March 20, 2022

So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.  Revelation 8:6-7

The opening of the seventh seal is the springboard from which we move into the sounding of the seven trumpets. Trumpets are used to herald the approach of the LORD (see Exodus 19:16-17, Joshua 6:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 4:16). The seventh seal corresponds with the letter to Laodicea, the last-day church on earth. The name Laodicea means Judgement of the People. The trumpets review in greater detail God’s undeniable judgements, given with much restraint. Yes, there are some forceful aspects because stubborn human nature too often ignores His gentler nudgings.

Trees and grass have been used as similes for God’s people. The first Psalm makes a connection between honoring God’s law and spiritual prosperity: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. . . .but his delight is in the law of the LORD. . . .He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season…(from Psalm 1:1-3). John the Baptist uses the metaphor against the religious leaders who were blinded by presumption and pride: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7, see also the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:17-19)  For positive and negative references of the grass metaphor, see Psalm 72:6 and 37:2.

In the Old Testament, hail mixed with fire caused bloodshed. This was God’s means of judgement against the enemies of His people. This terminology was plainly understood by those who knew the Scriptures. An example: “And I will bring him to judgement with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” (Ezekiel 38:22)  The tragic irony during the days of the early church is there were so many of God’s professed people who, by rejecting Jesus, joined the ranks of God’s opponents. They became the oppressors and persecutors of the followers of Christ in the years that followed. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus referred to Himself as a green tree and those who rejected Him as dry trees: “For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” Luke 23:31

Jesus prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem some forty years before it happened. “Not one stone shall be left upon another.” (Matthew 24:2)  History records that not a single Christian died when the Romans came and leveled Jerusalem in 70AD. They recognized the window of escape He had provided in His words and obeyed this command: “Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.” (Matthew 24:17-18)

As we seek to understand all the words in the Bible, let us first and foremost trust and obey the Giver of those words, for they are life! (see John 6:68)