Revelation 22:14 Study Bible: Blessed are they who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.

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◄ Revelation 22:14 ►

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 its gates.

Study Bible

Blessed are those
The word "Blessed" in Greek is "makarios," which conveys a sense of divine favor and happiness. In the context of Revelation, it signifies the ultimate joy and fulfillment found in God's presence. This blessing is not merely a temporary state but an eternal condition for those who are faithful. The phrase "are those" indicates a specific group of people who have met certain conditions, emphasizing the exclusivity and privilege of this blessing.

who wash their robes
The act of washing robes symbolizes purification and righteousness. In the Greek, "wash" is "plunó," which implies a thorough cleansing. This imagery is consistent with Revelation 7:14, where the robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb, signifying redemption through Christ's sacrifice. The robes represent the believers' lives, cleansed from sin and made pure by the atoning work of Jesus. This purification is essential for entering into the holy presence of God.

so that they may have the right
The phrase "may have the right" suggests a legal entitlement or privilege. In Greek, "right" is "exousia," which can also mean authority or power. This indicates that those who have washed their robes are granted a legitimate claim to the blessings that follow. It underscores the justice and order of God's kingdom, where access to divine promises is granted to those who are spiritually prepared.

to the tree of life
The "tree of life" is a powerful biblical symbol of eternal life and divine sustenance. It first appears in Genesis, representing the life God intended for humanity. In Revelation, it signifies the restoration of that original purpose through Christ. The tree of life is a promise of eternal fellowship with God, where believers will experience unending life and joy. This imagery connects the beginning and end of the biblical narrative, highlighting God's redemptive plan.

and may enter the city
The "city" refers to the New Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of God with His people. In the Greek, "enter" is "eiserchomai," which implies coming into a place of safety and belonging. This city is described in Revelation 21 as a place of perfect peace, beauty, and holiness. Entering the city signifies the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises, where believers will dwell with Him forever.

by its gates
The "gates" symbolize access and security. In ancient cities, gates were crucial for protection and controlled entry. In the New Jerusalem, the gates are always open (Revelation 21:25), signifying the perpetual welcome and security for God's people. Entering by the gates implies legitimate access, contrasting with those who attempt to enter by other means. It highlights the order and righteousness of God's kingdom, where entry is granted to those who have been made pure through Christ.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Those who wash their robes
This phrase refers to believers who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, symbolizing purity and righteousness.

2. The Tree of Life
A symbol of eternal life and divine provision, originally found in the Garden of Eden and now in the New Jerusalem.

3. The City
Refers to the New Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of God with His people, described in Revelation 21.

Teaching Points

The Blessing of Purity
Emphasize the importance of spiritual purity and righteousness, which comes through faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work.

Access to Eternal Life
Highlight the promise of eternal life for those who are in Christ, symbolized by the right to the Tree of Life.

Entering the New Jerusalem
Encourage believers to live with the hope and assurance of entering the New Jerusalem, motivating holy living and perseverance.

The Role of Christ's Sacrifice
Reflect on the necessity of Christ's sacrifice for the cleansing of sin, which grants believers access to God's eternal promises.

Bible Study Questions

1. What does it mean to "wash their robes," and how can we apply this concept to our daily lives?

2. How does the promise of access to the Tree of Life encourage us in our walk with Christ?

3. In what ways does the imagery of entering the city by its gates inspire us to live faithfully?

4. How can we ensure that we are living in a way that reflects the purity and righteousness described in this verse?

5. How do other scriptures, such as Revelation 7:14 and John 14:6, deepen our understanding of Revelation 22:14?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Genesis 3
The Tree of Life is first mentioned in the Garden of Eden, representing eternal life and fellowship with God, which was lost due to sin.

Revelation 7:14
This verse speaks of those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, emphasizing the cleansing power of Christ's sacrifice.

John 14:6
Jesus declares Himself as the way, the truth, and the life, connecting to the access believers have to eternal life through Him.

