What Will Eternity Be Like?

Verse 4 identifies five things that will be absent in eternity: tears, death, grief, crying, and pain. Wiped out forever are the horrible consequences and effects of sin. Revelation 7:17 previously promised, “For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” And hear also the words of Isaiah 25:8-9:

He will destroy death forever. The Lord Godwill wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lordhas spoken.

On that day it will be said, “Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

Adrian Rogers used to say, “Death is only a comma to a Christian—not a period!” Scott Duvall says, “Like a compassionate parent caring for a suffering child, God will wipe away our tears” (Revelation, 282). Yes, in eternity all the former things associated with the fallen world will pass away and they are never coming back.

REVELATION 21:5-6

The One “seated on the throne” speaks again (see v. 3), and once more His words bless, comfort, excite, and bring joy to His peoples. “Look” signals that a special announcement is about to follow. The declaration comes: “I am making everything new.” The promises of verse 4 are just an inkling of all that God is going to do for His people, His bride. A quick survey of chapters 21–22 identifies at least 12 sure promises we can rest in:

These promises are not conditional, potentially true, or tentative. John is told, “Write, because these words are faithful and true” (see 19:9; 22:6). Just as the Living Word is “Faithful and True” (19:11), so also the written Word is “faithful and true.”

The new creation has come. The Word of God is faithful and true. Verse 6 affirms, “It is done!” It is finished. It is complete. And who can say this? The sovereign God and ruler of the universe who declares Himself to be “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (see 1:8,17; 22:13; also Isa 44:6; 48:12). He is the A and Z. He is the Lord over both ends of history and all that is in between. David Platt says, “He had the first word in history, and He will have the last word in history” (“Consummation”).

Because He is Himself eternal life, He can give eternal life to others. That is what He has done for all who have trusted in His Son (John 3:16), and that is what is intended by the beautiful image of the “water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.” John 7:37-38 says,

On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”

If you are thirsty, come to Christ and be satisfied. It will cost you nothing. Jesus has already paid it all. Satisfied forever and it cost you not a thing—what a magnificent picture of God’s amazing grace! Charles Spurgeon said it this way:

What does a thirsty man do to get rid of his thirst? He drinks. Perhaps there is no better representation of faith in all the Word of God than that. . . . So, dear Soul, whatever your state may be, you can surely receive Christ, for He comes to you like a cup of cold water! (“Good News”)

REVELATION 21:7-8

This introduction to the new creation of eternity concludes with a word of blessing in verse 7 and a word of warning in verse 8. The blessing is for the overcomers who trust in Christ. The warning is for sinners who are headed to the lake of fire without Christ. The one who conquers or overcomes is a popular theme in the writings of John. In 1 John 5:4-5 he writes,

Whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. And who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

And in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3 our Lord makes a promise to “the victors” in each church:

To those wonderful promises our Lord has added the promise of eternal life via the springs of water in verse 6. Now he adds the promise of a gracious heritage: “I will be his God, and he will be My son.” Throughout all of eternity we will be the adopted heirs of a perfect heavenly Father (see Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:4-7). Patterson notes,

While God has but one ontological Son . . . he has many children by adoption (Rom 8:15,23; Gal 4:5). And the children who by faith have been adopted into the family of God are just as much the heirs and joint heirs as the supernatural Son of God. (Revelation, 366)

Tragically, this is not the destiny of those who never trust in Christ for salvation. An irreversible judgment and justice is all they can expect. God provides a selective, not exhaustive, list of persons who will not be in heaven in verse 8. Eight specific sins are noted that characterize the lives of those who will spend eternity separated from God in the lake of fire, who experience the second death. The “cowards” are individuals who, because of fear, will not confess Christ openly when confronted with persecution (see Heb 10:38-39). The “unbelievers” or faithless are those who deny Christ by their conduct and speech. The “vile” or detestable are those polluted by gross acts of idolatry. “Murderers” are malicious, savage killers (especially those who kill the tribulation saints). “Sexually immoral” are those who lived sexual lifestyles contrary to God’s plan and purpose. “Sorcerers” are those who mix drugs with the practices of spirit worship, witchcraft, and magic. “Idolaters” are worshipers of idols and images (this practice especially will be prevalent when the world bows to the antichrist’s image). “All liars” are those who habitually deceive others. None of these people will have access to the new Jerusalem. They will spend eternity “in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (see Keener, Revelation, 489–90).

So many wonderful things can be said about eternity one hardly knows where to start and end. Chuck Swindoll is helpful and uses negation to highlight 12 things that will not be present in eternity, things we will not miss:

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God “has put eternity in their hearts.” It is great to know that what God has planted in our hearts—this longing in our souls—will be fully and completely satisfied in the new heaven and new earth. We each have a longing for eternity in our soul that only God can fill. Come and taste the Lord. You will find He is better and more wonderful than you ever hoped or imagined. He is that good.