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 8:7KJV
Know the Bible

Revelation 8:7 (KJV)

What does Revelation 8:7 mean?

Revelation 8:7 describes the first angel blowing a trumpet, which brings a disaster of hail and fire mixed with blood falling on the earth, burning up a third of the trees and all the green grass. This verse introduces the first of several judgments that come as a result of the angels sounding their trumpets in John’s vision.

The setting is the book of Revelation, where John, exiled on the island of Patmos, records a vision given to him for the churches. In this part of the vision, John sees a series of angels, each with a trumpet, bringing dramatic events upon the earth. The language is vivid and symbolic, showing a scene of sudden and severe destruction affecting the natural world.

The Greek behind Revelation 8:7

  • ἄγγελος (angelos): This word means "messenger" or "angel." In Revelation, angels often act as agents who carry out God’s commands, emphasizing that these events are not random but directed.
  • σάλπιζεν (salpizen, "sounded"): This verb refers to blowing a trumpet. In the ancient world, trumpets signaled important announcements or warnings, so the act of sounding the trumpet marks the beginning of a significant event.
  • μεμιγμένα (memigmena, "mingled"): This word means "mixed together." The fire and blood are not separate but combined with the hail, highlighting the unnatural and terrifying nature of the judgment.
  • γῆ (gē, "earth"): This term can mean the whole earth or the land, and here it shows that the judgment affects the physical world, not just people.

Why Revelation 8:7 matters

  • Revelation 8:7 clarifies that the trumpet judgments are not just symbolic but involve real consequences for the earth, especially the environment.
  • The verse connects to the larger pattern in Revelation, where judgments come in a series, each intensifying the sense of urgency and seriousness.
  • Understanding the specific effects—trees and green grass burned—helps readers see the scale and focus of the destruction, which affects both the natural world and human life dependent on it.

Where else these words appear

“hail” Greek G5464 · used in 3 verses

  • Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
  • Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

“mingled” Greek G3396 · used in 4 verses

  • Matthew 27:34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
  • Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
  • Revelation 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

“green” Greek G5515 · used in 4 verses

  • Mark 6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
  • Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
  • Revelation 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

“up” Greek G2618 · used in 11 verses

  • Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
  • Luke 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
  • Hebrews 13:11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.