Peter Barnes: Revelation 22:14-16 NO AUDIO
(22 July 2018)
SERMON NOTES : WASHING YOUR ROBES (Revelation 22:14-16)
1. Blessed are those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
– 22:14. NKJV has ‘Blessed are those who do His commandments’; NIV and ESV have ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes’. When it is read out loud in Greek the difference is not great. The book of Revelation emphasizes obedience – Rev.12:17; 22:7; and it emphasizes free grace in Christ – Rev.7:14.
– It is in the present tense – a Christian is one who washes his robes and continues to wash his robes in the blood of the Lamb.
– When Adam sinned he was evicted from the garden – Gen.3:22-24. When Israel sinned, it was evicted from Jerusalem – Jer.52:3; Matt.21:41-43. Those who wash their robes have the right to the garden and to the city.
2. Cursed are the unholy.
– 22:15. We get in by washing our robes; we remain outside by being committed to sin. ‘Dog’ is a slang term – Deut.23:17-18; Matt.7:6; Phil.3:2; 2 Pet.2:20-22. Those who practise magic arts are sorcerers or dealers in drugs. Then there are the sexually immoral, the murderers, those who trust in idols and those who love lies and practise falsehood. Gregory Beale says this is referring to false Christians, but it surely refers to all outside of Christ.
If we love our sins more than Christ, we are doomed.
3. The King and Saviour is the God-man.
– 22:16. Greg Beale says that ‘root’ means the same as ‘descendant’. The root of David is the ancestor of David, where he came from. Th Not so. The book of Revelation is saying what Jesus said of Himself when He took on the Pharisees – Matt.22:41-46. See Rev.2:28; 5:5; 6:16; 22:1.