Revelation Decoder: Thunder, Lightning, Hail

In this document, we will explore the Biblical background information of all the relevant Bible verses that explore these topics. This could help us understand Revelation or other books in the Bible. This is mostly referencing material for Bible study, but I have also included some of my interpretations. Are these stormy elements literal or symbolic?

Thunder & Lightning:

When Moses lifted his staff towards the sky, “the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt” (Ex 9:23). This was a literal judgement against Pharoah and Egypt, and it was done so that Pharoah would know that the earth is the Lord’s (Ex 9:29).

Thunder and lightning happened as a sign of God’s presence on Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:16). When God spoke to Moses, “God answered him with thunder” (Ex 19:19). All the people at the base of the mountain “perceived the thunder and the lightning” (Ex 20:18).

God is said to “thunder in the heavens” (1 Sam 2:10) as if it is God exercising His voice, yet at the same time, when “the Lord thundered with a great thunder,” it was a literal sound that the Philistines heard, because it confused them, which enabled Israel to rout their army (1 Sam 7:10; 2 Sam 22:14-15). There was also lightning.

After the people of Israel preemptively decided to make Saul their king, the prophet Samuel told them that he would call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain as a sign of God’s displeasure with them for choosing to have a king (1 Sam 12:17-18).

Thunder is equated with God’s voice (Job 26:14; 37:2-5; 40:9; Ps 18:13; 29:3; 104:7).

Thunder is also literal (Job 28:26; 36:29; 38:25). And lightning (Ps 18:14; 77:18; 48:48; 135:7).

Thunder can be equated with a loud sound (Job 39:25).

Thunder and other natural disasters are given as punishment (Isa 29:6).

God is in control of lightning (Job 36:30-32; 37:3-4; Jer 51:16).

As Ezekiel is describing the living beings he saw in a vision, he said that he saw fire amidst the beings, and lightning flashing from the fire, and “the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning” (Ezek 1:13-14).

Lightning is used to describe a bright light reflection like on the blade edge of a sword (Ezek 21:10), and its quickness to strike is also compared to lightning (v. 15). The speed of chariots is like lightning (Nah 2:4).

Daniel had a vision of a figure whose face had the appearance of lightning (Dan 10:6).

James and John were known as the “Sons of Thunder” because of their aggressive temperament (Mk 3:17; Lk 9:54).

When Jesus was talking to His Father in heaven, a voice come out of heaven saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd standing by had mixed reactions. Some thought an angel had spoken to Him and others said they heard thunder (Jn 12:28-29). This implies that the voice from heaven sounded like thunder; some heard the words, and others didn’t. Jesus then said that the thunder was a sign for them (v. 30).

The appearance of the risen Christ is described as lightning (Mt 28:3), probably because Jesus had a very bright glow.

In conclusion, lightning is used to convey speed, brightness/visibility. Thunder is used to convey God’s presence, God’s voice, God’s displeasure, and judgement.

Examining prophecy:

Matthew 24:27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Luke 17:24 “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.”

Lightning is used here because of its speed, and we know that Jesus will come like a thief in the night. It will be an unexpected surprise to them, even as thunder and lightning is when it flashes and startles someone. But it also mentions here the large breadth of this lightning bolt spread out across the entire sky. This indicates that it will be visible to everyone—Jesus will come back visibly, not invisibly. In the same way, vultures are also visible across the sky as they circle a corpse (Mt 24:28). No one will have to guess what is happening. It will be apparent, “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him” when He returns (Rev 1:7). People will cower in fear and say, “hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:16).

In the book of Revelation, lightning and thunder are sometimes accompanied with an earthquake and a hailstorm (Rev 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). It is there to indicate the presence of God and/or judgement.

In Revelation 16:17-21, literal physical disasters are evident, this is especially made clear by the plague of hail. Though, I am not completely certain of a complete literal interpretation for verse 20 about the islands and mountains.

What I find interesting about this passage is that after the seventh angels pours out the seventh and last bowl of wrath, God says, “It is done,” which is reminiscent of when Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” The second correlation is that there is an earthquake in both of these instances. On the cross, God’s wrath was turned away (passed-over), but on that final day of judgement, God’s wrath will be poured out.