Sermons

The Blessed Ones	S. Conway	Revelation 22:14
The Final Word of Blessing	R. Green	Revelation 22:7, 12-15
Three Facts in the Moral Empire of God	D. Thomas	Revelation 22:12-15

People

David, John

Places

Patmos

Topics

Authority, Blessed, Blessing, Clean, Commandments, Commands, Doors, Enter, Gates, Happy, Robes, Theirs, Town, Tree, Wash, Washed

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Revelation 22:14

     4528   trees
     5177   robes
     5504   rights
     5874   happiness
     7426   ritual washing
     7478   washing
     8117   discipleship, benefits

Revelation 22:14-15

     1461   truth, nature of
     4010   creation, renewal
     4526   tree of life
     5323   gate
     6237   sexual sin, nature of
     9110   after-life

Library

Come and Welcome
Nay, further than this, this is not only Christ's cry to you; but if you be a believer, this is your cry to Christ--"Come! come!" You will be longing for his second advent; you will be saying, "Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus." And you will be always panting for nearer and closer communion with him. As his voice to you is "Come," even so will be your prayer to him, "Come, Lord, and abide in my house. Come, and consecrate me more fully to thy service; come, and without a rival reign; come, occupy …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Sanctification and Justification (Continued).
"He that is holy, let him be holy still." --Rev. xxii. 11. The divine Righteousness, having reference to the divine Sovereignty, in one sense does not manifest itself until God enters into relationship with the creatures. He was glorious in holiness from all eternity, for man's creation did not modify His Being; but His righteousness could not be displayed before creation, because right presupposes two beings sustaining the jural relation. An exile on an uninhabited island can not be righteous nor …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Need of the New Testament Scripture.
"For I testify onto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book."--Rev. xxii. 18. If the Church after the Ascension of Christ had been destined to live only one lifetime, and had been confined only to the land of the Jews, the holy apostles could have accomplished their task by verbal teaching. But since it was to live at least for eighteen centuries, and to be extended over …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Rivers in the Desert
T. P. Rev. xxii. I Glorious River of God's pleasures, Well of God's eternal bliss, Thirsting now no more for ever, Tread we this waste wilderness. O for words divine to tell it, How along that River's brink, Come the weak, the worn, the weary, There the tides of joy to drink! "Drink abundantly, beloved," Speaks the Voice so sweet and still; "Of the life, and love, and glory, Freely come and drink your fill." Every longing stilled for ever, As the face of God we see-- Whom besides have we in heaven, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Letter xix (A. D. 1127) to Suger, Abbot of S. Denis
To Suger, Abbot of S. Denis He praises Suger, who had unexpectedly renounced the pride and luxury of the world to give himself to the modest habits of the religious life. He blames severely the clerk who devotes himself rather to the service of princes than that of God. 1. A piece of good news has reached our district; it cannot fail to do great good to whomsoever it shall have come. For who that fear God, hearing what great things He has done for your soul, do not rejoice and wonder at the great …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Wesley at Sevenoaks
Monday, October 16.--I went to Tunbridge Wells and preached to a serious congregation on Revelation 22:12. Tuesday, 17. I came back to Sevenoaks and in the afternoon walked over to the Duke of Dorset's seat. The park is the pleasantest I ever saw; the trees are so elegantly disposed. The house, which is at least two hundred years old, is immensely large. It consists of two squares, considerably bigger than the two quadrangles in Lincoln College. I believe we were shown above thirty rooms, beside …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The Water of Life;
OR, A DISCOURSE SHOWING THE RICHNESS AND GLORY OF THE GRACE AND SPIRIT OF THE GOSPEL, AS SET FORTH IN SCRIPTURE BY THIS TERM, THE WATER OF LIFE. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.'--Revelation 22:17 London: Printed for Nathanael Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1688. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Often, and in every age, the children of God have dared to doubt the sufficiency of divine grace; whether it was vast enough to reach their condition--to cleanse …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
OR, GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; BEING A HELP FOR DESPAIRING SOULS, SHOWING THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD HAVE MERCY IN THE FIRST PLACE OFFERED TO THE BIGGEST SINNERS. THE THIRD EDITION, IN WHICH IS ADDED, AN ANSWER TO THOSE GRAND OBJECTIONS THAT LIE IN THE WAY OF THE THEM THAT WOULD BELIEVE: FOR THE COMFORT OF THEM THAT FEAR THEY HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. London: Printed for Elizabeth Smith, at the Hand and Bible, on London Bridge, 1691. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Last Words of the Old and New Testaments
'Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.'--MALACHI iv. 6. 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.'--REVELATION xxii. 21. It is of course only an accident that these words close the Old and the New Testaments. In the Hebrew Bible Malachi's prophecies do not stand at the end; but he was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and after him there were 'four centuries of silence.' We seem to hear in his words the dying echoes of the rolling thunders of Sinai. They gather up the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God's Will and Man's Will
The great controversy which for many ages has divided the Christian Church has hinged upon the difficult question of "the will." I need not say of that conflict that it has done much mischief to the Christian Church, undoubtedly it has; but I will rather say, that it has been fraught with incalculable usefulness; for it has thrust forward before the minds of Christians, precious truths, which but for it, might have been kept in the shade. I believe that the two great doctrines of human responsibility …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 1863

