Revelation 21:3-5 describes the moment when God makes his home fully among his people, wiping away their grief and ending death, pain and mourning for good. It is one of the clearest pictures in Scripture of where the whole story of God’s redemption is heading. The passage comes near the close of the Bible’s final book, after the vision of a new heaven and a new earth has already been unveiled.
3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” 5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”
Revelation 21:3-5 (WEB)
Revelation 21:3-5 Summary
The passage opens with a loud voice from heaven announcing that God’s dwelling is now with humanity. Where earlier generations had to look to a temple, a tent or a distant sky for the presence of God, now God himself lives with his people and is their God. The announcement is less a prediction than a declaration that the long-promised reunion between Creator and creation has arrived.
The second half of the passage shows what that nearness means in practice. God personally wipes away every tear, and the things that have wounded the human experience, namely death, mourning, crying and pain, are gone. The one seated on the throne then says that he is making all things new, and he tells John to write down these words because they are faithful and true.
Context of Revelation 21:3-5
The book of Revelation is traditionally attributed to the apostle John, who wrote it while exiled on the island of Patmos and addressed it to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. Those first readers lived under pressure, some facing social hostility and some facing persecution from imperial authorities. The book speaks to them in symbolic and vivid language, calling them to remain faithful even when the world seems to be ruled by violence and deceit.
The verses just before this passage describe the new heaven and new earth, and the holy city New Jerusalem descending from God like a bride prepared for her husband. Verses 6-8 that follow contrast the thirsty who receive the water of life with those who reject God and face judgment. Verse 3 therefore sits at the hinge of the chapter, moving from the picture of the renewed world to the personal and relational heart of it.
Revelation 21:3-5 Verse by Verse
Isaiah 25:8
He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord the LORD will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for the LORD has spoken it.
(WEB)
This verse promises that the Lord will swallow up death forever and wipe away tears from all faces. It is an Old Testament foreshadowing of the same promise, showing that the hope in Revelation has deep roots in earlier prophecy.
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
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Paul calls death the last enemy to be destroyed, which fits the picture in Revelation of death being eliminated. This verse connects the defeat of death to the resurrection hope that Christians hold in the present.
A Prayer Based on Revelation 21:3-5
Lord, thank you that you are not distant from my sorrows but are willing to dwell with me in the middle of them. I bring you the tears I have not yet named and the pain I have learned to carry quietly. Hold me in your presence today and let me sense that you are my God and I am your child. Make me faithful to hope in what you are making new, even when the old wounds still ache. Let your promise of a world without death and mourning shape how I love and wait today. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Revelation 21:3 mean by God dwelling with people?
It means that the separation between God and humanity, which began with sin, is finally removed. God will live among his people in a direct and lasting way, fulfilling the covenant promise that he would be their God. This echoes the presence of God in the tabernacle and temple but goes far beyond it.
Will there really be no more death or pain?
Revelation 21:4 states that death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, and most Christian traditions read this as a literal future reality. It describes the final state of creation after God’s judgment and renewal. It is a promise about God’s ultimate victory over the effects of sin.
Why does God say he is making all things new?
The word for new in verse 5 suggests a fresh and renewed quality rather than something completely unrelated to what came before. God is restoring creation to its intended goodness and healing what sin has damaged. The statement also gives John and his readers reason to trust that God’s promises are faithful and true.
