What does it mean that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 7:17)?

Rev. 7:17. — “Because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The Lamb “in the midst of the throne,”* exercising its power and expressing in Himself its majesty, will graciously provide for every need. Not angelic and providential care as now (Heb. 1:14), but the shepherd grace of the Lamb will then be in exercise — tending, caring, preserving, and guiding each and all of the redeemed Gentile multitude. He “shall lead them to fountains of waters of life,” not to channels or springs merely, but to the sources of life. The fulness and joy of earthly blessing shall be theirs, the Lamb Himself being their guide to these fountains or sources of unalloyed delight (see Isa. 12:3).

The closing words are unequalled in their combined depth and tenderness: “And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes,” not the Lamb, be it observed, but God, against Whom they and we have sinned, shall Himself remove the causes and occasions of sorrow. If He wipes away every tear they shall never weep again. “Everlasting consolation” is the happy and assured portion of all His people, heavenly and earthly. The words in our text are verbally repeated in Revelation 21:4. There the eternal state is in view; here the millennial condition is in question. Both passages apply to saved people on earth, not to those in Heaven.

Verses 16, 17. God is a tabernacle over them, as if to solace them. The Lamb feeds and leads them. God would dispel, in the souls of those that are His, the dread of His Majesty, by the thoughts of His gentleness, His meekness. A soul that is unconverted has no idea of a God tender, gentle, who "wipes away tears." God will have us near Him, as children near their father. He loves His children enough to take notice of all their afflictions, to comfort them, and to wipe away their tears.

His presence thus enjoyed, as well as His guardian care, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (vv. 16, 17.) Now, under the shepherd* care of the Lamb, and enjoying His immediate protection, guidance, and ministry, they are blessed for ever; for they should never more know hunger or thirst, but should be abundantly satisfied; nor should persecution or sorrow ever more reach them; for the Lamb Himself shall lead them to "fountains of waters of life" and God shall wipe away "every tear" from their eyes. There will surely be not one of all this multitude who will not, with overflowing heart, confess that their past sorrows are not worthy to be compared with the ineffable blessings on which they have now entered. For though they are on earth, the reader will not fail to remark that their blessings are described, at least in their highest character, in the same way as those enjoyed in the eternal state. Of this multitude, equally with those of the new earth, it is said that God wipes away their tears.†

His presence thus enjoyed, as well as His guardian care, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (vv. 16, 17.) Now, under the shepherd* care of the Lamb, and enjoying His immediate protection, guidance, and ministry, they are blessed for ever; for they should never more know hunger or thirst, but should be abundantly satisfied; nor should persecution or sorrow ever more reach them; for the Lamb Himself shall lead them to "fountains of waters of life" and God shall wipe away "every tear" from their eyes. There will surely be not one of all this multitude who will not, with overflowing heart, confess that their past sorrows are not worthy to be compared with the ineffable blessings on which they have now entered. For though they are on earth, the reader will not fail to remark that their blessings are described, at least in their highest character, in the same way as those enjoyed in the eternal state. Of this multitude, equally with those of the new earth, it is said that God wipes away their tears.†

Next we have the blessedness of the inhabitants of the scene. But how is it described? In the very way that appeals the most powerfully to hearts that have known the sorrows and tribulations of the wilderness. There will be the absence of everything that had caused us grief or anguish here. First, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;" not a trace of former sorrow shall remain, and God Himself will remove it. What infinite tenderness in the expression that God Himself shall do this! Even as a mother will tenderly wipe away the tears of her child, so God Himself will delight to wipe away all tears from the eyes of His saints. And once wiped away they can never return; for "there shall be no more death" (how many tears has death wrung from bereaved ones in this scene!), "neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." All these, the former, things will have for ever passed away — these dark clouds — before the perpetual sunlight and joy of the eternal presence of God.

