NO MORE TEARS

December 28

Bible Reading: Revelation 21

Revelation 21:1-4, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’.”

In recent years, I’ve led some grief support groups for those who have lost loved ones.  We always take boxes of tissues to these meetings, because undoubtedly tears will be shed.  I’ve been serving as a hospice chaplain for some years now.  I’ve made lots of visits to homes of dying folks.  I’ve sat with spouses and children and friends.  I’ve witnessed the tears of the dying and those who’ve had to tell them goodbye.  The sad reality of this world is that there are plenty of things that can work to bring tears to our eyes.  But there will come a day when tears will be no more.

Revelation chapter 21 unveils to us a new heaven and earth that will be the eternal dwelling place of the redeemed.  Paradise lost in Genesis chapter 3 is paradise regained in these final chapters of the book of Revelation.  Specific details of this new creation are revealed.  There will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1).  A city, New Jerusalem, “coming down out of heaven,” will be the dwelling place of the saints in the presence of God (Revelation 21:2-3).  There will be no more sin (2 Peter 3:13). Hallelujah!

The most difficult aspects of life here on earth will be non-existent in heaven.  These things have troubled man since the fall.  Were there tears shed by Adam and Eve when they fell in sin?  There have been plenty shed since.  Mourning, crying, and pain are all sourced ultimately in sin and death.  Creation itself groans under the burden of the curse (Romans 8:22).  We do too (Romans 8:23).  No estate in this present existence can avail these “no longers” to us.  There is no place on earth devoid of these troubles which have long plagued man’s existence.  No set of circumstances can guarantee to us the absence of death, mourning, crying, or pain.  And though we, as believers in Christ, are strengthened and comforted amidst our afflictions by God, it is the Spirit-borne hope of glory which ultimately works to encourage and sustain us.

John MacArthur has commented on this, “He shall wipe away every single tear. What it means is there never will be a tear in heaven, not one single tear. There will be nothing sad. There will be nothing disappointing. There will be nothing unfulfilling. There will be nothing lacking. There will be nothing wrong. There will be nothing limiting. There will be nothing to cry about.  Tears of misfortune, tears of poverty, tears of loneliness, tears over lost love, tears of sympathy, mercy, pity, tears of persecuted innocence, tears of remorse, tears of regret, tears of penitence, tears of neglect, tears of yearning for what cannot be are all gone forever. Bliss, joy and nothing but for eternity. Tears, you see, are part of what he says at the end of verse 4, the first things that have passed away. They don’t exist.  To put it in a clinical form, you won’t have any tear ducts. Furthermore, you might not even have any water in you. How about that? I told you there’s no more sea. It’s not a water-based existence. No more tears, gone, nothing to cry about.”

John MacArthur

What a comfort it is to know that God has a perfect place prepared for us in heaven!  A place where all the bad that is part of our present experience will be no longer.  What a beautiful promise God has given to us!  And that’s where our hope lies.

There’ll be no more tears in heaven because there’ll be no reason to cry anymore!

There’s no disappointment in Heaven, No weariness, sorrow or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken, No song with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon, Will never appear in the sky,
For all will be sunshine and gladness, With never a sob or a sigh.