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"Christians are combatants in a conflict between good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil."
-- Bob Larson
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Our Tears Have Been Wiped Away
Posted on Monday, October 23 @ 09:26:00 PDT by Williamprice |
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By: William Michael Price – 2006
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 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; 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. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:3-5)
We read this verse, and many people have been deceived to think that when we get to heaven, all our tears will be wiped away. I have heard many futurist teachers say that there will not even be tears of joy in Heaven, but all tears will be wiped away. Sadly, I myself even preached such a time or two. But, the truth is, the wiping of tears in this chapter of revelation refers to the Church now, and not some future time.
Revelation is a book about a revealed vision. This book is a vision that John received while on Patmos, around AD65. So, we cannot take anything here at just face value, but must have a spiritual understanding of the words used here, and what they mean to us. Revelation is not a book that is yet to be fulfilled, but was fulfilled just as Jesus said it would be in Revelation 22:7, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book.” So, we must understand that this book was fulfilled when Jesus said it would be, but we can live the victories and promises thereof now in this Church Kingdom.
Now that we have cleared that hurdle, we can proceed to understanding what the wiping of tears represents. Revelation is not the only place that it is spoken of the Lord wiping tears from eyes. In Isaiah 25:8-9, we see another place of this occurring, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Notice how the end of death is spoken of? Now, look at Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Sin is what brings about the tears. This is pure symbolism, as is most of Revelation. Tears are representations of the shame of our sins, the shame of our past, and the fact that we stood before God ashamed and naked. These tears are what are wiped away from our eyes, and not some literal occurrence. The sadness of our past sins have no more place for those in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. When a soul is baptized in Jesus’ name, their sins are remitted, meaning they no longer are guilty of those sins. The shame of those sins are erased clean from the life of a believer. In the eyes of the Lord, it is as if he had never committed those sins. They were nailed to Calvary’s tree.
Galatians 3:13-14 says this, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Through Jesus Christ, we are now in the New Jerusalem, in the perpetual Millennial Age, and have been freed from the curse of the Law, of sin, and death. The tears of the shame of our sins are found no more, because we have been obedient in faith to Jesus Christ. We have obeyed and been baptized in His name, and our sins have been washed clean away. We have been circumcised in heart, made part of the New Covenant, have the name of Jesus in our forehead, and have been called by His name.
The reference to our tears being wiped away is not of some future time, but is of now. We are the New Jerusalem now. The Temple of God is us now! Hallelujah, for the Lord has wiped away the sins of our past, and we now walk in joy in the Holy Ghost. We have a new life, a new beginning, and a brand new start. We may cry physical tears, but spiritually, those tears are wiped clean away through the Blood of the Lamb.
Church, let us no longer think we have to wait for our redemption, that we have to wait to walk in the fullness of the promises of revelation. We can walk so now. We are in the Church, the New Jerusalem now, and as such, we are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Our tears have been wiped clean, and we have joy in our salvation. Our tears are wiped away, and we have brand new life in Christ.
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Average Score: 1.90
Votes: 11
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Re: Our Tears Have Been Wiped Away (Score: 1)
 by toddst (toddtst@yahoo.com) on Monday, October 23 @ 14:57:04 PDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | | absolutely, excellent post. |
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Re: Our Tears Have Been Wiped Away (Score: 1)
 by chrisliv on Monday, October 23 @ 15:24:58 PDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | Yeah,
Nice points, as there are several NT verses which are commonly believed to be pie-in-the-sky, after-you-die, but they are actually a current and present reality for those who are In Christ.
And, the testimony of the early Christians martyrs (pre-312 AD) historically demonstrates that very fulfillment, as they were fearless, and even joyous, in the face of a physical death (which they could have avoided with a pledge of compliance to Caesar) by the various forms of torture and execution by the State.
So, those in The Body of Christ cannot be touched by the Wicked One, nor by those of The Body of the State.
It's a historical fact.
Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone |
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Re: Our Tears Have Been Wiped Away (Score: 1)
 by Virgil on Monday, October 23 @ 21:12:10 PDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | Excellent analysis and concise explanation. Thank you William. Unfortunately we all find it easier to think in a physical and literal manner ending up with the wrong application of the text and overlook the deeper and more important spiritual meaning of the text.
I do hope though that all of us Christians will also make a better effort to deal with the actual and real suffering of the world around us that does bring about many physical tears - we can help God by being part of the process of wiping those tears away both spiritually and physically :) That is what is so wonderful about living in a post AD 70 world in my opinion! |
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