When the new heaven and new earth appear, there will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1). The sea is the source of the demons, which keep things away from God. Since Satan's rebellion, God has been continually working to eliminate the sea. In Genesis 1 God limited the water of the sea. Throughout the centuries, God has done much to reduce the sea. Every time a sinner is saved, the sea is limited a little more. If a hundred sinners would be saved today, the sea would be limited a great deal. Eventually, in the new heaven and new earth, the sea will be reduced to nothing. The source of the things which have kept heaven and earth away from God will be no more.
Revelation 21:4 says, "And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain—they shall be no more; for the former things have passed away." When the sea is no more, there will also be no more tears. All tears come from the sea. After the sea has been dried up, it will be impossible for us to shed tears.
Furthermore, there will be no death, which includes sickness and weakness. According to 1 Corinthians 11, we first have weakness, then sickness, and finally death. To say that there will be no more death also means that there will be no more weakness and sickness. The sea is the source of death, weakness, and sickness. When the sea has been eliminated, there will be no more tears, no more death, no more weakness, and no more sickness. Moreover, there will be no more sorrow, crying, or pain. Although you may have read the Bible for years, you have probably never realized that the source of sorrow, crying, and pain is the sea. Spiritually speaking, the sea causes all these things. When the sea is no more, these things also will be no more.
Revelation 22:3 says, "And there shall no longer be any curse." Today on earth there is a curse almost everywhere. But the day is coming when there will be no more curse, for the source of the curse—the sea—will be dried up.
Revelation 22:5 says, "And night shall be no more." To say that there is no more night means that there is no more darkness. Under God's universal blessing everything will be bright and crystal clear. There will be no darkness, no opaqueness. This is the condition of the new heaven and the new earth.
We need to apply all these aspects of the universal blessing to ourselves. In your life is there still the sea? Are there still tears, death, weakness, and sickness? Are there sorrow, crying, pain, the curse, and darkness? If these things are in your life, it indicates that you are short of blessing. When we come to the life of Joseph, we shall see that in his life there was no darkness, opaqueness, or curse. Even the result of his being put into prison was not a curse, but a blessing. Although he was persecuted by his brothers, the issue of that persecution was blessing.
Today we may have a foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth in which there is no curse, only blessing. If we still quarrel with our wife or husband, we are under the sea, death, weakness, sickness, and darkness. We are in a thick night without light. But suppose in our married life there is neither quarreling nor complaining, but praises to the Lord. This indicates that the sea in our married life has been dried up.
One characteristic of Joseph is very striking. Although he suffered a great deal, he never complained. When he made himself known to his brothers, he seemed to say, "It was not you who sent me here. It was God. I don't complain against you—I praise God." With Joseph, there is no complaining, only praising, because he was under the blessing, not under the curse. If you complain, it is a sign that you are still under the curse. You may have many reasons to complain, but every reason is a curse. If you are one under God's blessing, there will be no complaining. Instead of complaining, you will say, "Praise the Lord! Everything works for good to me!"
It is easy to read the Scriptures in an objective, doctrinal way. But we need to see that the things recorded in the Bible are for us even today. Do not wait for the new heaven and new earth. Today we can live in a foretaste of the conditions of the new heaven and new earth. We can live without complaint, blame, curse, or darkness. We can have a life full of blessing. All our tears may be tears of joy, not tears of sorrow. This is a miniature of the universal blessing which we may enjoy today.
The word "universal" means that blessing is everywhere. It does not mean that I am blessed when my wife is good to me and cursed when she is not good. Whether or not something is a blessing does not depend on your wife—it depends on you. If you complain, the way your wife treats you will be a curse. If you praise the Lord, it will be a blessing.
Let me tell you a secret: Our praises turn the curse into blessing. This is the reason the New Testament tells us to thank the Lord for all things (Eph. 5:20). This includes rumors, persecution, defamation, opposition, and condemnation. We need to praise God for everything. When we praise Him for all things, even the unpleasant things become good things. When we thank the Lord for the opposition, it becomes a blessing. This is the secret of enjoying the universal blessing today. Although we are living in a dark age we may have a foretaste of life in the new heaven and new earth. It all depends upon our realization and practice. If we practice praising instead of blaming, we shall be under the blessing. Otherwise, we shall be under the curse. Hallelujah, in the church we are in a miniature of the new heaven and new earth! Everything here is a blessing.