Jesus is said to be our Passover Lamb, and this corresponds to the deliverance that the Israelites experienced, having the plagues pass them over, and leaving the land of Egypt (1 Cor 5:7; Ex 12). But if God’s wrath passed us over, where is the wrath? It is being stored up for that future day which is the future vision recorded in Revelation (Ro 2:5; 2 Pet 3:7). But, instead of the plagues just being for Egypt, it will be for the whole world this time.

This is one argument to refute an overly-allegorical interpretation of Revelation that denies God’s retribution. Additionally, this argument also reinforces the idea of literal/physical cataclysmic events that will later come upon the earth.

Hailstones:

In the Bible, hail is often spoken of in context of a very bad storm where there is also severe rain, thunder, flooding, violent wind, lightning strikes that cause fire, and dark stormy clouds (Isa 30:30; Ezek 13:8-16; Hag 2:17). In prophetic imagery, storms can be associated with God’s anger or presence. The storm is viewed as an extension of God’s arm to deal out retribution.

There was a military event where Joshua and his armies fought against the Amorites, and God granted Israel victory by throwing their enemies into confusion by a hailstorm, and the hail killed more of their enemies than those of Israel who died by the sword (Josh 10:11).

In a prophecy about the destruction of Gog, God says, “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone” (Ezek 38:22).

Hail is mentioned three times in the book of Revelation. As I discussed previously on the article about earthquakes, these instances of hail are mutually exclusive events. They are: the seventh seal and first trumpet (8:7), the seventh trumpet (11:19), and the seventh bowl of wrath (16:21).

During the last bowl of wrath, these hailstones are specifically said to be “about one hundred pounds each,” further giving evidence to the physical nature of this hail. In the Old Testament, the first time the word “hail” is used is in Exodus during the plagues of Egypt. That hail must have been very large as well, since it had to be severe enough to kill these livestock animals: horses, donkeys, camels, animals in herds, and animals in flocks (Ex 9:3). This was called a “severe pestilence” (v. 3), and “very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now” (v. 18, 24), and it “shattered every tree of the field” (v. 25), and it also destroyed the crops (v. 25, 31). (see also Psalm 78:47-51; 105:32-33 for more info on this event).

God only destroyed the livestock of the Egyptians while the livestock of the Israelites were untouched. However, this was conditional upon anyone, including Egyptians, who heeded the warning of the Lord before the hail came so that they gave their livestock refuge. Additionally, since God is ultimately the one who has control over the weather, it says, “Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail” (v. 26). Also, when the hail was raining down, Moses and Aaron walked over to Pharoah in Egypt, and also walked all the way out of Egypt while it was storming, and they were apparently untouched (v. 27-33).

What were one of the reasons for the hail and Moses spreading out his hands to the Lord as he left Egypt so that the hail would stop? Moses gave the reason to Pharoah, so “that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s” (v. 29). In a similar way, when the day of judgement comes, this plague will be a sign for unbelievers, for those who harden their heart against God. Yet, instead of repenting, they will harden their hearts against God like Pharoah, and these people will blaspheme the Lord (Rev 16:21).

When the hail came down in Egypt, it says, “the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth” (Ex 9:23). This word “fire” is a clue for interpreting Revelation 8:7 which says, “The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” The indication here is that “fire” means the fire that lightning causes (Ps 105:32-33; 148:8). In Psalm 18:12, the phrase “hailstones and coals of fire” is used, indicating that coals of fire are bolts of lightning. Understanding all this, it would make the most sense to understand “earth,” “trees,” and “grass” as physical elements that will literally burn. What about the blood? What does that mean? It probably just means that the rain came down red. This would likely be due to some elements that the water catches on its way down from the atmosphere.

The last verse about hail that we have not covered yet under this section is Revelation 11:19 which says, “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” I believe this passage mainly communicates God’s presence but I also think these events described will literally happen as well because (1) a great hailstorm is mentioned, and (2) God wants people to know who He is and who is in charge, as we learned from the Exodus account. In most instances in the Bible where the word “hail” is used, it is used literally. And, for the places that it may be used symbolically to express God’s anger, it is at the very least still used as a way to communicate incoming judgement. Though I say this, I have not studied Isaiah 30:30 or Ezekiel 13:8-16 thoroughly to make a determination on whether those descriptions literal events or just symbolic. They very well could have happened.

In conclusion, whenever we see hail, earthquakes, thunder, lightning, and other weather phenomena, it is the most likely interpretation that these things will literally happen, given the biblical background information that we now know.

Quotations taken from New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) by the Lockman Foundation.