REVELATION 21:4, 8

REVELATION 21:4

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The tears have come from sin's distortion of God's purposes for humankind. They are produced by death and mourning for the dead, by crying and pain. An enemy has done this to the old order. Now God has defeated the enemy and liberated His people and His creation.

REVELATION 21:8

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8 NIV)

The cowardly (delios, "fearful," GK 1264) are those who fear persecution arising from faith in Christ. Not having steadfast endurance, they are devoid of faith (Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:40; cf. Matthew 13:20-21). Thus they are linked by John to the "unbelieving" and "vile" (a participial form of the verb bdelyssomai, "detest, abhor" [GK 1009], which is used of idolatry [Romans 2:22]. They are called "murderers" because they are guilty of the death of the saints (17:6; 18:24). The "sexually immoral" (fornicators), practitioners of "magic arts, the idolatrous and all liars" are those associated with idolatrous practices (cf. 9:21; 18:23; 21:27; 22:15; contrast 14:5). By their own choice, Babylon, not the New Jerusalem, is their eternal home (cf. Caird).

ALAN F. JOHNSON (Expositors Bible Commentary)