“He will swallow up death
forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces; he will
remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.” (Isaiah 25:8)
“For the Lamb at the center
of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living
water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)
“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.” (Revelation 21:4)
In the above passages we are
told that God will wipe away all tears from the eyes of His people after the
Tribulation and entering the Millennium. He refers to Israel in Isaiah 25:8,
then the Tribulation martyrs in Revelation 7:17 and finally all those who are
His in Revelation 21:4.
We see in Revelation 21:4
that once He has done so, there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain,
for all the old things will be gone and no more.
My guess is that many of us
have wondered why there would be tears in the first place, so allow me to
provide my opinion.
Isaiah 25:8 – Israel
No nation of people,
individually and collectively, has come anywhere near the suffering Israel has
endured for so many long years. It is true that their trials and tribulations
have arisen primarily because of their disobedience and rejection of their
Messiah.
Revelation 7:17 – Tribulation Martyrs
The martyrs are those who
were left behind at the Rapture but came to Christ and were saved during the
Tribulation. Their suffering will be for a very short period, but it will be no
less horrible than anyone could imagine.
Revelation 21:4 – All God’s People
From Adam and Eve to the last
saint to enter into Heaven’s family at the end of the Tribulation by faith in
the Son of God, we have all suffered from the effects of sin that entered the
world.
Why would there be tears? I
think there is more than one reason, but the first that comes to mind,
obviously, is the joy that, “the old order of things have passed away.”
Many of us have lost
Christian family members and friends to physical death; husbands, wives,
children, parents, sisters, brothers, et al. Even though our hearts have been
broken because of our loss, Heaven has been their gain. There is no doubt that
not one of them would want to return to this fallen world if they could.
When we are all united with
our Savior and Lord and “the old order of things have passed away,” I believe
the tears will come from joy, relief, gratitude, and even regret (I’ll come
back to this one).
JOY
What are two things that
immediately come to mind when we have extreme joy? The first two things that
come to my mind are laughter and tears. If we can experience something so
thrilling on earth that it brings laughter and tears, would not the joy of
being with Jesus Christ supersede anything else we could imagine? The joy of
knowing that all bad things have passed away and we will live as a family with
Almighty God for eternity makes me smile as I type these thoughts. Surely, one
reason for our tears will be from the overwhelming joy we will have on that
day.
RELIEF
Could “relief” be another
reason? I know no one who enjoys going to the dentist. Isn’t it a relief to be
walking out the door as opposed to walking in the door at the
dentist office?
Some have been diagnosed with
cancer, gone through the treatments and then received a clean bill of health.
Think about the relief that is felt in hearing, “You’re cancer free.” My wife
and I know this kind of relief, and I can assure you, it is tearfully
overwhelming.
GRATITUDE
What does it mean to be
grateful? It means we are thankful or appreciative. When we are with Jesus on
that day every one of us will certainly be thankful for His love for us, even
more so than we are now.
We will see the scars in His
hands which are the visible trademarks of His sacrifice to redeem us from
Satan’s slave market.
Maybe we will remember how
close we came to not calling on Him to save us. Maybe we will think of all the
sin in our lives that could have annulled our salvation, if it weren’t for the
guarantee of His Holy Spirit that sealed us. Perhaps we will be reminded of our
rebellion, but will then realize His firm grip upon us kept us in His hands.
I believe our gratitude will
bubble over into tears of appreciation for all He has done and all He has
provided; especially knowing we don’t deserve it.
REGRET
Could there be tears of regret
that we didn’t serve Him on earth as we should have? Could tears of regret
cloud our eyes, knowing we could have spoken out more for Him and stood a
little taller? Will God wipe away tears that come from our eyes because we know
many are not with us, and we never witnessed to them about Jesus?
CONCLUSION
Whatever the reason or
reasons may be for our tears, can’t you feel the tenderness and love that comes
from God as He wipes away those tears?
Whatever picture you have in
your mind of our Father in Heaven, our Savior and Lord, and our Comforter, has
it changed any in seeing His tenderness as He wipes away your tears and my
tears?
The touch of someone who
loves us brings such comfort to our hearts. Perhaps your mother did that for
you as a child. Think of the touch of God as He wipes away each tear and
comforts us with His love.
God is not a mean tyrant in
Heaven, just waiting for you and me to “mess up.” He loves us beyond anything
we can understand. I believe our tears will fall when we experience His love on
that day, face to face.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
