Everyone who loves and practices lying. Revelation 22:15.

 In the last post, I focused on Revelation 22:14 and people outside the Holy City who could not enter through any of its gates during the millennial reign because their robes were NOT washed. We have to make the assumption, and it is a good one, that this washing is an allegory to the blood of Jesus Christ and NOT some disgusting Satanic practice, to a demon that is working very hard to dominate the world.

It is through the acceptance that Christ's blood has been shed for us so we can be cleansed and sanctified for service in His temple. Two good examples of washing in the blood were given in the Revelation (I have pulled both from the KJV.)

In the first passage notice that the verse is filled with descriptions of our King:

Revelation 1:5  “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”

• Jesus Christ – Christ meaning the Messiah;

• He is the first begotten from the dead – there is no doubt about it, and others are rapidly following, and, therefore, also begotten from the dead; (The KJV used begotten instead of born. Jesus had been born through His surrogate mother, Mary, but this verse references death. Jesus had to be reborn and brought back to life as God's Son.

• He is the prince of the kings of the earth – to be a prince is to be the Son of the King, and yet it uses the earth as a reference. If you think you are a prince on earth, it would only be because you have His life in you;

• The verse acknowledges that He loves us, which is why we gain the right to be washed in that blood spilled on the cross that day. 

• And finally, that it is Jesus that washes us from our sins in His blood.

  He had no sin, so, as an old church song says, He paid a debt He did not owe because He loved us and paid it with His own blood.

I hate to admit that I don't know all the answers, but here is an exciting thought. When it says He washes us from our sins, is His forgiveness an all-encompassing thing, like a flood? 

(I have contended that the forgiveness of sin happened at the cross; therefore, no one is to be judged for sin; they will be judged for what they did with Christ. Those following Christ will be caught up in the church's rapture, and this discussion becomes a non-issue. Assuming that many will reject Christ, they would then have cast their allegiance for Satan and, therefore, follow him to the hell awaiting him and his followers.) 

The alternative thought is that our robes are washed when we come humbly to Him and admit that we are sinners. If you have ever been around people in recovery, who are far enough in their recovery to speak with you openly, you will find that those who have gained the most from recovery have done so because they were humble and recognized their need for help. Unfortunately, not everyone comes humbly; some are forced by the courts, in denial, or unwilling to take the walls down.

Talking about this with my wife, she mentioned the thief on the cross. That man yelled back at the other man who was being disrespectful, “We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ⁱ I will add that the thief on the cross, in a sense, came to Jesus.

My other example of being washed in the blood comes from Revelation 7:14.

Please pay particular attention to the terminology used, especially since I opened this discussion about forgiveness.

Revelation 7:14  “... These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

“...These are they which came out of great tribulation,” as though they walked through it unscathed, Hardly, as they were killed because of their testimony. In the previous post, I touched on the idea that separating the soul from the body may play a role in our being changed. You should see some keywords and phrases in this quote from Paul.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.”
(1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NASB)

Mystery, this is the Greek word mustērion, and its meanings include Something hidden or not fully manifest; a thing not obvious to the understanding;  or a secret – much like the Masons' practice.

The mystery implies that most will never know what is being discussed, and God never wanted that. He has always been open and straightforward in His dealings. Yes, there have been things that were not beneficial or necessary for humanity to know at the time, and we see comments to that effect when we read Daniel or when Jesus responded to the jealous disciples by saying, what is that to you? Until Jesus rose from the dead, this whole redemption thing was a mystery to Satan. Scripture implies that he might have thwarted God's plan if he knew. (That possibility seems so outlandish to me, as. God's plan was airtight and perfectly designed to redeem humanity).

When you read the Apostle Paul's writings (His letters to the churches in Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, Thessaloniki, and Rome), he tells you, repeatedly, that the mysteries are for you to know and that they have been made known. (Read Ephesians 1:9; 3:3, 3:5; 3:10.)

How then, are we to understand?

Paul, like John, wrote to Jewish believers. Those words now apply to you, but you must grasp a Jewish perception of God and the world. When Paul, in 1 Cor 15:52, says, “at the last trumpet,” this is exceptionally Jewish and Holy and leans heavily to Rosh Hashanah. When John talks about death, you must ask yourself, whose image were we made in? The answer is God's, and Jesus told us that God is a Spirit and nobody has seen Him, but you have seen me. By the way, the Father and I are one, so yes, you have seen the Father.

In studying Revelation, we have been reading one of the most mysterious books of the Bible (next to Daniel's prophecies), and the God of the universe has been so excited to see someone else with the desire and heart to unlock this mystery in their spirit. Praise God.

Sleep is the Greek word koimaō. This word means to put to sleep. Figuratively, it means death.

I think of Adam when God put him to sleep to extract the rib from which He made Eve. If God made him die, then God brought him back to life.

Did you know that to the Jew, the soul remains in the body for three days?

