Audio Links

Video Links

---

Rev 8:7  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.
Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Introduction

As we read this entire prophecy, it is of utmost importance to remember what the words we read signify and not be distracted with the rest of the world by the words themselves. As a quick example of this look at these verses:

Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

A lion is a dead lamb with seven horns and seven eyes? We have already established that this book was “signified” to John, as things he and we are to read, hear and keep, in very short order. This entire prophecy is “things which must shortly come to pass” in the lives of all to whom it is given to “read, hear and keep the things written therein.”

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

“The time is at hand, [ and] things which must shortly come to pass,” are one and the same thought. This prophecy is for the person who can read, hear and keep the things written within this prophecy. It is definitely not for a single generation some two thousand years after the giving of this heavenly vision.
So the lion and the lamb actually have nothing at all to do with a literal, physical lion or lamb. These are spiritual symbols of Jesus Christ the Lord of glory. But in like manner seven horns and seven eyes have nothing at all to do with the literal, physical number seven. Seven, as we have already discussed in great depth (see The Spiritual Significance of The Number Seven), is the symbol of that which is complete. So the “seven horns and seven eyes are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” In other words, these seven spirits are the complete work of the spirit of God in each of us. “The earth” as we will see below, and as we have already discussed in earlier chapters, signifies mankind, in general, and in particular those of mankind in whom the spirit of God dwells and is doing His fiery work at this time.
The spirit of God is not physically divided into seven separate spirits. The church of God and the overcomers in that church are not in seven literal churches in Asia. The angels or messengers to the church of God are not divided into seven literal messengers or angels. This entire prophecy is addressed to “He that hath and ear.” ‘He that has an ear’ is counseled to hear what the spirit is saying to all of the churches:

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

In like manner, the mysteries of the kingdom of God are not hidden by seven physical seals, on a physical scroll. Seven will always, without fail, signify that the subject with which it is connected is spiritually complete. The seven spirits are the complete spirit of God.

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The seven seals completely seal and hide the mysteries of the kingdom of God within you.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The seventh seal is the seal that has kept us from seeing the mysteries of the kingdom of God within us. It is now being loosed from the book of this prophecy, and we are about to learn what is the complete judgment of our beastly man of sin. That complete judgment is presented to us as seven trumpet judgments upon “the earth” of our flesh, which causes our “kings, great men, our rich men, our chief captains, mighty men, every bondman, and every free man” within us to say the things we see in these verses:

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The sixth seal tells us what to expect in the seventh seal. What we are to expect is “a great earthquake” which will introduce “the great day of His wrath.”  According to Christ, this “great earthquake” is but “the beginning of sorrows.”

Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [ Greek, aion, age]?
Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Jer 50:46  At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

So this earthquake of the sixth seal is but the beginning of sorrows for our earth. It begins “at the taking of Babylon.” We “read, hear and keep” or live through this earthquake. But this earthquake isn’t a one time only earthquake. Like all in Christ’s Words, this earthquake has that same “is, was and will be… shall never pass away” character about it, and it is mentioned again in “the things that are written therein” (Rev 1:3). This earthquake will continue to be lived and kept, culminating in the complete judgment and destruction of “great Babylon” within us. That is the work of the great earthquake of the seventh, or the completing of the seven last plagues.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 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.

These seven trumpets, according to Rev 6:17,  reveal “the great day of His wrath” because they culminate in the seventh trumpet, which is simply the seven last plagues. They are not the seven only plagues. They are actually preceded by the plagues found in the first six trumpets. But seven does not ever mean seven; it means complete, and the trumpets are not completed until the last of the seven trumpets sounds, and its seven plagues have been poured out upon our sinful flesh which holds up “great Babylon” within us. Here is the reason for the trumpets we are beginning to study:

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

It is the “stars of [ our defiled] heavens, falling to the earth”, accompanied by “a great earthquake”, both in the sixth seal, that bring us to the point of being able to hear these seven trumpets of “the great day of God’s wrath” and to read and hear and live “the things written therein”, which are right now being revealed to us in this, the seven trumpets of the seventh seal. This war is in “the heavens”, and it takes place during “the great day of His wrath” which is designed to purify and cleanse our heavens.

