The Old and New Testaments use the trumpet as the symbol of God’s intervention in history (e.g., Ex. , ; Isa. ; Joel ; Zep. ; Zec. ; Mtt. ; 1Cor. ; 1Th. ). A trumpet blast can mean one of three things in Scripture: first, an alarm; second, a fanfare to announce royalty; third, a summons to battle—the latter is appropriate in this context.1
No doubt, these angels had been waiting for this particular ministry for a long time. As “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews ), all of Christ’s mighty angels (2 Thessalonians ) are intensely occupied with the progress of His work of salvation on earth, “which things the angels desire to look into” (1 Peter ). The seven “presence angels” were surely the most concerned of all, and they were fully prepared.2
Notes
1 Monty S. Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation to John (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1987), Rev. 8:6.
2 Henry Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983), Rev. 8:6.