A Breathtakingly Gentle Picture.
“He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 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. And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.” – Revelation 21:4-6 NASB.
“I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.” – Isaiah 61:10 NLT
Following the assurance that the corrupt base from which the evil one has driven his attack on God’s people (the sea) is no longer in existence, John turns to the culmination of terrestrial history with the establishment of the new earth, the new city and ‘new’ people. He sees the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming to earth from heaven “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” v2. This is fascinating imagery when considered in the light of the figures used to represent God’s people throughout scripture. Jerusalem is the first of two great scriptural symbols for his people – the city and its occupants are barely differentiated throughout history. The bride is the other. Interestingly, we find the two metaphors merged in this scene. John is not the first to merge these symbols, he follows in the footsteps of Isaiah (51:1 & 61:10). Ancient Jerusalem failed in its purpose to be either the city or the people of God and tragically became another Babylon, opposed to all that God held dear and ultimately killed the Lamb.
The new heaven. new earth and new Jerusalem are required to replace those destroyed by sin – a place where all the promises made to the original city/people are realised.
The new city comes from heaven, a place over which humanity has no control or even any input. The new city is entirely a gift of the creator, just as salvation requires no input from us other than acceptance. It’s hard to escape the message contained here – this city, this bride, is surely God’s people, beautifully presented, perfect in every way, and they only had to be willing… and to hang in when the going got tough, as outlined in the opening letters of the book. These are people who loved God no matter what! And are loved by God, no matter what!
As God turns to the final elimination of the pain caused by sin, He will eliminate the horrible wound that has scared the human race since Eden – death, mourning, crying and pain are eradicated forever (Rev 21:4). The great Creator, the King of Kings, the Lamb Who died to save His people, now personally wipes the tears from their eyes. Such beautiful, almost motherly imagery! This is a breathtakingly gentle picture of a loving, caring, and compassionate God, who only a chapter before oversaw the horrific climax of the sinful rebellion. We shouldn’t rush past this tender picture without noting that Isaiah assured God’s people that eventually Good would do just this: “He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!” (Isaiah 25:8 NLT). John notes the fulfilment of this beautiful promise, confirming the prophetic integrity of his message in the light of the traditional web of belief of his readers and hearers.
Let there be no doubt that this is indeed the eternal God who is acting with such tenderness. In Revelation 21:6 He declares Himself to be “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”. An Audible rendering of God’s voice is a rare experience – one reserved for critical events in the story of the Fall and the journey towards eternal salvation. Here, at the culmination of the process and the inauguration of the world made new, He announces the removal of the curse (22:3) introduced in the Garden of Eden and the restoration of the world to His original plan. He personally ushers the redeemed He died to save into the remade world for which He has suffered. This is the moment for which all eternity has held its breath!