11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness, let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”
If a person still chooses to continue in a path that is contrary to God, He allows it because He has given us free will. The heart after an encounter with the Holy Spirit will choose to either walk the path of Holy Scripture and will continue to do so [eternal security John 6:37-39] or has rejected the offer of eternal life and will continue to walk in darkness.
12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.
The phrase “Look, I am coming soon” see verse 7
Jesus’ rewards most likely refer to having positions for believers at His millennial reign or in the kingdom of heaven [the new heaven and the earth].
Matthew 25:19-21
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
The Lord God Almighty declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega [the first and the last] in:
Isaiah 44:6
This is what the LORD, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the LORD of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.
Jesus applies the same title to Himself here, making Himself equal to the Father [John 5:18].
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
The phrase “Blessed are those who wash their robes” refers to those who have been cleansed of their sins, forgiven, and provided with a white robe which signifies their righteousness.
Access to the tree of life which symbolizes Jesus Christ, the giver of eternal life which is acquired through faith in the Son of God alone and His atoning sacrifice.
15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
The word “Outside” is a reference to the Lake of Fire.
- [Dogs]- Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.
- [Sorcerers]- 2 Chronicles 33:6 He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.
- [Sexually Immoral]– Jude 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
- [Murderers]- 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
- [Idolaters]- Deuteronomy 4:15-18 15 “Diligently watch yourselves—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb— 16 so you don’t act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, 17 or the form of any animal on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, 18 any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth.
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