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [ purified] with better sacrifices than these.

So here is…

The first trumpet

Rev 8:7  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.

We have in this verse six symbols, 1) hail, 2) fire, 3) blood, 4) the earth, 5) the third part of the trees burned up and 6) all green grass. Let’s take each of these symbols and allow the Word of God to tell us what they are spiritually. But before we get into the meaning of these six symbols, let us take note that this is the beginning of these judgments, and with that in mind, let’s remember these verses concerning the meaning of the words ‘fire’ and how that word is connected with God’s judgment which “first begins” upon His own house.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Our trials are to be expected. We will be “reproached for the name of Christ,” if we are faithful to His Word.

Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

 Christ is that “root”, and those who experience “judgment first beginning at the house of God” are those who “have… root in themselves” and are not offended when they are “reproached for the name of Christ.” Never forget that we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and can only be those who are not offended because of the Word, if we have first lived through that offense and have come to see that we “have no root in ourselves.”
So what we are about to discover in each of these seven trumpets is “the fiery trial which is to try us” and with Christ, “the root of Jesse,” in us with Peter we can “rejoice inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.”
Let us take these symbols in this first trumpet, and see what the scriptures reveal them to be. Whatever they are in this trumpet is what they will be throughout this entire prophecy.

What is hail in scripture?

It is instructive to note that hail in nature comes down from the heavens and is very destructive to the things on the earth. So too, is this symbol used spiritually. Here is what spiritual hail accomplishes in the judgment of our earth in this verse of Rev 8, which we are to “read, hear and keep.” (Rev 1:3)

Exo 9:19  Send therefore now, [ and] gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.

This is the story of the ten plagues which God poured out upon Egypt in the process of delivering Israel out of Egypt. “The field” is where the grass grows, and Christ tells us plainly that “the field is the world.”

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

We are “in and of the world” until we “die to this world.” Only then are we, by the process of judgment, “in the world but not of the world.”

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by [ fiery, chastening, Tit 2:11-12] grace ye are saved;)

So the ‘hail’ of scripture destroys the “cattle” and all we have in our “field” because the things of this world “are not of God.”

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Where does this lust of the flesh originate? It is in our “field,” the world that is within us all by nature.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

“All that is in the world” is encapsulated in these three over arching sins. Like the two commandments of loving God and loving neighbor, all sins “hang upon” these three sins.

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

It is on the three sins of 1Jh 2:16 that all the sins and all the lies of the churches of this world hang.  It is “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” that keep us from “coming out from among them and being separate so as to partake not of their sins and receive not of their plagues.”

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

It is not human or natural to be willing to be “hated of all men.”

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

The hail in particular, symbolizes that part of God’s Word which destroys the doctrinal lies which are all the doctrines of Babylon.

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.

When “the whole stay of bread and water is taken away from Jerusalem and Judah” all that is left is “the refuge of lies.”

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

What is fire in scripture?

We have discussed this in depth and will not belabor this point but to quote a few verses to demonstrate that ‘fire’ symbolizes the Words of the spirit of God.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Christ said His fiery words were also spirit, and that is was His fiery words which will judge us all.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Paul again makes these words that judge us all, words of fire:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

So what is fire mingled with blood?

