Verse 4
Revelation 21:3 describes the benefits of the New Jerusalem positively, and Revelation 21:4 does so negatively. Probably God will wipe away all tears at the inception of the eternal state rather than at some time after that. These are tears caused by life in the old creation, not tears of repentance. This reference to wiping away tears highlights God’s compassion for His people. Sorrow, death, and pain will all end along with the tears, mourning, and crying that result from them. This is a final reversal of the curse (Genesis 3). All these former experiences will be gone forever then. However note that the removal of tears will take place after the judgments, including the judgment seat of Christ when some Christians will suffer the loss of reward (1 Corinthians 3:15; cf. 1 John 2:28). The "first" things are the former things, the things associated with the old creation.
"How different is this concept of heaven from that of Hinduism, for example? Here heaven is depicted as a city, with life, activity, interest, and people, as opposed to the Hindu ideal of heaven as a sea into which human life returns like a raindrop to the ocean." [Note: Johnson, p. 593.]
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