The year 2020 has been a disaster, and it seems like every month has brought new chaos and destruction. First, wildfires spread across Australia, then millions of people contracted COVID-19, and violent riots destroyed cities all around the world. We witnessed the crash of the stock market, the emergence of murder hornets, and the tragic passing of some of our most beloved celebrities. In America, we’ve had fires on our west coast, hurricanes on our gulf coast, and strict lockdowns from coast to coast. Maybe, like me, you’re crying out to God “no more!” No more violence. No more chaos. No more destruction. No more!
Thankfully, God has promised us that one day soon there will be no more.
In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John is recording the details of a vision he saw about the end of times. Near the end of the book, he writes about what the New Heaven and New Earth will be like. He says-
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more… He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away… And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb… and its gates will never be shut by day – and there will be no night there… No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him.” Revelation 21:1, 4, 22-23, 25; 22:3, ESV
John begins by observing that there will be no more sea. At first glance, this “no more” may seem confusing or even troubling. No more sea? Does that mean there will be no more swimming, no more beach trips, no more fishing excursions? I don’t think so. A study note in the ESV Study Bible argues that the “sea” represents “earthly rebellion, chaos, and danger.”[1] Pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul once commented that “for the Hebrew, the sea was a symbol of violence,”[2] and he proposed that this verse means “that there will be no more violent natural catastrophes.”[3]
There will be no more crime or murder. There will be no more rioters or rapists. There will be no more abuse of any kind. There will be no more wildfires burning acres of land or hurricanes destroying people’s homes. There will be no more chaos.
The passage continues by saying that there will be no more death or mourning, no more crying or pain. This year has given us much to mourn over, whether it be the death of a loved one, a lost job, or a ruined relationship. God promised in the book of Isaiah,
“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8
Sproul also noted that-
“When we were children, our mothers comforted us when we were sad, wiping away our tears with her apron. We usually were brought to tears again the next day and needed comfort all over again. However, when God wipes away our tears, they will never come back, because the things that now make us cry will be removed.”[4]
There will be no more coronavirus, or cancer, or cardiac arrest. There will be no more fatal car accidents or loved ones lost to suicide. There will be no health scares or hospital stays. There will be no more funerals. There will be no more living paycheck to paycheck and wondering how you’re going to pay your bills this month. There will be no more lies or hurt feelings. There will be no more anxiety or depression. We will have life everlasting, and we will be forever well.
The book of Revelation also tells us that there will be no more temple. In ancient Israel, the temple was the place where Jews would go to worship and offer sacrifices to God. They would also meet in synagogues to learn from the scriptures. Christians continued meeting together to worship God and learn from His Word as a church. While the temple, synagogues, and churches are not bad in any way, they will no longer be necessary. As Sproul said,
“On this earth, a temple, or church, is the visible symbol of the presence of God, but in heaven there will be no need for a temple, because we will be in God’s actual presence.”[5]
There will be no more church services. There will be no more wayward pastors. There will be no more false teachings. There will be no more denominational disagreements. There will be no more arguments about biblical interpretation.
“We will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
John goes on to say that there will be no more night. Our fear of the darkness of night began when we believed monsters were hiding under our beds or lurking in our closets, and that fear continues even today as we’ve learned that there are very real monsters who hide in the dark shadows of this world. Yet, he also says that we will have no lights – no sun, no moon, not even a lamp to dispel the darkness. Like temples and churches, lights will no longer be necessary. Sproul explained-
“The radiance of the glory of God and the Lamb will illumine the whole city, and there will never be night because the glowing, brilliant, radiant glory of God never stops. Heaven will be aglow with the unvarnished, unveiled radiance of God.”[6]
There will be no more dealing of drugs, trafficking of women, or smuggling of children. There will be no more predators who attack and take advantage of the weak. The light of the glory of God will expose and eradicate all evil, and it will never grow dim or go out.
Finally, we are told that there will be no more curse. Ever since the Fall, all of creation has been under the curse of sin. In the beginning, the earth was good, but the curse brought rebellion, chaos, danger, violence, death, mourning, crying, pain, darkness, and sin. All of creation suffers and groans under this curse (Romans 8:22). But there is hope!
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:20-21
There will be no more curse. There will be no more sin. There will only be freedom, pure and glorious freedom.
No more chaos. No more destruction. No more death. No more mourning. No more crying. No more pain. No more disagreements. No more darkness. No more curse. No more sin. All of these “no mores” are promised and guaranteed by God. But they are only promised and guaranteed for His children, for those who have surrendered their lives to Him. If you have not surrendered your life to Him, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you have not repented of your sins and received His eternal forgiveness, I urge you to do so today. The day is coming soon.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only… Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:36, 44
[1] The ESV Study Bible, Personal Size (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 2494.
[2] R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Sanford: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2014), 334.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., 335.
[6] Ibid.
