He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Revelation 21:4
Doctors diagnosed four-year-old Solomon with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-degenerating disease. A year later, doctors discussed wheelchairs with the family. But Solomon protested that he didn’t want to have to use one. Family and friends prayed for him and raised funds for a professionally trained service dog to help keep him out of that wheelchair for as long as possible. Tails for Life, the organization that trained my service dog, Callie, is currently preparing Waffles to serve Solomon.
Though Solomon accepts his treatment, often bursting out in song to praise God, some days are harder. On one of those difficult days, Solomon hugged his mom and said, “I’m happy there’s no Duchenne’s in heaven.”
The degenerating effects of sickness affect all people on this side of eternity. Like Solomon, however, we have an enduring hope that can strengthen our resolve on those inevitable tough days. God gives us the promise of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Our Creator and Sustainer will “dwell” among us by making His home with us (v. 3). He will “wipe every tear” from our eyes. “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (v. 4). When the wait feels “too hard” or “too long,” we can experience peace because God’s promise will be fulfilled.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”a m for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,n and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City,o the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,p prepared as a brideq beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.r They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.s 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.t There will be no more death’b u or mourning or crying or pain,v for the old order of things has passed away.”w
5 He who was seated on the thronex said, “I am making everything new!”y Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”z
6 He said to me: “It is done.a I am the Alpha and the Omega,b the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without costc from the spring of the water of life.d 7 Those who are victoriouse will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.f 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liarsg—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.h This is the second death.”i
INSIGHT
- How has acknowledging God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth comforted you?
- How can you encourage a hurting friend with the enduring hope of God’s promises?
One aid to understanding the book of Revelation is to recognize that it includes numerous Old Testament allusions. Prophetic echoes from Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah resound throughout the book. Consider two such reverberations from Revelation 21. Verse 1—“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ ”—echoes Isaiah 65:17: “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” And Revelation 21:3—“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them”—sounds like Ezekiel 37:27: “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
PRAYER
Loving God, thank You for strengthening my resolve with the surety of my enduring hope. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Revelation 21:1-8 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 24-26; 1 Peter 2