Let’s allow the fiery Word of God to demonstrate for us what is “fire mingled with blood.”
All Joseph ever wanted from his brothers who had wanted him dead, was that they acknowledge and give an accounting to their father of what they had done to him and to their Father. He tells us as much when he informs them that their evil deed wasn’t really their evil deed at all:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet [ there are] five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Before any of us are Joseph, you and I are first Joseph’s brothers. We think of ourselves as better men than to sell our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, or in the case of Joseph, twenty pieces of silver. But Christ told His own disciples that He wanted them all to “drink of the cup of My blood in the New Testament.” In doing that, Christ was telling His disciples, who thought that they were better men than to ever deny Him, that they would indeed deny Him, and that in doing so they were no better of themselves than Judas, of whom God had already written in His book to be the betrayer of our Lord. So this is what happened just a few hours after drinking Christ’s blood.

Mat 26:72  And again he [ Peter] denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Mat 26:73  And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying] I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Mar 14:27  And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mar 14:28  But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mar 14:29  But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
Mar 14:30  And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, [ even] in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mar 14:31  But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

We all know that Christ was right and Peter was wrong, and that before the cock crowed Peter was looking Christ in the eye, cursing the air blue, and denying that He had ever known Christ.

Luk 22:60  And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” That is “fire mingled with blood”, and you and I are all Peter and have all denied our Lord. We can delude ourselves that “we will not drink of such a cup as that cup,” but we will through “fire mingled with blood… drink of that very cup.”

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

“Every man” means there are no exceptions to this “hail and fire mingled with blood” which is “cast into the earth.” Christ Himself drank of this cup. Who then are we to think that “Yet will not I” as Peter told our Lord? No, Christ did not deny His calling to die on the cross, but His flesh sweat blood resisting being murdered at the early age of thirty three, and he told His disciples that He would drink of this cup of the wrath of God upon His own “body made of a woman, made under the law.”

Mat 20:22  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
Mat 26:39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

What cup did Christ drink of? His Father forsook His body which was “made of a woman, made under the law… in the flesh.” He drank of the same cup that He commanded His disciples to all drink. It was “the cup of His blood”, and He wants us all to know that it was for our sins against Him and His Father, that He died for us.

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

So too, will we all “drink indeed of Christ’s cup” and be required to relinquish these temporal, corruptible bodies of flesh and blood.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Whose flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God? It is the same people who drink of this cup of the Lord’s wrath, against our denying of Him and His words. Who is that? It begins with His own disciples and His own people.

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

It is you and I who are “mad because of the sword that God will send among us.” It is all the nations within us which the kingdom of God within us will overcome, that are mad at the work which the Lord is doing in our lives. The beast within and the man of sin within do not relinquish the throne of God within without a mighty fight and a great earthquake and a great “war in the heavens”.(Rev 12:

Jeremiah is a type of Christ. To whom was Christ sent?

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

To which nations was Jeremiah sent?

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name [ My own disciples, My own elect], and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

That is right. Both Jeremiah and Christ, were sent to “all the inhabitants of the earth,” and we must all drink of the wine of the wrath of this cup.
While Jer 25 says “Take this cup of My hand”, this same cup is later revealed to be in the hand of Babylon the great. But it is the same cup which deals with our denying of our Lord, and of His words, and our selling out to the doctrines of Babylon, and of Babylon’s shepherds.

Jer 50:6  My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Jer 50:7  All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
Jer 50:8  Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
Jer 50:9  For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.

“He goats before the flock” are leaders who lead. We are called to lead other “lost sheep… out of the midst of Babylon.”
Who is it that comes from the north?

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [ was] the appearance of the brightness round about. T his was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

These verses are another prophecy of the seven trumpet judgments we are now considering. “Out of the north” is Bible- speak for the judgment of God, and a whirlwind speaks of God’s wrath upon our sinful flesh. Here, once again, it is God Himself who comes “out of the north”. Later we will be told that the Lord sends evil “out of the north”.

Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Those who have been given to receive it, know that even the evil that is in this world, is but a part of what God is working after the counsel of His own will.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Flesh is corruption. Even the flesh of Christ is still corrupt flesh. As such it “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” and so all men must “drink of that cup” and must relinquish these temporal bodies of sinful flesh and blood.” We will all do so  in the end, but God’s elect must do so now in down payment form and in a spiritual sense, while still in these “vessels of clay.”

