Revelation 8 introduces us to “the seven angels who stand before God,” who blow the trumpets heralding a new set of judgments to come upon the earth. We speculate that these angels may be the seven archangels named in the Book of 1 Enoch, representing the belief of Jews during the Second Temple period.
Then we begin our study of the first trumpet judgment of hail and fire mixed with blood. This echoes the plague of hail and lightning that devastated Egypt (Exodus 9:22-25) and explain why “hail” (Barad) and “thunderbolts” (the reshephim) may be a “company of destroying angels” (Psalm 78:48-49) as well as a natural disaster.