Next we have the blessedness of the inhabitants of the scene. But how is it described? In the very way that appeals the most powerfully to hearts that have known the sorrows and tribulations of the wilderness. There will be the absence of everything that had caused us grief or anguish here. First, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;" not a trace of former sorrow shall remain, and God Himself will remove it. What infinite tenderness in the expression that God Himself shall do this! Even as a mother will tenderly wipe away the tears of her child, so God Himself will delight to wipe away all tears from the eyes of His saints. And once wiped away they can never return; for "there shall be no more death" (how many tears has death wrung from bereaved ones in this scene!), "neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." All these, the former, things will have for ever passed away — these dark clouds — before the perpetual sunlight and joy of the eternal presence of God.

"Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." The language is figurative, no doubt; but there is this full and complete effect of God's own dealing and working in the removal of everything that can create a pang. But there is more in this than that tears are wiped away: God shall do it. There is the compassion that has caused the removal of the sorrow, and this is more than that the sorrow is gone. It is God who has removed all. If the evil is gone and the sense of pain, it is God who has put them away from the heart. "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." Not only has He taken away the evil, but it is never to be any more. That is, there is now full and perfect security and blessedness. All the evil is gone, and all those things too through which; man was exercised to bring him to a point where he could really meet God. The love of God takes the place of everything, and, filling all things with Himself, precludes the possibility of evil ever coming in again the contrast of man's paradise of old, as we all know.

But it is impossible to pass over the beauty of the language employed, and as we ponder upon it for a moment let it sink deeply into our hearts in the power of the Holy Ghost. The very first words, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," are full of profound, yea, infinite tenderness. It is God Himself, taking each one, as it were, into His everlasting arms, and in His great love wiping away every trace of the sorrows of our earthly pilgrimage. Then — "and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. But ere this time on which we are meditating shall have come, the Lamb of God will have taken away the sin of the world, and death and hades will have been cast into the lake of fire. Death, the last enemy, has thus been destroyed, and, together with death, all the woes, the sorrow, the crying and the pain will disappear, so that nevermore will a single cloud rest upon any heart of all the redeemed. God's rest has thus been reached and His people will share in it for ever through His unspeakable grace, blessed be His name! And He reveals all this to us now, that we may live in the light of it through faith, and find in it, not only an antidote to present trials, but also a blessed encouragement to have our minds upon things above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

In the next place John describes the eternal consolations of the redeemed: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death., neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (v. 4.) Speaking exactly, this language applies to the "men" of verse 3. The church forming the tabernacle is not in view save as the dwelling-place of God, but as such in the enjoyment of her own special blessedness. Two things may be noted in this description. It is God who wipes away all tears from the eyes of His people. The tears recall the sorrows of the pilgrim life; and now God Himself, in His infinite grace and tenderness, wipes them away from their eyes — a figure of the eternal consolation ministered to them by God Himself. Then, secondly, death, and all the trials, pains, and griefs associated with human life in this world are gone, for ever abolished. Sin has now been taken away (John 1:29, Heb. 9:26) — the final result of the death of Christ on the cross; and hence death, together with all the other bitter fruits of sin, is removed from the scene, swallowed up in the victorious scene of life. It is not the positive side of eternal blessedness, but the negative. But where is the heart which is not relieved at the glorious prospect of freedom for ever, in the immediate enjoyment of the presence of God, from all the burdens that often bow us to the dust while treading the sands of the wilderness?

In the next place John describes the eternal consolations of the redeemed: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death., neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (v. 4.) Speaking exactly, this language applies to the "men" of verse 3. The church forming the tabernacle is not in view save as the dwelling-place of God, but as such in the enjoyment of her own special blessedness. Two things may be noted in this description. It is God who wipes away all tears from the eyes of His people. The tears recall the sorrows of the pilgrim life; and now God Himself, in His infinite grace and tenderness, wipes them away from their eyes — a figure of the eternal consolation ministered to them by God Himself. Then, secondly, death, and all the trials, pains, and griefs associated with human life in this world are gone, for ever abolished. Sin has now been taken away (John 1:29, Heb. 9:26) — the final result of the death of Christ on the cross; and hence death, together with all the other bitter fruits of sin, is removed from the scene, swallowed up in the victorious scene of life. It is not the positive side of eternal blessedness, but the negative. But where is the heart which is not relieved at the glorious prospect of freedom for ever, in the immediate enjoyment of the presence of God, from all the burdens that often bow us to the dust while treading the sands of the wilderness?