Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Behold, I am making all things news.”
Revelation 21:1-5, NIV
In Revelation chapter 21, the second last chapter of the whole Bible, we see the great purpose towards which God’s great work of creation and the universe he made is moving. It is a new heaven and a new earth, a creation made new according to its maker’s original plans. A place of life. A place of joy. A place of peace. But in the new creation we see not a new Garden of Eden, but a holy city, a new Jerusalem, a place where a multitude can live because there is room in it for me and there is room in it for you.
The city is dressed like a bride ready to meet her new husband on her wedding day. For this is the great purpose of God, that he and his people may be one in joy and fellowship and love. “Look,” says a voice, confirming what we thought was true. “Now the dwelling of God is with human beings, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Not God above us. Not God ahead of us. But alongside us, beside us, truly with us. And not a distant God or a God only for a chosen few. But a God who is ours, so that we may be his.
And God will wipe away our tears. He will acknowledge our loss and our pain, but they will be redeemed in the fulfilment of his purpose. Not to pretend that our tears never happened, but because our suffering will no longer define us or control us. For there will be no more death, for death will be put to death, and there will be no more mourning or crying or pain. They are part of our present life. They hurt us, limit us, and shape us, but in the new life to come, our wounds will be healed to scars, just as our Saviour Jesus still bears his scars. They will be the memory of pain in the past, but they will no longer hurt us.
Blessed are those who live to see the triumph of God’s love over hate, and of his life over death. Blessed are those who have set their hope in Christ and live to see him reign as Lord. Blessed are those who have been led by the Spirit and completed the journey of faith to kingdom of God. Blessed are those who have wept in prayer and their tears have been wiped away. Blessed are those who are there when the Lord says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Blessed are those who will be made new.
As Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Nan Hamilton did. She taught it to others. She lived it her whole life. And she has received the gift which her Lord has promised her, a place in New Jerusalem.
Comfort yourself with this hope for Nan’s sake. But don’t fail to embrace it as your own, for your own sake.
Leeton Presbyterian Church 