanctuary has been pronounced and the destiny of the world has been forever fixed, the inhabitants of the earth will know it not. The forms of religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has been finally withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will bear the semblance of zeal for God. “As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration.”11
1 My translation. The two verbs are future perfect passive periphrastics: estai dedemena and estai lelumena. The decision made by the church simply underlines the decision already made in heaven. Randolph O. Yeager translates the verse: “Whatever you may bind upon the earth shall be that which has already been bound in heaven; and whatever you may loose upon the earth shall be that which has already been loosed in heaven.”-Randolph O Yeager, The Renaissance New Testament ( Chicago, Ill.: R. R. Donnelley & Sons, 1977 ), Vol. 2, p. 632. 2 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy , pp. 440, 441. 3 See Jon Paulien, Decoding Revelation’s Trumpets ( Berrien Springs, Mi.: Andrews University Press, 1987 ), p. 379. 4 Jon Paulien, Ranko Stefanovic, and Mervyn Maxwell agree substantially with my historical applications of the first four trumpets, but, for the most part, they do not see end-time applications after the close of probation. J. Massyngberde Ford does not identify specific historical events as fulfilments of the first four trumpets. She summarizes her comments on Revelation 8: “Thus Rev. 8 shows Yahweh beginning to bring his weapons and troops into action, to war against his people in order that they may repent, Revelation 9:20 . As in Isaiah 42:13 , Yahweh is portrayed as a furious man of war.”- Revelation ( The Anchor Bible; Garden City: New York, 1975 ), p. 139. Without identifying any historical fulfilment, Leon Morris summarizes his discussion of the first trumpet as follows: “John does not tell us who it was who cast the fire and hail upon the earth. We should understand some heavenly being, but precisely which does not matter. What matters is that God sends His plagues on evil men. This is true throughout the ages and it will be so till the End.”-- The Revelation of St. John ( Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1969 ), p. 123. Just so, in his discussion of the second, third, and fourth trumpets, Morris specifies no historical fulfilments. He simply refers to the “punishment of ungodly men” ( p. 124 ) by the judgments of God. 5 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy , p. 21. 6 White, The Desire of Ages , pp. 582, 583. 7 White, The Great Controversy , pp. 30, 31. 8 Ibid., pp. 35, 36. 9 White, The Great Controversy , pp. 22, 23. 10 White, Patriarchs and Prophets , p. 98. 11 White, The Great Controversy , pp. 614, 615.
cf. is a legal term, meaning "Compares favorably with . . ."
Root is "eskhatos" the Greek word for "last"
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