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Christ drank of the same cup of which we must all drink, and we drink of the same cup which He drank. “He was in all ways tempted as we are yet without sin.”

Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Christ’s words are “the New Testament.” If those words are within us, then that is what will come out of our mouths.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

It was Jeremiah’s words that made the leaders and people of Judah hate him. It was Christ’s words that got Him killed, and His Truths are no more popular today than they were in His day. “My words are in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” These words are not for this world to hear and understand. This is the fire that is mingled with Christ’s blood that is intended to devour the flesh of God’s own elect, to whom “it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God… within us” (Mat 13:10-17 and Luk 17:20-21).

What is the earth?

Do we dare to think that the flesh of others is wood and ours is not? No, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ that you and I are to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:3). We have seen in depth that “the earth” is the flesh and blood bodies of God’s own people.

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

It is upon our own “earth” that this “hail and fire mingled with blood” is cast to burn up a third part of our trees and all of our grass. Why only a third of the trees but all of the grass? In order to answer this question we must first find out what the scriptures reveal is trees and what is grass?

What are ‘trees’ in scripture?

Here is the first mention of trees in scripture.

Gen 1:11  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Notice that it is “the earth” that brings forth the grass, the herbs, and the trees… whose seed is in itself upon the earth.” So all of this is within our earth, and is brought forth by our earth. All trees have “seed in itself”, but not all trees are fruit trees.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

This verse is actually a prophecy of the coming of Christ into this earth in a body that is of this earth. “Out of the ground… the Tree of Life also…” Christ is that tree of life.
In scripture the holy spirit reveals that there are only two kinds of trees. There are trees that bear fruit and trees that are not fruit bearing trees. Israel, God’s people, are likened to an olive tree.

Jer 11:16  The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Jer 11:17  For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

This verse is a very general prophecy of the seven trumpet judgments we are now discussing. We, as God’s olive tree, bear “goodly fruit”, but we all “leave our first love… and provoke our Lord to anger.” Through the chastening grace of our Lord we repent and overcome these sins, but even then we continue to be purged by the judgments of God in our lives.
Here is another example of how the spirit uses this word ‘tree.’

Luk 3:9  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Luk 6:44  For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

Not every tree is a fruit tree. Some are very tall and proud trees that can be used by God only if they are cut down and cut up into beams and boards to build and to furnish the house of God.

Rev 8:7  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.

That is why all of our trees are not, at first, burned up. Any fire that is burning the grass of a field that borders a forest, will burn up all the grass and will burn up all the dead trees, and depending on how close a healthy tree is to a dead tree, and depending upon how long the forest has gone without rain, a fire will generally burn some, but not all of the trees of a forest.
What then, is a tree in scripture? Here is what they are, and this is how we all see the great men of Babylon and of this world, to whom we all first look for direction in this life.

Dan 4:20  The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
Dan 4:21  Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
Dan 4:22  It is thou, O king [ Nebuchadnezzar], that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

As we have shown in depth, so many times, these are words which we each individually live (Mat 4:4). All of God’s Word is about only two men and only those two men. You and I live the lives of both of those men. We are all first the first Adam, and then we will all, in our own time, become the second man Adam.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

We are all “the first man Adam”, and then we are all “the Lord from heaven.” As the first Adam, we are all King Nebuchadnezzar, “a tree whose height reaches to heaven, under which the beasts of the earth dwell and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven have their habitations.” That is why the grass all burns up while only a third of our trees burn up. We all have man kingdoms and nations within us, and they are all filled with the “fowls of the heavens.” It is these “fowls of the heavens” which require six more trumpets to complete their judgment within us.

