Revelation 22:11-15
The End Times

In my last post, we examined Revelation 22:6-10 ~ Affirmation of God’s Word. In this post, we explore Revelation 22:11-15 ~ God’s Completed Work.

¹¹ “Whoever keeps acting wickedly, let him go on acting wickedly; whoever is filthy, let him go on being made filthy. “Also, whoever is righteous, let him go on doing what is righteous; and whoever is holy, let him go on being made holy.” ¹² “Pay attention!” [says Yeshua,] “I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” ¹⁴ How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! ¹⁵ Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” ~ Revelation 22:11-15 (CJB)

Whoever keeps acting wickedly, let him go on acting wickedly; whoever is filthy, let him go on being made filthy. “Also, whoever is righteous, let him go on doing what is righteous; and whoever is holy, let him go on being made holy.” ¹² “Pay attention!” [says Yeshua,] “I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. The phrase I am coming soon found in Revelation 22:7, 12, 20, does not mean immediately! It says that once the process begins, he will come quickly; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The coming of Yeshua will be so sudden that humanity will not have a chance to change any part of his lifestyle! Whoever keeps acting wickedly, let him go on acting wickedly; whoever is filthy, let him go on being made filthy…whoever is holy, let him go on being made holy.”  When Yeshua appears, it will be too late to repent; too late to accept Him as your Lord and Savior; too late for heaven.

I am the “A” and the “Z” (the Alpha and the Omega), the Beginning and the End is a repeat from Revelation 21:6. The First and the Last is a paraphrase from Isaiah 44:6, where Adonai says: Thus says Adonai, the King of Israel, and its redeemer Adonai of Hosts [heavenly armies]: I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God.” By applying this text to Himself, Yeshua once again identifies Himself as Adonai.

How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! ¹⁵ Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. These verses may be the words of Yeshua (as this version has it), or of Yochanan. Those who wash their robes, who obtain forgiveness for their sins. How? “With the blood of the lamb” (7:14), that is, through the atoning work of Yeshua the Messiah, so that their robes are “white” (7:14; see also 3:4, 19:7-8, Isaiah 1:18). To eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city is to enjoy eternal life in fellowship with God. Yochanan continues to draw a contrast between those who live in obedience and those who live in disobedience. The distinction is between those who live their lives for Yeshua and those who live for themselves. God wants humanity to understand if they choose to live a self-serving, self-seeking, selfish lifestyle, he can only hope to reap hell for all eternity.

Outside in the lake of fire (20:12b, 21:8, 21:27) are unrepentant sinners. They are out not only in the future but out even now, to the extent that the Kingdom of God has broken through into this world in the hearts and lives of the saved.

Homosexuals, Greek kunes (“dogs”). One can imagine real wild dogs slavering over the wicked excluded from the city (compare Mattew 15:26, Luke 16:21). But Deuteronomy 23:18-19 illustrates the figurative use of the word “dog” in the Bible to mean “male (homosexual) prostitute”:  “No daughter of Israel is to be a female prostitute (k’deshah), nor is a son of Israel to be a male prostitute (kadesh). You are to bring neither the wages of a female prostitute (zonah) nor the wages of a dog (kelev) into the house of Adonai your God in payment of any vow; both of them are an abomination to Adonai your God.”

In my next post, we’ll examine Revelation 22:16-21 ~ Final Blessing & Curse and Conclusion.

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