Temporal Sequence of Trumpets and the Regrowth of Grass
Question: My question has to do with the first trumpet in Revelation 8:7. Revelation 8:7 says, "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." My question has to do with the first trumpet of Revelation 8:7 where it says all the green grass was burnt up. But in Revelation 9:4 it says, "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." What am I missing here or not understanding?
The apparent tension arises because Revelation 8:7 says "all green grass was burnt up," while Revelation 9:4 commands the demonic locusts not to hurt the grass. If all grass was burned, how can there be any grass left not to harm?
This difficulty lessens when we pay attention to two factors: (1) the literal force of the description in chapter 8, and (2) the temporal sequence and duration implied in chapters 8–9.
Literal Burning and Natural Regrowth
The description in Revelation 8:7 is of hail and fire, mingled with blood, cast upon the earth so that "all green grass was burnt up." That is best read literally: a scorched-earth effect on the existing grass. However, burning grass does not permanently eradicate grass from the earth. In many climates, burned fields quickly produce fresh green shoots, often with even greater vigor, once sufficient moisture and time are present.
Thus, the statement that all the then‑present green grass was burned does not imply that there will never again be any grass. It describes the immediate devastation, not a perpetual absence of grass.
Time Between the First and Fifth Trumpets
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To make sense of Revelation 9:4, we must consider the temporal progression through the trumpets:
- Trumpet 1 (Revelation 8:7): hail and fire with blood; trees and all green grass burned.
- Trumpet 2 (Revelation 8:8–9): something like a burning mountain cast into the sea; a third of the sea becomes blood.
- Trumpet 3 (Revelation 8:10–11): the star called Wormwood falls; a third of the rivers and fountains are made bitter, causing many deaths.
- Trumpet 4 (Revelation 8:12): a third of sun, moon, and stars darkened.
- An interjected announcement of woe (Revelation 8:13).
- Trumpet 5 (Revelation 9:1–5): the demonic locusts emerge; they are told not to harm the grass or any green thing or any tree, but only unsealed men, and they torment for five months.
Even if one compressed trumpets 1–4 into a relatively short span, trumpet 5 explicitly introduces a period of five months of torment (Revelation 9:5). A "month" in biblical usage is anchored in the lunar cycle, so five months is a definite and substantial period of time.
Between trumpet 1 and the onset and unfolding of trumpet 5, there is therefore enough elapsed time—at least several months—for the burned grass to regrow. In many parts of the world, grass can recover significantly within weeks following a burn, given sufficient rain and sunlight. Over the span that includes four trumpet events plus the subsequent five months of torment, it is entirely reasonable to envision fresh green grass existing again.
Why the Prohibition Makes Sense
The option that "they could not hurt the grass because there was no grass" empties the prohibition in Revelation 9:4 of meaningful content. It would reduce the command to a vacuous statement. Instead, the command assumes the presence of grass and other green things that could, in principle, be harmed.
The more coherent reading, therefore, is:
- At the time of trumpet 1, all then‑existing green grass is burned.
- Over the ensuing sequence of trumpet judgments and the passage of time, new grass grows.
- By the time of trumpet 5, there is again grass and other green vegetation.
- The demonic locusts are specifically restricted from damaging this regenerated vegetation; their assigned target is unsealed humanity.
Not Over‑Flattening the Chronology
What you may have been "missing" is the tendency to flatten the text’s chronology, reading all seven trumpets as if they occur almost instantaneously with no meaningful temporal intervals. Revelation, however, presents a series of judgments in sequence, and in at least one case (the torment of five months) it clearly signals a substantial duration within that sequence.
Allowing for these intervals removes the contradiction. Revelation 8:7 describes a real, catastrophic burning of all existing grass; Revelation 9:4 speaks at a later point, when grass has grown again and is now intentionally spared from harm during the fifth trumpet.
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