<p>21:4- see on Mt. 25:37-40; Rev. 20:14.</p><p><i>And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes- </i>The same word is used in Acts 3:19 concerning sin being blotted out at Christ's return. The tears are for our sins (sorrow likewise is connected with sin in Is. 53). Will we have an emotional breakdown straight after the judgment? The accepted will feel so certain of this that they will almost argue with the Lord Jesus at the day of judgment that he hasn't made the right decision concerning them (Mt. 25:37-40). It's only a highly convicted man who would dare do that. Thus the Father will have to comfort the faithful in the aftermath of the judgment, wiping away the tears which will <i>then</i> (see context) be in our eyes, and give us special help to realize that our sinful past has now finally been overcome. We will be like the labourers in the parable who walk away from judgment clutching their penny, thinking &quot;I really shouldn't have this. I didn't work for a day, and this is a day's pay&quot;. Therefore if we honestly, genuinely feel that we won't be in the Kingdom, well, this is how in some ways the faithful will all feel.</p><p>The tears that will be wiped from our eyes are those associated with &quot;the former things&quot; of this life, and also the emotion associated with our acceptance. But it can't be that it means we will never have the emotion of sadness ever again. For God is made sad, grieved at His heart, even now. And we are to share <i>His</i> nature. Consider for a moment the <i>emotion</i> which we will feel after being granted Divine nature. Malachi says we will be like stalled animals, who are fed, fattened, kept in small dark pens to be killed&hellip; who then suddenly break out into the daylight, and go prancing away through the meadows. This will be our leap of joy and taste of true freedom. Yet the Father will have to comfort the faithful in the aftermath of the judgment, wiping away the tears which will <i>then</i> (see context) be in our eyes, and give us special help to realize that our sinful past has now finally been overcome.</p><p><i>And death shall be no more</i>- The end of death is portrayed in Revelation 20 as death being thrown into the lake of fire, which is also the second death. The second death is for those rejected at the judgment at Christ's return. Their punishment with death is therefore the end of death; there will be no more death after that because the curse of death upon Adam's race will be ended. There is no possibility therefore for a 'mortal population' after these things. If there is to be no more crying or pain after the Lord's return, we are scarcely to imagine that there will be exactly these things at some supposed 'second judgment' and 'second condemnation' 1,000 years later.</p><p>1 Cor. 15:54,55 likewise speak of the end of death: &quot;But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to fulfilment the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?&quot;. The quotation is from Is. 25:8, which concerns events at Christ's return- not at the end of the 1,000 years. The end of death will therefore come at the resurrection- when Christ returns. And that is what is being taught here in Rev. 20 and 21.</p><p><i>Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more-</i> The Greek for &quot;pain&quot; specifically refers to labour pains. This is all the language of the curse on Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. It fits into a theme of paradise being restored. But labour pains are also used with regard to the experience of the believers during the tribulation. As ever in Revelation, there is especial relevance to the believers who are persecuted and die during the final tribulation in the earth / land promised to Abraham. It is they who have experienced death, sorrow and labour pains.</p><p><i>The first things are passed away</i>- The parallel is with the passing away of the first heaven and earth (:1). The 'heaven and earth' is therefore a figure for &quot;the former things&quot;. <i>Former things</i>... &nbsp;Defined in Is. 48:3,4,5 as God's prediction &quot;from the beginning&quot; that Israel would sin and be judged by Him with exile. When we read that the &quot;former things&quot; will no longer be remembered, and that both God and man will &quot;remember not the former things&quot; (Is. 43:18), perhaps the same reference is in view. Rev. 21:4 predicts that in the Kingdom age, there will be no more tears because &quot;the former things are passed away&quot;, literally, 'they are behind'. That may appear obvious, a needless statement of a truism- that past things are past. But the suggestion is that then we will totally realize that our sins are behind us, as God has cast them behind His back. The connection between tears, sorrow and &quot;former things&quot; is a powerful psychological insight into the human condition- sorrow, tears, depression etc. are all connected with our awareness (however subconscious) of human sin, both our own and of others. When we finally grasp that all sin is indeed behind us, then there is the basis for a life without tears. And that is at least theoretically possible even now, if only we will see our sins and perceive them as God does- as past. But we must of course deal with the sins of others in that same way. God's emphasis in Isaiah is that He has &quot;declared&quot; the former things from the start. All our sins in one sense were known to God from the beginning, and He knew how to deal with them.</p><p>God (this is important) made Joseph forget all his &quot;toil&quot;, his mental sufferings (Gen. 42:51). This was a miracle; no amount of steel-willed suppression of his past could have made Joseph paper over all the pain. But God did a psychological miracle upon him. Has God done the same to Christ now in His glory, as He will to us one day soon (Rev. 21:4)? Yet the Lord will be factually aware of His sacrifice and the associated pain. God presumably did not obliterate Joseph's memory cells, but He made him &quot;forget&quot; the pain. This is surely what God has done to Christ, and what He will do to us: take away the pain on a psychological level whilst still leaving a factual awareness. Is it too much to suggest that even now, God is ready and willing to do something like this?</p>