The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. Revelation 8:7
Hail and fire mingled with blood - This was something like the ninth plague of Egypt. See Exodus 9:22-24: The Lord sent thunder and hail - and fire mingled with the hail - and the fire ran along upon the ground.
The Bible tells us that judgment must begin at the house of God (1Peter 4:17) so the judgment must begin with the Jewish nation. In the first destruction of Jerusalem, the man clothed in linen commanded the destroying messengers to begin their work at God’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6). The second destruction of Jerusalem [A.D. 70] parallels the first..... the historicist method requires that the blowing of the trumpets begin in apostolic times.
*Furthermore, the first trumpet must refer to a judgment that falls
upon those who first oppressed God’s people.
Q: What judgment fell upon oppressors of God’s people in apostolic times?
A: There is only one possibility—the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.
“The long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in their stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the disciples of Jesus, they rejected the last offer of mercy. Then God withdrew His protection from them and removed His restraining power from Satan and his angels, and the nation was left to the control of the leader she had chosen.” E.G.W.
*It fell on the third part of the trees, that is, say some, The most severe calamities have their bounds and limits set them by the great God. A third of the trees means that the trumpets were partial and preliminary judgments that point forward to greater judgments in the future.
*Fire falling from heaven signifies a judgment from God against apostate Jerusalem.
*Blood Symbolism--As we have previously seen, the Jews in Pilate’s judgment hall clamored for Christ’s crucifixion and cried out, “His blood be upon us and our children.” Jesus also predicted that God would require from that generation all the righteous blood, shed from the time of Abel.
*Trees - Luke 23:27-31: These are the most important verses to understand the first trumpet: And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" [Fulfilled finally in Revelation 6:16, 17; Revelation 1:7; Matthew 26:64; Matthew 23:39] For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?
This must be seen in the light of the fig tree that dried up by the roots because they condemned Jesus who is represented by a green tree. The key phrase is ‘dried up by the roots’. Thus, the Jewish nation was the dried up tree.
*Grass - the voice said, Cry out! and he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6-8.
