July 9: BELIEF AND ACTION
The first angel sounded; and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of all the trees were burned up and all the green grass was burned up. Revelation 8:7
In the early days of Christianity, along with the opening of the first seal, the first trumpet judgment was thrown to the earth. The pure gospel message was riding forth into the world conquering and to conquer (6:2). Sadly, the bitterest opponents and primary persecutor of the early church (made up mostly of faithful Jews) was not Rome, but many individual unconverted Jewish leaders (trees) and the people who followed them (grass). To look back a few years reminds us that apostate Jewish leaders were the instigators of Christ’s crucifixion, backed by endorsement of the people who listened to them. Although the Roman government carried it out, Roman leadership did not have anything against Jesus at that time: Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, “I find no fault in this man.” (Luke 23:4) However, the Jews did find fault with Jesus. They merely harnessed the Roman government to do their bidding, saying, “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15)
In the Old Testament, hail and fire along with bloodshed were the “weapons” of God’s judgments against the enemies and oppressors of His people (see Exodus 9:23; Ezekiel 38:21-22). But over the centuries, in spite of full access to the Scriptures, God’s covenant people—knowing their past failures and God’s redemptive judgments—collectively refused to allow Him to write the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31) in their minds and on their hearts (v.33). Ultimately, they rejected Jesus and became, by their own tragic choice, enemies and oppressors of the faithful who sought to follow Him.
The first trumpet judgment fell upon the city of Jerusalem in 70AD. Peter had said, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God…” (1 Peter 4:17a – see also Ezekiel 9:6). In this first trumpet judgment, we may behold the goodness and the severity of God.* It is a historical fact that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus had given a warning of what was to come (Matthew 24:14-16), and, because they believed and acted upon His words, the Christians escaped the judgment that fell upon the city and the unbelieving multitude. The disaster and calamity that closed in upon them had been plainly foretold (Luke 19:43), but their refusal to believe it cost them their lives. Interestingly, secular history records that Roman soldiers catapulted white boulders into the city, which looked like enormous hailstones as they fell. Fires were lit all over the city, but the fires that consumed the temple were lit and cultivated against the orders of Titus, the Roman general overseeing the attacks on Jerusalem. To this day, the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD is recorded as the bitterest time in Jewish history.
The fraction a third is associated with apostasy among the professed of God (see Ezekiel 5:2 and Revelation 12:4). The original Greek word translated apostasy means departure from the truth or divorce. Though He gently and patiently calls His people back to Him and offers forgiveness, God’s patience will not continue indefinitely.
*Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Romans 11:22 (KJV)
For further study: Psalms 1:3; 52:8; 72:16; 92:12-14; Isaiah 40:6-8; 44:2-4; 61:3; Jeremiah 11:15-17; 17:7-8; Ezekiel 20:46-48