INTRODUCTION 16. "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.'' 17. And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!'' The bridal gown is white. For thousands of years across many cultures, it symbolizes the person who has kept themselves pure. So there is a real image-disconnect when we see something like this: -------------------> Jesus adds his personal signature to this last chapter, and He emphasizes one last image. And that image deals with who gets in, and who doesn t. And it all comes down to this: What color is your robe? Does the color white, fit? THOSE WHO ENTER 14. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. That s how it reads in the King James, but there is a flaw in the translation that causes us to miss a significant condition to the promise. If the Greek letters were transliterated, it would look like this: HOIPLUNONTESTASSTOLAS Which means do His commandments. But originally, it looked like this: HOIPOIOUNTESTASENTOLAS Which means, those who wash their robes. They look similar, and the general concept is the same. But it goes deeper than just doing, it is a case of being. It is keeping a close watch on the condition of something; your robe. Scripture is obviously symbolizing something with the robe, but what is it? Let s do a little word study and see: Zechariah 3 1. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him.'' And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.'' 7. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: `If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. 1
Rev 7 14. he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Matt 22 12. ```Friend,' he asked, `how does it happen that you are here without a wedding robe?' And the man had no reply. 13. ``Then the king said to his aides, `Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14. For many are called, but few are chosen.'' The robe is what you are; in nature, on the inside, in action, and in consequence. The robe is an indicator of your destiny. If you are filthy, you cannot enter. Since the robe is your nature, your spirit and the actions of your life; you can ask yourself right now: How clean or filthy is my robe? The robe is your ticket. In Matthew 22, Jesus told a parable of a wedding feast. The wedding is what John has been telling us about. It is our marriage as the church body, to Christ. But in verse 12, Jesus mentions a man there without a wedding robe. For a high brow wedding in that day, a special garment would be sent to the guests. You didn t just receive an invitation, you wore it. It was your ticket in. Our acceptance and obedience to Christ, Lord and Savior, is our robe. The robe is your responsibility. James 1 27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. You need a robe; but just as importantly, Scripture asks, what is the condition of your robe? -It is the pure ones, the white ones, which are given the authority to enter God s city. Then Jesus goes on to tell us point blank, who doesn t get to enter His city. WHAT MEANING DO YOU UNDERSTAND IN THE SCRIPTURAL IMAGERY OF THE ROBE? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE ROBE THAT WILL GET A PERSON INTO GOD S WEDDING FEAST? THOSE WHO CANNOT ENTER Most of the descriptions are people we might expect: A sorcerer is defined as a person who seeks to gain control using supernatural powers. - In other words; someone who is striving to replace God s sovereignty. Idolaters: They are people who place a person, thing, or view above God. 2
Liars: That is; those who love the practice of lies are more than those who simply generate them; they are those who embrace them. There is a challenge for us; this culture tells us lies about everything, how we should look, what we should eat, what we should value, and what we should scoff at. How many of the lies do we embrace? Murderers: murderers are those who take lives. But Jesus says they are more than that; they are those who make a life of hating. (Matt 5:21,22) Then there is the one that is the most politically incorrect in our liberated culture ; the sexually immoral. Sex is perhaps the most powerful physical gift God has given us, it is the most intimate way in which we give ourselves to others; in a physical sense. But with power comes responsibility and consequences. If we take the time to learn God s design, it will make sense. So these things are logical; but what s with the dogs? What does it mean; dogs don t get in? It s the first thing listed so it must be pretty important. There are two descriptions for the ancient use of calling people dogs. For the ancient Jews it referred to those who were not Jews. To be a dog was to be savage and unbelieving. The second use of the word dealt with temple prostitutes. Men who were temple prostitutes were commonly referred to as dogs. And Peter uses the word this way: 2 Peter 2 21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit,'' and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.'' So then a dog is someone who is deliberately immoral. They are someone who chooses not to believe. Or as Peter puts it, they are a person who goes back and reconsumes the sinful puke of their previous life. (The imagery clues us in to how disgusting that is to God.) Or even worse, they are someone who has prostituted their faith. And that is a disturbingly easy thing to do. All you have to do is compromise, one step at a time. Even the best of us can become dogs if we don t watch our step. WHAT THINGS BAR A PERSON FROM HEAVEN? 3