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

The fowls of the heavens take the death of Christ and cause us to “understand it not” and teach us the false and lying doctrine of a substitutionary death which makes this verse of scripture of no effect:

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Substitutionary death teaches us that Christ did everything for us on His cross and there is nothing behind of His afflictions, because they do not understand the true gospel.
It is the fowls of the air making their habitations in the branches of our trees, that teach us that grace is a noun only with no use ever as an active verb, to chasten us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [ Greek, paideuo, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [ paideuo], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Those are just two examples of what is in the branches of our trees, and why we are being told that all of our grass is burned up while two thirds of our trees with their branches filled with the fowls of the heavens, remain within us for the moment. In the end this is what will happen to us all:

Dan 4:23  And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and [ let] his portion [ be] with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
Dan 4:24  This [ is] the interpretation, O king, and this [ is] the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
Dan 4:25  That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Here we are in Daniel, right back to the meaning of the number seven. Here again it is telling us that our submission to the sovereignty of God must be made complete, before we will ever be of any use to our heavenly Father.

What is the grass that our earth brings forth?

What do the scriptures reveal grass to symbolize? Grass is what we are when the Word of God first comes to us.

Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

But as we have seen in 1Co 3 we as grass are still very carnal babes in Christ at this early stage in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [ there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Yes, as “babes in Christ” we “are yet carnal.” So what is the grass upon which “the doctrine of Christ drops as rain” in scripture?

Psa 103:15  As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Isa 40:6  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 51:12  I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

“All flesh is grass,” and all of our fleshly desires are burned up by the hail, and fire mingled with blood that is cast into our earth. Great strides against the flesh, are immediate, even as babes in Christ. We overcome bad habits and addictions and are willing to lay our lives down for our brothers, and to fight to the death for our Lord, long before we grow to the point of being willing to go to the cross with our Lord.
What is this “burning up of all the grass,” telling us about the revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives? It is telling us that the first thing that we all come to see is that the desires of our flesh must be subdued, and we actually get this done long before our much taller trees, with all the doctrines of Babylon making their habitations in our branches, are burned up. But these are “two edged words” that “shall never pass away.” This has been the negative application of the words ‘trees and grass,” as symbols of that which comes out of the earth, and symbolizes the things of “the first man Adam,” who is to be replaced by “the second man which is the Lord from heaven.”
Later in this same prophecy we will see the positive application of these symbols as those who have the seal of God.

Rev 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.

Summary

We have covered in this study these six symbols, 1) hail, 2) fire, 3) blood, 4) the earth, 5) the third part of the trees burned up, and 6) all green grass, was burnt up.
We saw that the hail in particular, symbolizes that part of God’s Word which destroys the doctrinal lies which are all the doctrines of Babylon.

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

When “the whole stay of bread and water is taken away from Jerusalem and Judah,” all that is left is “the refuge of lies.”

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

We saw that ‘fire symbolizes the Word of God, and that if we speak the Words of God, then that Word becomes fire in our mouths to judge the world in which we live.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

We saw that blood is the blood of Christ, of which we are all guilty, and that “fire mingled with blood” is God’s fiery Word which proclaims us all as those who have denied our Lord after affirming that we would never ever commit such a dastardly act. The only man that will hurt any of God’s elect is the man of sin, sitting within us all, upon the throne of God within us all. This is the enemy that would hurt us and this is the enemy that is destroyed by the fire that proceeds out of our mouths.
We have seen again that we ourselves are the earth into which the hail and fire mingled with blood, is cast, to cleanse us of that with which we have been defiled.
Finally, we saw that the grass of the earth represents our flesh and all of its sinful lusts, while the trees of the earth in this chapter symbolize the great men within us whose branches are full of the false doctrines which are symbolized by the fowls of the air which have taken up their habitations in the branches of our trees.
It is the fact that these things are above the grass of our fields, that cause all the grass to be burned up, while only a third of our fowl filled trees are, at this point burned up.
Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to watch the process of our judgment, as we see a huge burning mountain of which we are to “read, hear, and keep” within ourselves. What we will learn is that this mountain is burning up and in doing so helps to purify another third within us.

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.