<p>7:17&ndash; see on Lk. 13:15.</p><p><em>For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of living water-</em> Again we have a kaleidoscope of images. The Lamb is both in the midst of the throne and leading them as a shepherd. he Lamb, once a sheep, is the appropriate shepherd; His shepherding is on the basis of His own human experience, as a sheep.</p><p>The &quot;springs of living water&quot; to which they are led could refer to us; for repentant Israel will be given teachers to teach them (Jer. 3:15). In John's languages, the spring of living water is the gift of the Spirit given in the Lord Jesus. It is ultimately the spring which gives the water of life eternal (22:1). This last generation of repentant Jews will indeed be given the life eternal.</p><p><em>And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes</em>- Quoting from Is. 25:8 about the resurrection and immortality of the last day (thus it is quoted in 1 Cor. 15), again about the repentant Jewish remnant of the last days. In the context, this happens on Mount Zion, which is where the 144,000 are found in Rev. 14, at a time when &ldquo;Moab&rdquo; and Israel&rsquo;s neighbour enemies have been destroyed. Those who enter the Kingdom will genuinely, from the very depth of their being, feel that they shouldn't be there. When we read that the Lord will &ldquo;wipe away&rdquo; tears from their eyes, this is the same word used in Acts 3:19 to describe how the sins of repentant Israel will be &ldquo;blotted out&rdquo; when the Lord returns. The conclusion seems to be, therefore, that the Lord Himself will comfort them with the reality that their sins and being unworthy of the Kingdom is all truly forgiven. The judgment will have achieved its end for them- a true realization of sinfulness.</p><p>The trumpets of Rev. 8-11 are clearly based upon the plagues of Ex. 7-12. Yet those plagues were each one designed to induce repentance in Egypt; there were various possible futures and outcomes related to each of them. If, e.g., after plague eight, Pharaoh had truly repented- then the other plagues wouldn't have happened. And perhaps it will be the same with the trumpets of the last days. See on Rev. 16:12.</p><p>The six seals of Rev. 6 brought judgment upon God&rsquo;s people Israel within the land or earth promised to Abraham. A minority responded and were &ldquo;sealed&rdquo; in Rev. 7. Now there are seven trumpets, which are judgments on the Jews who are impenitent, and also on others within the land. But trumpets are warnings. In these judgments there is still an appeal being made, even though time is more than up for both Israel and her enemies. The trumpet judgments begin with desolations upon the physical land, in order to help people in the land understand what is going to happen to them. After the trumpets, there is yet another desperate appeal for repentance; and then in 15:7,8 the temple is closed, and the vials are poured out- of final and utter destruction. The vials come in rapid succession, because they are not intended to elicit repentance. Their finality is implied by the words &quot;the seven <em>last </em>plagues&quot;. Whereas under the seals and trumpets, only a third or quarter of things were destroyed, under the vials there is total destruction. The language of the trumpets and vials is similar- because Babylon is being made to drink the cup of judgments which she gave others to drink during the seals and trumpets:<br />:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=100%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p><strong>Trumpets</strong></p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p><strong>Vials</strong></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>1st. earth</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>earth</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>2nd. sea (salt   water)</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>sea (salt   water)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>3rd. rivers and   fountains (fresh water)</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>rivers and   fountains (fresh water)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>4th. sun, moon,   stars</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>sun, moon,   stars</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>5th. sun and   air darkened</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>kingdom of   beast full of darkness</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>6th. River   Euphrates</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>River Euphrates</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>7th. &quot;The   kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord&quot;</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>&quot;It is   done&quot;</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>This explains why the trumpet judgments are effected through a variety of agents, some of them evidently human. The vials, however, are all poured out by Angels.</p><p>It should be noted that the seven signs, relating to the destruction of the beast, are also related to the seven trumpets:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p><strong>Trumpets</strong></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><strong>Signs</strong></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(Chapters 8   -11)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>(Chapters 12   onwards)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>A great star   falls from heaven (8:10)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The dragon is   cast out of heaven (12:9)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>A third part of   the stars is smitten (8:12)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The dragon's   tail casts down a third of the stars (12:4)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Woe, woe,   woe to the inhab-iters of the earth&quot; (8:13)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Woe to   the inhabiters of the earth&quot; (12:12)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>The beast that   comes out of the bottomless pit . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The beast that   comes out of the sea . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . makes war   against the witnesses and overcomes them . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . .makes war   against the saints and overcomes them . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . they of   the people and kindreds and tongues . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . power   over kindreds and tongues and nations . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . they that   dwell upon the earth... (11:7-10)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>... all that   dwell upon the earth . . . (13:1-8)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Resurrection   and judgment (11:18)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Resurrection   and judgment (20:4 and 11-13)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Thy wrath   is come&quot; (11:18)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The vials of   God's wrath</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Temple of God   opened (11:19)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>(chapters   15,16)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Lightnings,   voices, thunderings, earthquake and hail (11:19)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Temple of God   opened (15:5) Voices, thunders, earthquake and hail (16:18,21)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table>