No More Curse

No longer will there be any curse. (Revelation 22:3a, NIV 1984).

My Musings – As if to remind the reader that healing will no longer be necessary, John adds, “no longer will there be any curse.” When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they lost the peace and happiness of the Garden of Eden.   God drove them out of the garden and into the world, where they became subject to sickness, pain, and eventual death.

Paradise Lost. The fall. From obedience, they fell to disobedience. From innocence, they fell to the knowledge of good and evil. From happiness and peace, they fell to sorrow and pain. From effortless enjoyment of the fruits of the Garden, they fell to eating what they could produce from the ground by their own work and sweat. From life, they fell to death.  From enjoying perfect fellowship with God, they fell into separation from and enmity with God.  All of these were the consequences of falling from God’s grace (Genesis 3:16–19). All these were the result of one act of disobedience. 

Paradise Restored. The future removal or reversal of the curse that originated in Eden was previously revealed to Zechariah (Zechariah 14:11) and is repeated here in Revelation 22.  If God is to dwell with men, the curse must be reversed. For God can only dwell where the curse and its cause (sin – Joshua 7:12) are removed.   The Old Testament closes with the statement, “lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6, NIV 1984). In contrast the New Testament’s concluding thoughts announce that there shall be no more curse! Satan has been consigned to Hell forever, all of creation has been made new forever, and the curse of sin will be gone forever.

My Advice – Everything that is wrong in this world will be no more. But you will not be there to enjoy it if you have not accepted Christ. In fact, it will be much worse than the today’s curse. You can change that with one simply prayer of repentance and confession. Then what will be no more is worry.

Resources:

Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 987–988). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 4). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 32). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Re 22:3). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 603). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 624). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.