<p>8:2 <em>And I saw the seven angels that stood before God; and there were given to them seven trumpets</em>- The presence of the article &quot;the&quot; indicates these seven Angels have already been referred to. But the only time we have so far read of them in Revelation is in the description of the seven Angels of the churches who represent the believers before God (Rev. 1:20). The seven Angels feature later in Revelation, pouring out the vials of Divine wrath upon the land and the beast system. The Angels responsible for God's people are the same ones who pour out such terrible calamities upon the land. This is the power of our representation before God in the court of Heaven. This is exactly in context, because we go on to read that because of the prayers of the believers, things are poured out upon the land and Angels blow trumpets. This is the power of prayer, and it will be especially evident in the last days.</p><p>The theme of &lsquo;seven&rsquo; judgments coming upon the land surely connects with the claim that Mohammad waged seven military campaigns against the infidels in the land promised to Abraham. The Hadith several times speaks of the &quot;seven military expeditions led by the Messenger of Allah himself (may peace be upon him)&quot; (e.g. Book 19.4469), or of the &ldquo;seven battles&rdquo; he was victorious in (Book 19.4462). This would explain the seven fold structure of the seals-trumpets-vials, and the feature of &lsquo;seven&rsquo; judgments in various others way within the Apocalypse. The Muslim pretenders to the pattern of Mohamad bring seven judgments upon Israel, and are punished by likewise receiving back seven judgments, drinking the cup they made others to drink.</p><p>The Hadith claims that Mohammad predicted three cycles of calamities in the last days, which would be subdivided into various other calamities: &quot;Hudhaifa b. al&minus;Yaman reported: By Allah, I have the best knowledge amongst people about every turmoil which is going to appear in the period intervening me and the Last Hour; and it is not for the fact that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) told me something confidentially pertaining to it and he did not tell anybody else about it, but it is because of the fact that I was present in the assembly in which he had been describing the turmoil. and he especially made a mention of three turmoils which would not spare anything and amongst these there would be turmoils like storms in the hot season&quot; (41.6908). This is exactly the Biblical picture- of three cycles of judgments and turmoils in the land (seals-trumpets-vials), subdivided into various specific calamities. As the jihadists strive to obey the letter of their writings, they will thereby be fulfilling the outline picture of the last day crisis which is foretold in Revelation.<br />It&rsquo;s noteworthy that the seven seals and seven trumpets and seven vials all conclude with the seventh being the establishment of the Kingdom. So there are actually six judgments in each case. The Hadith (Book 41.7040) speaks of six signs before the last day: &quot;Hasten in performing these good deeds (before these) six things (happen): (the appearance) of tribe Dijjal, the smoke, the beast of the earth, the rising of the sun from the west, the general turmoil (leading to large-scale massacre) and death of masses and individuals&quot;. These six are very similar to the things spoken of in the seals and trumpets- signs in the sun, mass death, smoke, beasts of the earth. The jihadists are seeking to consciously fulfil the Hadith and so, due to the allusions the Hadith and Koran make to Revelation, they will end up fulfilling God&rsquo;s word of their own volition.</p><p>The Angels &quot;stood before God&quot;. We have just read of how the great multitude, the minority of the Jews in the land who repent as a result of the six seals, stand before God (7:9), as do their representative Angels (7:11). They are &quot;before God&quot; in that their representative Angels are literally in His presence in the throne room of Heaven. Now, those Angels act on behalf of those believers. And the prayers of the believers&nbsp;are likewise before God (:3). There is only one mediator, the Lord Jesus. The Angels do not mediate those prayers, but Heaven is aware of the prayers on account of their Angels.&nbsp; Our final 'standing before God' at judgment day (20:12) is effectively going on now. We are right now in the presence of His judgment throne.</p><p>Again we note the idea of &quot;given&quot; they were &quot;given&quot; the trumpets. The judgments and calamities to be poured out are not because of any radical human evil, unrestrained in the world. These things are all under God's direct Angelic control. The trumpet sound is very much associated with the return of Christ to earth (Mt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16). Our change to immortality will be when the <em>last</em> trumpet sounds (1 Cor. 15:52); and the seventh trumpet announces the full establishment of God's Kingdom on earth (11:15). These trumpets therefore speak of events immediately surrounding the Lord's return.</p><p>The trumpet judgments contain several of the plagues on Egypt:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p><em>Trumpets </em></p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p><em>Plagues on   Egypt</em></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>1.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Fire from the   altar cast upon the earth.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Dust of the   furnace (of the altar) sprinkled abroad.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>2.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Hail and fire.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Hail and fire.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>3.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Sea became   blood.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Waters turned   to blood.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>4.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Darkness.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Darkness.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>5.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Locusts.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Locusts.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>6.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Abaddon, the   Destroyer.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>The Destroyer   Angel (Ex. 12:23).</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><table border=0 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>7.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Men slain by   angels.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>The firstborn   slain by angels.</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>The seal judgments of chapter 6 came upon Israel to bring them to repentance, and a majority repented, as explained in the sealing of the 144,000 in chapter 7. Now, that repentant remnant are spared the plagues on Egypt, as it were; but the impenitent amongst Israel will suffer along with &lsquo;Egypt&rsquo;, the unbelieving world. This is as predicted in Dt. 28:59,60- the plagues of Egypt will come upon unbelieving Israel: &ldquo;Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues&hellip; He will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt&rdquo;.</p>