This concept of death played a huge role in why Jesus did not go to Lazarus' grave until the fourth day; this is why Jesus spoke of Jonah as a symbol of His death and why He stayed in the tomb for three days. So again, God was putting their beliefs back in their faces and proving that NOTHING could hold Him down.

What about this idea of being changed? How do you change something that is built into the body? 

Maybe the primary method is to kill it and make it new; this may be what happens to us during our rapture. I noted it above, but I need you to see what Paul said again.

“For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.”
(1 Corinthians 15:53-54 NASB)

What is imperishable? Having already died in Christ, we would no longer be subject to death, sin, and the draw from fear associated with those things. Paul says, “this mortal, (having moved to the imperishable – physical death,) must put on immortality.” I only recently started using the term immortal. I hesitated to use it because it is associated with comic book characters. We are NOT talking about fictional characters, but something that God has planned for ages; the result is that we would be, as He is, immortal. 

Can you kill an immortal? 

No, unless you have some comic superpower, and NO ONE has that. Our best examples come from Adam, Eve, and Satan. Adam and Eve lost their physical immortality when they ate the fruit. Satan lost his position, not his immortality when he tried to overthrow God. Satan is immortal and cannot be killed; therefore, his punishment will be an eternal, fiery exclusion from God's presence. Hell was created for Satan and the angels that followed him. Now, we have the choice to follow him as well. Not a wise decision.

With all this to think about, why do you think Paul would say, “death is swallowed up in victory,” unless death played a role in our transition?

The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury gives this definition of death.

“Those who believe that death is the utter extinction of being, a concept utterly incompatible with the use of the word throughout the Bible, must logically deny the possibility of future existence by means of resurrection. If man is all mortal and death returns the whole man "to dust as it was," then man is extinct—there is "dust" but no man. Before man was formed it was all dust, and after he returns to it, it is all dust again—all dust, no man. Hence, under this view, a resurrection of man is impossible. All is dust "as it was" before man existed, and there can no man exist again except by means of creation.”

While scriptures do not directly say that we are created again, Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 15.

He supposes that we have solved the great mystery of what becomes with these who have NOT washed their robes. Since we know that God wants all humanity to be saved, we must assume that He wants them in the Holy City as well; but there is this very peculiar statement.

Revelation 22:15 NASB “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

I have sat under “Bible teachers” that told us that only Christians make it into the millennial kingdom. Revelation 22:15 makes it very clear that this is NOT true.

The Greek word for dogs is kúōn; The Word Study Dictionary defines dogs in this manner.

“ In the East, dogs were not usually pets and were without masters, wandering at large in the streets and fields and feeding upon whatever they could find (1Ki_14:11; 1Ki_16:4; 1Ki_21:19; Psa_59:6, Psa_59:14). They were looked upon as unclean, and to call one a "dog" was a stronger expression of contempt than even today (1Sa_17:43; 2Ki_8:13). The Jews called the Gentiles "dogs." It is used metaphorically for an impudent, shameless person in Php_3:2 where it is spoken of Judaizing teachers (cf. Isa_56:11).”

In talking about the Holy City, Revelation 21:27 conveys that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of Life. The implications of this are that God has allowed many from among the nations, whose names are not in the Lamb's book of Life, into the millennial reign.

As you see above, dogs are a very derogatory comment. Sorcerers are the Greek word pharmakos. The noun form is pharmakeía. Aside from sorcerers, the term also means the preparation and giving of medicine. Think that through for a few seconds. What is the deadliest “vaccine” going around the globe currently? If you guessed the C19 vaccine, you would be correct. So what are these people doing living in the millennial reign? I don't know, but I do know I serve a merciful God.

Also, living outside the Holy City and quite possibly unwilling to change are immoral persons. Immoral is the Greek word pornos. Honestly, for most of us, this word needs little definition. The Greek word pornos means a (male) prostitute, fornicator, or whore-monger.

We also find murderers, idolaters, and everyone that loves and practices lying. Murderers? Why not? We have everything else. 

Idolaters are those who continue, in the face of the almighty, continue to worship other gods. And everyone that loves and practices lying. Unfortunately, several of this group live in my home.

The resounding message that I hear in my head is that there will be peace. We are told that the martyred saints will be seated on thrones and help to keep the peace. However, seeing as the seven years of wrath initiated with the two witnesses from God that come down out of heaven and spew fire upon anyone who tries to harm them, why stop that process? There are so many possibilities, and it is easy to see how quickly any form of violence will be quelled.

As usual, I realized it was worse than I imagined. The reality is that I will be immortal, and none of this will matter to me. I might become a mix between Ray Comfort and the apologist Seth Gruber. Do you think there will be forced sex changes there? Not a chance. How about abortions? Unheard of. For the most part, we will sit on our plots of land, grow a few crops, and worship the God we have come to love.

iLuke 23:41 NLT