God Will Wipe Away Every Tear
In the final redemption, God personally comforts His people, eliminating all sorrow.
John's vision promises, 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' This intimate image shows God personally comforting His people. All that causes sorrow—death, grief, suffering, pain—will be eliminated entirely, not merely endured. This is not denial of present suffering but promise of its ultimate end. The 'old order' of sin and its effects gives way to new creation characterized by joy, life, and the absence of all that diminishes human flourishing.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
Joni Eareckson Tada, paralyzed for decades, anticipates 'the day when I will finally trade my wheelchair for a resurrection body.'
Book of Revelation
Written about in
- What Christianity says about longing and hope
Tears are wiped away by hand, one face at a time. The image is domestic on purpose, so that the comfort promised reads as personal rather than administrative.
- What Christianity says about grief
The image is God personally wiping a face, and the promise is explicitly future: there will be no more mourning or crying or pain. Read carefully, the verse concedes that there is mourning now. That concession may be the most useful thing in it.