\nthey will no longer thirst;
\nthe sun will no longer strike them,
\nnor will any scorching heat.
\nFor the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them;
\nhe will guide them to springs of the waters of life,
\nand God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”<\/blockquote>\n
Revelation has the reputation of being forceful rather than beautiful, but that’s purely gorgeous! Contextually, this applies to the multitude that has come out of the great tribulation, but it is a promise for all Christians to cherish.<\/p>\n
Indeed, it’s a promise that I cherish. I suffer now, but I know that God never has promised any Christian that life on earth will be free from suffering. In John 16:33, He promises the opposite. Thus, my life now gives me no reason to doubt His faithfulness.<\/p>\n
Rather, I endure, and I anticipate the fulfillment of His promises in the life to come. On that day, I will neither hunger nor thirst. God will provide for my most basic needs, and He will fulfill all the others too. Likewise, neither the sun nor scorching heat will strike me. God will shelter me from all external oppression.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Natural_Water_Spring-200x300.jpg\")
The next verse explains why I will receive all these blessings. I love the image here! In this life, human shepherds shepherd sheep. In the life to come, the Lamb will shepherd us.<\/p>\n
As with the divine shepherd of Psalm 23, He will lead us to water, but the spring to which He will bring us flows with the water of life. I long for this so much that it hurts! My illness is incurable and terminal. I often have thought about what it would be like to go to Jesus in the days of His ministry and be healed even of this. However, the day will come when He will heal me completely, body and soul.<\/p>\n
That day will be as free from sorrow as it is from sickness. God Himself will dry my tears, as He will dry all the tears of the righteous. I struggle to comprehend this. How can it be that we no longer will be grieved even by the memory of sorrow? Perhaps the answer lies in II Corinthians 4:17. As we dwell in the midst of God’s glory, every earthly affliction will fade into insignificance.<\/p>\n
This hope is the only thing that sustains me or could sustain me, on my journey. Without the promises of God, I am a pitiable wretch. With them, suffering only sharpens my focus on my reward.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Matthew W. Bassford No matter how many times I read the Bible, I always find something new in it. Nor are these discoveries subtle or inconsequential. Often, they are magnificent! So it was with this week’s Bible reading. I’m familiar with Revelation. I’ve taught it several times and read it many more. However, never…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[699,648,102],"class_list":["post-46994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-eternal-life","tag-promises","tag-revelation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/theres-always-been-two-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":0},"title":"There’s Always Been Two Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall There's always been two choices, two paths, two decisions. It started in the Garden of Eden. The enigmatic tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be understood simply: obeying God by not eating led to life and functioning as God intended-good, or eating led to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-corinthians-error-on-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":1},"title":"The Corinthians’ Error on Baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall \"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel\" (I Corinthians 1:17 CSB). When people today use this passage to discredit the place and importance of baptism, ironically they make the same mistake as the Corinthians but for a different reason. Paul's actual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23935,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/didnt-you-overlook-the-also-in-the-discussion-about-the-nicolaitans-in-revelation-215\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":2},"title":"Didn’t you overlook the “also” in the discussion about the Nicolaitans in Revelation 2:15?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading\u00a0your response regarding the nature of the Nicolaitans, their doctrine, and practice. Perhaps you may take the same issue with me that you do with the other commentator who did not offer an answer but rather a criticism. However, I hope you would pardon the simplicity of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15972,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-mormons-use-the-bible-too\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":3},"title":"The Mormons use the Bible too","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just read an article by Dudley Ross Spears on\u00a0The Mormon Plan of Salvation.\u00a0 There are actually scriptures in the Bible that support their ideas.\u00a0 The Mormon church uses the Bible and Book of Mormon together and both help to clarify and interpret each other.\u00a0 Two witnesses are better\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/understanding-the-guarantee-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":4},"title":"Understanding the Guarantee of the Holy Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford To my knowledge, this concept appears three times in Scripture, all within the body of Paul's writings:\u00a0II Corinthians 1:22,\u00a0II Corinthians 5:5, and\u00a0Ephesians 1:13-14. \"Guarantee\" is the ESV rendering of the Greek\u00a0arrab\u014dn. Other translations use \"earnest\" (KJV), \"deposit\" (NIV), \"down payment\" (CSB), or \"pledge\" (NASB). I think\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Guarantee-300x290.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47227,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-has-an-answer\/","url_meta":{"origin":46994,"position":5},"title":"God Has an Answer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford The contrast between Revelation 13 and Revelation 14 is one of the most striking between any two chapters in the Bible. In Revelation 13, all the news is bad. Even though the dragon has been defeated in heaven, a new ally for him, the beast, emerges\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46994\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}