Imagery drawn from Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea abounds in this passage. The sounding of the seventh trumpet will result in devilish rage against the people of God (see Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:13, Revelation 12:17) and the appearance of fearful beasts from sea (Revelation 13:1) and land (Revelation 13:8). The emotion that such dreadful realities unleash is comparable to the fear and panic experienced by the people of Israel when they learned that Pharaoh and his army were pursuing them after their escape from Egypt (Exodus 14:10). As in that context “the angel of God,” the “pillar of cloud,” moved to protect God’s people (Exodus 14:19; see Exodus 13:21), so now a “mighty angel” came down from heaven with the appearance of the angel of God from Exodus 14:1–31. As thunder played a vital role in opening up a way of escaping Pharaoh through the Red Sea (Psalm 77:1–20), so here thunders declare action on God’s part to protect his people from the rage released with the seventh trumpet.
1 Je vis un autre ange puissant, qui descendait du ciel, enveloppé d'une nuée; au-dessus de sa tête était l'arc-en-ciel, et son visage était comme le soleil, et ses pieds comme des colonnes de feu.