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Transcript 147E — Tears in Heaven?
CALLER: When the Bible says that there'll be no tears in Heaven, does that mean that there will be no tears of joy?
HC: A question is raised concerning Heaven. The Bible does say that there will be no tears in Heaven. That is, God will wipe away all our tears. Does the Bible speak about tears of joy? No I'm not at all aware of anything in the Bible that speaks about tears of joy.
The fact is, I don't think the Bible ever uses the idea of tears of joy. I think that wherever we find tears in the Bible, insofar as I can recall right now, it's always in the context of sorrow. We go forth weeping as we bring the Gospel. Why are we weeping? Because we are in sorrow, as we look at the terrible fact that our fellow humans are under the wrath of God because of their sins. They are heading for hell, because the wages of sin is death. God's wrath abides on them. And as we bring the Gospel, for everyone who listens and who is encouraged by the Gospel, there are ninety or ninety-five or some huge number who could care less about the Gospel. They continue in their unbelief, in their antagonism against God. And these are fellow humans. These are loved ones. These are neighbors. These are friends. These are those whom we love. And yet they persist in their sins. They persist on their downward path toward hell.
And so, as we bring the Gospel, we bring it weeping. And by the same token, when Jesus was on earth He was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Why was He a man of sorrows? Because He understood the awfulness of the wrath of God. He knew that God meant exactly what He said, that His judgment would come upon this world. And this is why He wept over Jerusalem. He knew something of the terribleness of coming under the wrath of God.
Anyone at all just has to read the Old Testament, and read how God's judgment came again and again and again and again, against the nations, to know that's an awful thing to come into the hands of an angry God.
Now in Heaven, if there are any tears, it will be because we are taking part in the judging process. And maybe because of that there may be some tears. I don't know. But we have the complete assurance, in Revelation 21, that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Revelation 21:4: "He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more."
Well, thank you for that question.