Apocalyptic language — Psalm 18

At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
— Psalm 18:12-13

David gives clue to an understanding of historical judgment and apocalyptic literature generally. The language, if understood as the specific way in which the judgment happened, would be contrary to the historical record. There were not physical hail stones, nor coals of fire that fell on David’s enemies. Rather, the means which God used to judge the enemies of Israel were warfare, famine and political maneuvering. In the place of describing these very normal means (found in the historical books), David uses these thematic terms. This is a type of figurative trope — one in which the species of the genus has been changed. David uses poetic compaction to speak of the judgment of God. John does the same in Revelation.

Besides misconstruing the book of Revelation, perhaps we miss the judgment of God today, because we are waiting for hail stones and coals of fire.