Revelation 21:4

4 and He will ¹wipe away every tear from their eyes; and ²there will no longer be any death; ³there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; ⁴the first things have passed away."

Revelation 21:4 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 21:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes
Occasioned by sin, Satan, the hidings of God's face, and afflictive dispensations of Providence; for these will be no more:

and there shall be no more death;
natural or violent; there will be no more putting of the saints to death, or persecution of them unto death, as in former times; nor will they die a natural death any more; these children of the resurrection, and inhabitants of the new heaven and earth, will be like the angels, who die not; there will be no more deadness as to spiritual things among the saints; and as for the second death, that will have no power over them. So the Jews say ^F21, (abl) (dytel htym Nya) , "there is no death in the world to come"; good is laid up for the righteous in the world to come, and with them is no death {x}; and after the resurrection the body is perfect, and shall never after taste the taste of death ^F25.

Neither sorrow, nor crying;
on account of sin, or because of oppression and persecution, or through the loss of near relations and friends; sorrow and sighing will flee away, all occasions thereof being gone: neither shall there be any more pain; either of body or mind; there will be nothing to afflict the mind, and make that uneasy, but all the reverse; nor will there be any sickness or diseases of body, for the body will be raised glorious, powerful, incorruptible, and spiritual.

For the former things are passed away;
not only the first heaven and earth, the world, its fashion, and its lusts; but the former grievous times under Rome Pagan and Papal, and everything which in this present life gives uneasiness and distress.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Echa Rabbati, fol. 48. 2. & Midrash Kohelet, fol. 61. 2.
F24 Maimon. Teshuva, c. 8. sect. 1.
F25 Midrash Hanneelam in Zohar in Gen. fol. 70. 1.

Revelation 21:4 In-Context

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 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,

4 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."

5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

6 Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 7:17
• 2. 1 Corinthians 15:26; Revelation 20:14
• 3. Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 51:11; Isaiah 65:19
• 4. 2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 12:27