THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Revelation Revealed Chapter 22 v6-21

THE ACCOUNTABILITY & JUDGEMENT of CHRISTIANS

God recompenses every man. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be” [Revelation 22: 12]  “For the son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” [Matthew 16: 27]  No one escapes His judgment, Jew or Gentile, and especially not a Christian. In Romans 6: 23, we read that the gift of God is eternal life to the one who believes.  We don’t work for a gift. We did not work to gain eternal life.  We believed in Jesus the Christ, confessed our need and we received it.  And this eternal life abides within us forever.  When a person is born again, he receives the Holy Spirit who comes to do an abiding work in him. Being born again in spirit is a free and eternal gift. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” [1 John 5:1]

BUT Rewards, or Punishment are determined by the believer’s works that he performs after his spirit has received eternal life. That will settle his recompense. That is when Jesus judges him on the life he lived. His Word tell us He is “the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him…” and as repaying those who hate Him to their face. [Deuteronomy 7:10]

His first award is Millennial; to the doers of righteousness. These shall enter into His glory. [Matthew 5:20, 6:33] But this now having been past, He tells of His eternal rewards. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, beginning and end.” This Title of Jesus tells us He is the designer of all Ages or dispensations since the Creation. The Last or end, now moving into the Ages of Ages. He now states: “Blessed are they who wash their robes.” Chapters before we were told of their first reward. “They entered into the temple, through washing their robes in the Lamb’s blood. But the temple was but a transitional condition for them. Wherein is this blessing? As He led these on who had washed their robes in His blood, after the Millennial Kingdom, into the 2^nd great reward: The eternal City wherein now they are privileged and as man is reunited to eat of the Tree of Life and drink of the River of Life.

Jesus Himself, having once for all time, washed our sins for us who have believed, when we first came unto Him. But for sins after that, we must by necessity wash ourselves in His blood for a blessed pardon. It is for this critical and misunderstood reason here in Revelation 22:11, that He contrasts holy with filthy. It is not a contrast of saved and unsaved, but the final different conditions of His servants. (The leper and unclean are without the city, for God dwelt within. See Numbers 5:3,4.) The one washed away the stains of sins as they were committed or discovered, the other ignored the Word and the Spirit/spirit and allowed his robe to be filthy and never sought its cleansing. The position or state of the risen is here defined. Two different servant groups. Two classes, which took different standings in the Millennial Kingdom and now take different standings in the Eternal Kingdom of God. The one, fixed residents of the City of God, and the other, the earthly residents outside the heavenly City. The one, Kings and Priests, and the other, subjects and people outside the Paradise of God.

The views brought into our sight here in Revelation are to effect a practical move or change in attitude in His servants. The Bridegroom is presented in a manner to draw out the affections of the espoused after Him. His promises and threatenings are to motivate our wills to certain conduct. Faith in these things reported will keep us in the Way. The threatening of taking away his part of the Tree of Life, and being without the holy city, is an individual one. This threat that has to do with apostate scorners in the things that now are in the church. Scorners are Apostates who scoff at the Millennial Kingdom realities. These threats are designed as a very real warning of the importance God places on these prophetic Words of Truth. If one is guilty of this, he shall not only have given up the glory of the Millennial kingdom, but his name will be removed from the city’s citizenship, and its loss of privileges.

Much of our understanding has to do with Jesus Christ’s continual references back into the Prophets of the Old Covenant. As He refers to Himself as the root and offspring of David. As the offspring, He ruled finally on David’s earthly throne from earthly Jerusalem. As the root, He now will dwell in the New Jerusalem and sit on the Throne of God. All men unsaved are especially unclean, having no robes (of His covering). The Laver has become their eternal repository. [Isaiah 66:22-24] (The laver speaks of the “sea of glass” contaminated with sin.)

REVELATION 22:6-21 THE FINAL WORDS OF CHRIST IN THE NEW COVENANT are but echoes of Hebrews 5:9-6:12 & 10:9-39. THE PRINCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST JUDGING HIS SERVANTS CAN BE QUICKLY REVEALED TO A SEEKER’S HEART by understanding the two dynamic relationships established by God with men.

The first dynamic relationship is between the Law of Moses and the spiritually dead.

The second dynamic relationship is between the “Commandments of Jesus Christ” and the spiritually alive (born again).

The first dynamic relationship demands: Do, and receive life eternal—-don’t do and be condemned to lake of fire eternally; eternal Second Death. [Revelation 20:14, 21:8]

The second dynamic relationship says: Do and live (millennially in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ). Don’t do: judgment, punishment, (Revelation 2:11 20:6) millennial Second Death, and loss of award in the Eternal Kingdom of God. (As eternal life is a gift under the Atonement of Jesus Christ, eternal life is not lost.)

