Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 8:7

"And the first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." — Revelation 8:7 (ASV)

The first trumpet. Hail and fire remind one of the fourth plague of the Exodus (Exodus 9:23–26), with added intensity suggested by the reference to hail and fire mixed with blood (cf. Ezekiel 38:22). A “third” refers to a relative fraction of the total and should not be construed as a specific amount (cf. Ezekiel 5:2; Zechariah 13:8–9).