Rev.21:4

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Have you ever heard anyone take this to mean that when Christians stand before Christ at that day,it is God's last chance to "get" them before the bliss of eternity can begin? What are your thoughts?

 

Notice how this verse begins and ends:"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes...for the former things are passed away."Death,sorrow,crying,and pain are the former things,and God's wiping away all tears is the umbrella statement that overshadows the whole.God wipes away all tears because with the removal of these tear producers,there will be no more cause for tears.John puts it in joyful context in Rev.7:17,and Isaiah,who said it first,puts it in the same context of God's bringing His people to a festive celebration where death is swallowed up in victory(Is.25:6-8).Every time the Scripture makes this comforting statement,it is in the context of our being in a new environment that is free from all the effects of sin.What I was refering to was the common(or not?) misuse and abuse of this text that applies it to God's wiping away tears after He has dealt with imperfect Christians at the Judgement Seat of Christ.There are many preachers that have spawned the notion that when Christians stand before Christ at that day,it is God's last chance to "get" them before the bliss of eternity can begin.After they face guilt one last time,only then God will wipe away tears.Now,I certainly agree that the thought of standing before Christ ought to produce a godly fear and desire for holiness,but any preaching or theology that uses guilt as the hammer to beat Christians into submission and turns the blessed hope of Christs return into the panic of anxiety is a betrayal of the gospel.Not only does this interpretation becloud the gospel,but it also reflects a most careless and cavalier handling of Scripture.Never does Scripture place this statement in the context of judgement.No interpreter has the right to extract a statement from its context and apply it to whatever else he feels may intensify a desired application.