The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

"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."--Ver. 4.
The wiping away of tears is symbolical of the removal of everything that during the
present reign of sin and evil causes pain and sorrow and death. This drying of tears will be
a gradual process, and is a way of describing one feature of the work of the Millennial
reign. During this great judgment or trial of the world man will gradually be brought up
to a condition of mental, moral, and physical perfection. Those who hear and seek to obey
the laws of that Kingdom will eventually be lifted into this blessed state; those who refuse
to obey, and make no progress in character development, will after a hundred years of
trial, be cut off, destroyed. (See Isa. 65:20, Leeser.) The complete results of the reign of
Christ is summed up in the words: "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed way." One
has effectively said:
"It is almost impossible for one to read this passage comprehendingly with dry eyes. Can it
be possible that, after all the wicked rebellion and inexcusable wickedness of mankind, our
Heavenly Father will be so good to us [mankind]? . . . Throughout the passing
millenniums, Jehovah has patiently waited, bearing the enmity and suspicion of the
millions who knew Him not. Waiting, waiting, waiting, with infinite condescension and
patience for the various phases in the development of His grand Plan. During this period,
with longsuffering, has He borne with the errors and ignorance of the people of the earth;
yet during all this interval has His 'sun risen upon the just and unjust.' His rains have
fallen, and the seasons have pursued their ceaseless round, bringing forth His bounty to
all, even though the recipients thereof were thankless; but now [at that time] His glorious
Plan stands revealed to every eye, and all the earth unites in anthems of praise, in which
the choirs of the angels gladly join, and the Kingdom of Peace stands forever. . . . Never
having known what true happiness and contentment are, because of the taint of sin, it is
hard to realize what conditions must be like where all disobedience and rebellion has
ceased, and mankind brought to a state of mind, where God 'will open the windows of
heaven,' and deluge the earth with blessings."
Another writer has with true and proper eloquence expressed the fulfillment of this
symbol of the drying away of tears and the cessation of death:
"He who dries them off is God Himself. Human hands are poor at drying tears. If they
succeed in removing one set, others come which they cannot wipe away. Earthly power,
however good and kind, cannot go far in the binding up of broken hearts. Only the Hand
that made the spirit can reach the deep sources of its sorrows, or dry up the streams that
issue from them. The springs of grief yield to no other potency. But then His loving
Almightiness shall wipe every tear. 'As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort
you, and ye shall be comforted,' saith the Lord. 'Every tear,' for they may be many--tears of
misfortune and poverty, such as Job and Lazarus wept; tears of bereaved affection, such as
Mary and Martha and the widow of Nain shed; tears of sympathy and mercy, such as