Heaven

Revelation 21:4 (NLT)

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. 

When you think of death and heaven afterwards, is there any other verse in the Bible more reassuring than this one?  I think not. 

The context of this verse starts in chapter 20 of Revelation where Satan is finally destroyed forever and the Great White Throne judgment occurs where anyone not found in the book of life is also thrown into the lake of fire where Satan is.  God will destroy this present earth and heaven and a new heaven and new earth will be created.  With this present earth destroyed, that will signify the end of the curse of sin.  With no more curse of sin, there will no longer be any result that sin produces.  Such results include death, sorrow, crying, or pain.  God will have full fellowship with mankind as He intended to have after original creation only this time sin will not be around to break that fellowship.   

God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of His creation.  While this could conjure images of a loving father using a handkerchief to wipe away the tears, what it really means is that sin is wiped away forever and crying as the result of sin will no longer exist.  The word used for death here (“thanatos”) has several meanings.  Yes, it can mean death of the body, but also can mean separation of the soul from the body and misery of the soul in darkness and hell because of sin.  Such death no longer exists in heaven.  Sorrow is the same word as mourning.  We all have mourned the death of a loved one and if you continue to live a long live you will inevitably experience mourning many times before people will mourn for you.  This too will disappear forever in heaven.  No more crying can mean no more upheaval, no more quarreling, no more instances of disorder or grievance.  And no more pain literally means no more suffering ever. 

Small wonder that when you face life’s instances of grief, sadness, mourning, arguing, turmoil, fighting, suffering, and death, you might think of these promises of God for what eternal life will be like for all His children someday.  Those who die before you, who have been saved in Christ, will be present with the Lord.  They no longer will face any of these results of sin that you still have to face as long as you live. 

All of us fear death so some degree.  Some fear death because they have no assurance at all that their lives will continue in heaven.  Some fear death because they believe there is no life after death.  Some fear death because they do not understand what the Bible teaches about life after death.  And many fear the process of dying rather than death itself.  Yet, a sincere Christian who has full assurance of his/her life in Christ and understands what the Bible teaches about death should have little or no fear.

We live in a world where there is great deal of crying, sorrow, pain and death.  There a place where there always will be nothing but crying, sorrow, pain and death. There also is a place where there never will be crying, sorrow, pain and death.  You cannot change the place in which you live now, but you can decide where you want to spend eternity knowing what you will face there.  May everyone reading this vignette have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and be assured that your eternal destination is at the place where you’ll never experience sadness, sorrow, pain, or death again.