Greek Key Terms:
Context: Revelation 21:4 describes new creation's consummation: "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." This climaxes Scripture's redemptive trajectory—reversing Genesis 3's curse. The catalog of eliminated sorrows—tears, death, mourning, crying, pain—comprehensively addresses fallen creation's brokenness. No leper will cry "Unclean! Unclean!" (Leviticus 13:45) because leprosy, representing sin's defilement, will be eradicated. Isaiah 25:8 prophesied: "He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces." Revelation fulfills this eschatologically—not merely earthly Messianic kingdom but eternal new creation. The phrase "former things have passed away" (ta prōta apēlthan) indicates complete, irreversible transformation.
Connections:
Christological Connection: Revelation 21:4's promise—"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"—consummates Scripture's redemptive trajectory. Genesis 3:16-19 introduced curses: pain, toil, death—"to dust you shall return." Leprosy epitomized the curse: defiling disease causing tears, mourning, crying, pain, isolation, eventual death. Leviticus 13:45 required lepers crying "Unclean! Unclean!"—public acknowledgment of condition. No leper will cry this in new creation because leprosy (representing sin's defilement) will be eradicated. Isaiah 25:8 prophesied: "He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces"—fulfilled eschatologically in Revelation 21:4. Isaiah 35:10 promised: "sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isaiah 65:17, 19 envisioned: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth... no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress." Christ accomplishes this through two-stage victory: inaugurated at first coming (defeating death through resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57), consummated at second coming (new creation, Revelation 21-22). First Corinthians 15:26 declares: "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Revelation 20:14 describes: "Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire"—personified enemies permanently destroyed. The tear-wiping imagery depicts intimate divine care—not distant deity but personal Father comforting children. The comprehensive catalog—tears, death, mourning, crying, pain—addresses every dimension of fallen creation's brokenness. The emphatic "no more" (ouk... eti) creates absolute negation—complete, permanent cessation. The explanation "for the former things have passed away" (hoti ta prōta apēlthan) uses aorist tense—completed action, irreversible transformation. What Leviticus 13-14 addressed temporarily through ritual, Christ accomplishes eternally through redemption. The trajectory shows: Genesis 3 introduces curse (pain, death) → leprosy epitomizes curse (Leviticus 13-14) → prophets promise reversal (Isaiah 25:8; 35:10; 65:17-19) → Christ defeats death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) → inaugurates new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17: "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation") → consummation: "Behold, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:5). No more leprosy, no more tears, no more death—"the former things have passed away."
Connection Method(s): Redemptive-Historical Progression, Promise-Fulfillment — The elimination of tears, death, mourning, and pain consummates the entire redemptive trajectory from Genesis 3's curse through leprosy's epitomization of that curse, fulfilling Isaiah 25:8's promise and reversing all effects of sin's defilement.
Trajectory Table: 095 - Leprosy (The Plague of Sin)