“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.””
Revelation 21:3-4 NASB1995
I have to admit to being an eschatological coward. The Book of Revelation is filled with imagery and concepts that probably won’t make any sense to us until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ comes to pass. However, these two verses from the “scary book” showed up in my random bible verses today, so I am dutifully following up.
These two verses should be familiar to most Christians, particularly to those who have been to a funeral where they have been read to console the mourners. Most of the emphasis at these sad occasions is on “wipe away every tear from their eyes…no longer any mourning, or crying, or pain…,” but the other words are just as important if not more so.
John, recounting part of his apocalyptic vision, has just told his readers about “New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God”. This is truly a wonderful vision, with the New Jerusalem establishing continuity and familiarity to all believers, a holy city unlike anything on Earth since the Fall of Adam and Eve, as it is sinless, pure, and a community of righteousness.
Need some joy in your life right now? Think of your future where God will dwell with you, and you are one of His people! From Enduring Word:
i. He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people: This succinctly states essence of God’s desire and man’s purpose. Simply, God’s desire is to live in close fellowship with man, and man’s purpose is to be a people unto God.
ii. This is the greatest glory of heaven, and the ultimate restoration of what was lost in the Fall. “I do not think the glory of Eden lay in its grassy walks, or in the boughs bending with luscious fruit-but its glory lay in this, that the ‘Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.’ Here was Adam’s highest privilege, that he had companionship with the Most High.” (Spurgeon)
Companionship with God, your Creator! We don’t need to be concerned if He’ll have enough time to spend with each of us, wiping away our tears or answering the thousands of questions we each have about Him — even a minuscule fraction of eternity is an infinite amount of time.
All that we knew will probably be remembered, but those memories will pale in importance to the magnificence of our new lives with God. Once again from Enduring Word:
d. The former things have passed away: The New Jerusalem is distinguished by what it does not have — no tears, no sorrow, no death or pain. Later it will be shown that the New Jerusalem has no temple, no sacrifice, no sun, no moon, no darkness, no sin, and no abomination.
i. “Man comes into the world with a cry; and goes out of it with a groan, and all between is more or less intoned with helpless wailing… But the Halleluias of the renewed world will drown out the voice of woe forever.” (Seiss)
Amen!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, You alone hold the future, and I trust my life in Your loving hands with the knowledge that You are with me during every affliction or moment of suffering I face. I trust Your infinite kindness and grace, and pray in Jesus’ name that my faithfulness to You is as great as Your faithfulness to me. AMEN.