IF YOU HAD TO NAME ONE FOUNDATIONAL CONDITION THAT ALLOWS, OR DENIES ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN; WHAT WOULD IT BE? Then we come to a very somber warning: 18. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19. and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. In fact, this was not uncommon in ancient writing. We find it in other books of Scripture. Deut. 4:2 and Prov. 30:5-6 warn us not to add to God s words. In the New Testament, Gal 1:8-9 tells us that if anyone teaches contrary to the Gospel of Scripture they are accursed. But what exactly is the warning; not to change the wording? If that s true, we re in real trouble, because the original words have been translated in various ways to convey their meaning. No, it s to be sure we do not add or take away from the concepts and principles of the writing. And unfortunately, that is the most common abuse with this book of Scripture suffers. So what are the principles and concepts, the big picture, if you will, of what is communicated? It started in John s present, somewhere between 65 and 98 AD. It was a list of traits and actions that were right and wrong in the church. And those shortfalls are still a danger in our church today. It was a glimpse into persecutions and trials that would soon come, and they did. Those reasons and types of persecution still ebb and flow through our world today; it s just the names and nations that change. The message is still relevant: endure despite the challenges; people will reap what they sow; God will balance the books; and He judges with an absolute, perfect morality. In the details of things; some are convinced God s people will be taken up before the final, terrible tribulation, others believe its midway through, and yet others, believe it will be at the end. Each school of thought has their points, but the principle that is absolutely certain is this: we will be challenged and must endure. There is a spiritual war going on. Things will get worse before they don t simply get better, but are remade in perfection. 4
Some see the millennial reign as totally figurative; the church age in which we now live, is what God means. Others see the millennial reign of Christ as literal as a city dropping out of the sky. And yet others see it as a merely quirky holdover from the Old Testament. The principle that is absolutely certain is this: God has, and will open up opportunity to know Him, His nature, and His ways. He does it with such faithfulness that none of us will have an excuse for missing the mark. The book of Revelation is apocalyptic in nature; that is, in dangerous times, it was written in a code where numbers, creatures, and imagery all had special meaning. We can decipher the code through the context of history and culture. We can know the details as deeply as we want to dig. However, even in our most casual reading, the foundational truths are clear: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. Rev 7:14 gives us a unique mental picture, by washing our robes (That is; the very essence of ourselves) in Christ s blood; they come out a brilliant white. The original Greek for wash is pluno. It means literally; flow, or to plunge. Have you ever washed clothes by hand? That s what you have to do. You saturate them with the water. And once you put the soap on, you really have to plunge them in there and get the water flowing through every thread and fiber. To end up on the victorious side of this great revelation; that is how we must be saturated with the lifeblood of Jesus Christ. So for all of the imagery, all of the events, all the promise of glory, and the horror of its warning; this great revelation comes down to the condition of our heart, mind, soul, and life. It s about even caring if we are stained or unstained. It all comes down to this simple question: WHAT COLOR IS YOUR ROBE? DOES THE COLOR WHITE, FIT? NOW THAT WE VE GONE THROUGH THE ENTIRE BOOK, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE MAIN POINTS GOD IS COMMUNICATING? THE SECOND LAST MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE IS- JESUS IS COMING BACK QUICKLY- WHAT SIGNIFICANCE DO YOU PLACE ON THIS? THE LAST WORD OF REVELATION AND THE ENTIRE BIBLE IS THE BLESSING OF GRACE- WHAT SIGNIFICANCE DO YOU PLACE ON THIS? 5