• Wipe / remove every tear…. means we have victory in Christ and that God is true to his promises! This is also a contrast of those who made oaths to the beast and/or are disloyal to God (Psalm 23:6; 49:14; Is. 25:8; 35:10; 51:11; 1 Cor. 15:54; 2 Cor. 1:20; Rev. 3:14; 7:17).
• No more death/swallow up death meaning we receive the promised, eternal inheritance (John 11:25; 1 Thess. 4:13; 2 Tim. 1:10; Heb 9:13-17).
• Everything new means God is the Creator; He will complete His purpose—He will work it out. God intervenes in history and in our lives. He will judge, as He demonstrated with the Flood (Gen 6-8; Isa. 4:5; 43:18-19; 57:19; Rom. 8:18-23; Heb. 8:13; 2 Pet 3:7-13).
• Alpha and the Omega means God is eternal and rules over all places and time. This refers to the majestic, messianic journey and work of Christ. He is omnipotent, or “all-powerful.” Alpha and Omega refers to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and embodies His Sovereignty. Christ is all in all; He is LORD of all that is past, present, and that which is to come. His will and purpose will come true, and ours will not; so, to grow, we must surrender to Him (Isa. 41:4; 44:6; John 19:20; Rom. 8:18-25; Gal. 2:20-21; Col. 1:17; Rev. 1:8; 22:12-16).
• Give to drink…water of life gives us an image and a promise of comfort, and provides the remedy to the greatest fear of loss to a desert dweller (Psalm 36:9; Is. 35:1-2; 55:1; Ezek. 47:1-12; John 4:10-14; 7:37).
• He who overcomes means our perseverance of faith in Christ and the promises of our Lord. We are a part of His Covenant and thus, He will give us not only a hope, but also a future. Our Christian lives, even in persecution and trials, are of great worth and meaning. Those who are His are called to be faithful and loyal to Him, and Him alone. We overcome the ways of the world when we look to Christ and not to our desires or situations (Zech. 8:12; Mark 13:13; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; Jubilees).
• Be my son refers to our inheritance, the blessings we have in Christ, and His love and pursuit of us, for He does seek us (Rom. 8:15-17)!
• The cowardly means that God preserves and protects the righteous from those who are evil and does not place those who are evil with the good, as good and evil do not mix. This is about pride and faithlessness versus humility and those who have been faithful even unto death. Pride, in God’s eyes, is actually weakness. This is not referring to those who are fainthearted or struggle with faith, or who doubt or question; rather, it is about those who refuse Christ and refuse to deploy their faith, turning their backs on Him. They are the ones in trouble—as in doomed (Isa. 66:24; 1 John 2:15-17)!
• The unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral. The wicked will also receive an inheritance, but one not so good!
• Magic arts/sorceries. This refers to any kind of witchcraft or sorcery being brought together, and the trusting in other things rather than trusting in God. The word denoting “magic arts” also means, “mix in” (pharmakon), and is where we get our English word pharmacy. In Acts, we read of some repentance of this, but not usually (Acts 19:19; Rev. 9:21; 19:19-20).
• All liars / Lying. This refers to being an apostate—one who says he or she is of Christ but his or her bad character shows that to be a lie, rather saying that one is not of God. This also denotes disloyalty, even idolatry, as it is saying a god or an idea is true when it is not, and/or to adultery with God as with a spouse—besides the obvious omission of truth (Is. 44:20; Jer. 10:3; 1 John 2:22).
• Lake of fire/Lake of burning sulfur means the final place of residence for Satan and evil. (See Revelation 19:20 study.)
• Second death means the permanent separation from God! The first death means when we physically die; this second death means evil people will be resurrected, only to die again as in sentenced to the “lake of fire.” (Ezek. 18:4; Matt. 10:28 See Revelation 20:7-15 study.)