Intertextuality Pair

Revelation 21:4 → Isaiah 25:8

Allusion

Later text

Revelation 21:4BSB

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Earlier text

Isaiah 25:8BSB

He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square8:05

Significance

Isaiah 25:8 contains one of the most profound promises in the OT: "He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face." Revelation 21:4 directly fulfills both halves: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes" and "there will be no more death." The verbal correspondence is close — the wiping away of tears (Greek exaleipsei, Hebrew machah) from faces/eyes, and the abolition of death. Paul also cites Isaiah 25:8 in 1 Corinthians 15:54 in connection with bodily resurrection, showing apostolic consensus that this promise awaits eschatological fulfillment. The context of Isaiah 25 is YHWH's eschatological feast on Mount Zion for "all the peoples" (25:6), which corresponds to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). This is arguably the single most important OT text behind Revelation 21:4.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme

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