All men stand condemned under the Law. [Galatians 3:10; James 2:10; Romans 6:12, 23] But under Jesus Christ, He having come under the Law, condemned the Law in the flesh. Thereby He redeemed us from the curse of eternal death by willingly becoming a curse for us. [Galatians 3:13; Romans 10:4] This redemption coming only through faith in Him. Therefore we are not justified by the works of the Law of Moses, nor are we condemned under the Law of Moses. As we are now dead to the Law of Moses. [Romans 7:4 ; Galatians 2:16; Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8 with Galatians 2:19 and Romans 6:11] Having received eternal life, now you are alive unto Christ, and now under the LAW or Commands of Jesus.

The spirit is alive; therefore it is saved. This is the beginning of the Spirit/spirit controlled life, with the rights to approach the throne of grace (The divine influence upon the heart by the Word and Holy Spirit) AND mercy: The cleansing of the blood under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. [Romans 8:1-18] This brings into our personal lives and hearts the current Work of Jesus the High Priest. As we are cleansed by His Blood, of all our confessed and resisted sins of non-conformance to His Commands, (1 John1:8-2:6)…chiefly that of love. This is that ongoing work that has our SOUL in view, our overcoming, that we might attain unto the fullness of worthiness allotted in Christ’s Atonement. Sanctified in spirit, soul and body. It is to this that all Christ’s heeded Commands point. That is in the realization of Revelation 22:12-14.

Most modern day Christians have acknowledged their death with Christ. They reckon themselves dead to their sins in Christ. But rather than be resurrected in the power of newness of life, they remain in the grave. As they have not yielded and presented themselves as instruments of righteousness unto holiness. [Romans 6]

The penalty (suffering of loss )of 1Corinthians 3:15 for this un-yieldedness to Christ’s Commands, is that he shall be disinherited from the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. Nor will he be a resident in New Jerusalem. During the Millennium he will have been judged according to his works and relegated to the just and appropriate place in Hades/The intermediate place of the dead. Some in torment, in outer darkness, or blackness of darkness.

Scripture reveals different levels of judgment for His servants’ different levels of sin. Those levels being from the cold indifferent, to the lukewarm worldly indulgent, to the full blown apostate. Matthew 8:12,  22:13, 25:30; Jude 12,13 speaks to those who seem to be guilty of the same apostate sins of Hebrews 5&6 and Hebrews 10 who will suffer the harshest judgment of blackness of darkness. (For these different levels of judgment, see also Luke 12:41-53, 19:14, Luke 19:24-26; Matthew 25:29,30, Proverbs 1:22, 24-29, 3:35, 19:29.)

Matthew 24:42-51 speaks to Christ’s Words of Revelation 22 in the greatest of reward. That of the reward of Bride-ship in verses 42-47, and the severest of judgments are seen in Verses 48-51. (Hebrews 2:2) These apostates He will surprise, He will kill their bodies, and He will appoint them a place and portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The outer darkness is reserved for those lesser apostates who shall be just in sight of the light. Whereas the Apostate teachers are in total darkness. 

THE DISINHERITED CHRISTIAN-from the Kingdom of Christ . [1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:18-21] The Epistles of Paul mainly teach of what a Christian must do to inherit the Kingdom of Christ. Its crowns, its authority, its glory, its privilege attained in the First Resurrection from among the dead. And that these point towards the further inheritance of the eternal Kingdom of God.

JESUS REVEALS THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN OVERCOMER AND THE PENALTY OF BEING FOUND A NON-OVERCOMER in chapters 2 & 3. John was given the Book of Revelation to expand the mystery of the inheritance of the Kingdom of heavens. Those who will repent and turn to the Word of this prophecy will be given the privilege to eat of the Tree of Life. Jesus says being faithful unto death will be deserving of the crown of life. But those who fall away will be hurt by the second death.

Overcomers do not think they may follow the way of Balaam. Which simply is the lie, “because you are the sons of God, you can do as you choose without judgment or loss of reward. [Numbers 25:1-3, 31:16] Those who turn from this doctrine will be overcomers and will be given the hidden manna and white stone.

These are overcomers that do not participate in religious idolatry, and fornication. They will rule the nations with a rod of iron and be given the morning star. Overcomers will be have a white clean garment in the Millennial Kingdom. Non-overcomers will be blotted out of the book of life, losing their rights to the enter into the Millennial Kingdom and the New Jerusalem. Overcomers will become pillars in the Millennial temple and have written on them the name of the City of God. The overcome think they are in need of nothing, but are actually naked, and lukewarm. They are spewed out of His mouth, losing their inheritance, while the Overcomer will set on his throne.

“Blessed is the keeper of the prophecy of this book.” Man despises or totally discounts this book, even as many saints do. Let God grant us the meanings of these, His Words, and the power to keep them! The lure of Babylon, the World, is very great. Let us seek Him in prayer that we may not be led into temptation, but delivered from the Evil One. And be found worthy at His Return. Amen.

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