Revelation 8:7

And the first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

These first four trumpets are given very briefly, but the last three are presented more extensively. "All of them reveal the active involvement of God in bringing judgment upon a wicked world."[44] Many scholars mention the plagues of Egypt in connection with these, but "the resemblance is only general."[45] The sounding of the first four trumpets results in disaster falling upon the earth, salt water, fresh water, and the sky. "They are God's judgment upon human sin and are intended to lead men to repentance."[46] "Everything is injured by sin, and nature itself cries out against man and thus appeals to God."[47]

Hail ... fire ... blood ... cast upon the earth ... Neither hail nor blood can actually "burn up" anything. Such expressions are merely to show the violent and destructive nature of the things foretold. The language is clearly figurative. Some have supposed that these symbolize wars, bloodshed, violence, and social upheavals; but the clear distinction between these first four trumpet visions of judgments upon earth, sea, rivers,and atmosphere and the three trumpet "woes" directly against "men" seems to say that the first four are not against people directly; although, of course, whatever affects the environment necessarily affects people also. For this reason, we interpret the first four trumpets as the perpetual equivalent of the primeval curse upon the earth "for Adam's sake." God does not intend for the sinful race of man to find any earthly situation altogether cozy and comfortable.

In the progression of history, less and less of the earth remains habitable. The great dust bowl of the 1930's in Oklahoma is a tiny example of how the elements themselves are at times hostile "to the land." Look at the damage visible to the eye all over the world, which has been thus destroyed. The deserts, the badlands, the fertile valleys destroyed by soil erosion, etc., are a few examples.

The interlocking and conjunctive nature of the first four trumpet judgments should be noted. They are presented almost simultaneously in a brief six verses, indicating that all four work together, and suggesting that their effect should be understood collectively, all of them working hand in hand to produce a more hostile environment for man in the physical creation that surrounds him. Forest fires, droughts, swamps, rampaging rivers, ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and all such natural disasters have indeed "burnt up" a third of the earth, and the damage is still being done. All of it is God's response to the wickedness of man; but wicked men also contribute to the progressive damage, as indicated in the final three trumpets.

Third part of the trees, and all green grass ... The denuding of the earth of a significant part of its forests is an astonishing and spectacular feature of a third of the earth this very day. Travelers in Korea and other oriental countries cannot fail to be impressed with this feature of the landscape; and even in America today, where are the mighty forests? Let any man ask the price of 1,000 board-feet of white pine or black walnut, and he will suddenly be aware that the trumpet of God still sounds over the trees.

All the green grass ... This is best understood to mean, "All the grass in the one third of the earth mentioned."[48] All these disasters coming upon the land are under the control of God and are limited. Only a minor part of the earth can be affected by such things. Some have called Revelation the Book of Doom; but it is the opposite of that. It is the book which reveals the Father's limitation and restraint of the doom which already had come when man rebelled against his Creator.

[44] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 184.

[45] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 232.

[46] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 112.

[47] James William Russell, op. cit., p. 633.

[48] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 123.