Who May Enter Heaven
Daily Reading: (Revelation 22:14):
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”
On a surface read it sounds like there is still work left for us to do in order to get to heaven. A wrong interpretation of this blessing would leave one to think that a combination of works and grace get you into the pearly gates. That Christ gave you the robes of righteousness but somehow during your time living on earth- they got a little dirty, maybe a lot dirty in some cases and in order to get in you got to clean yourself up.
The good news is that is not the case. What this verse is saying is that
Salvation comes from having one’s robes washed in the Lamb’s blood. We see this illustrated for us earlier in (Revelation 7:14). The washing of robes as mentioned here is a metaphor for purification from uncleanliness, meaning sin. This verse pronounces a blessing on those who are cleansed from their sin—a reference to those who are saved through their faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:7).
Only blood-washed believers have the right to partake of the tree of life from which mankind has been barred since the fall; only those with robes of righteousness have access to the Holy City (Psalm 118:20; Isaiah 35:8).
God’s plan for mankind was always to walk in fellowship with Him and to eat from the tree of life (Genesis 2:16, Revelation 22:14).
Who may enter into God’s holy city? The short answer is those who have washed robes. In Psalm 24:3-5: Who will one day get to hang out with the God of the Universe?
Who gets to hang out with God?
· Clean hands (your deeds are completely blameless)
· Pure heart (motives 100% pure all the time)
· Does not trust in an idol (trusts God perfectly all the time)
· Never tell lies. (always keeps your promises).
It is simple. You want to hang out with God? You have to have a spotless life. You have to be at a place where you don’t need to wash your robes then you can walk right into heaven and be with God.
If you do these four things David says you will receive (verse 5) the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior. The world groans—who will save me? Can I save myself? No. David in Psalm 24 is singing about Jesus whose deeds were completely blameless. His motives 100% pure. He never lied and He always delivered on every promise. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Who may enter heaven are those who are in Christ, those who are wearing His robes of righteousness.