The Properties of Sanctifying Grace
By a property (proprium, {GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON}{GREEK SMALL LETTER NU}) we understand a quality which, though not part of the essence of a thing, necessarily flows from that essence by some sort of causation and is consequently found in all individuals of the same species.(1155) A property, as such, is opposed to an accident (accidens, {GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON}{GREEK …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

"The Lord Hath Need of Him. " Mark xi, 3
What! of an Ass? Yes, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world." He gets renown to Himself by "using things which are despised." Let us never despair of the most foolish of men, if he become the servant of Jesus. It is said of the great John Hunt, that when a young man, he gave no promise of the talents he shewed in the work of the Ministry. We have spoken with one who knew him before his conversion, who made us smile as he described his gait and style of life. Yet this ungainly ploughboy …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Luke's History: what it Professes to Be
AMONG the writings which are collected in the New Testament, there is included a History of the life of Christ and of the first steps in the diffusion of his teaching through the Roman world, composed in two books. These two books have been separated from one another as if they were different works, and are ordinarily called "The Gospel according to Luke" and "The Acts of the Apostles". It is, however, certain from their language, and it is admitted by every scholar, that the two books were composed …
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay—Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?

Three Inscriptions with one Meaning
'Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it ... HOLINESS TO THE LORD.'--EXODUS xxviii. 36. 'In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.'--ZECH. xiv. 20. 'His name shall be in their foreheads.'--REV. xxii. 4. You will have perceived my purpose in putting these three widely separated texts together. They all speak of inscriptions, and they are all obviously connected with each other. The first of them comes from the ancient times of the institution …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Thirty-First Day. Holiness and Heaven.
Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of men ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness?'--2 Pet. iii. 11. 'Follow after the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.'--Heb. xii. 14. 'He that is holy, let him be made holy still.... The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the holy ones. Amen.'--Rev. xxii. 11, 21. O my brother, we are on our way to see God. We have been invited to meet the Holy One face to face. The infinite mystery of holiness, the …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

All are Commanded to Pray --Prayer the Great Means of Salvation
CHAPTER I. ALL ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY--PRAYER THE GREAT MEANS OF SALVATION, AND POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES BY THE MOST SIMPLE. Prayer is nothing else but the application of the heart to God, and the interior exercise of love. St Paul commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v. 17). Our Lord says: "Take ye heed, watch and pray." "And what I say unto you, I say unto all" (Mark xiii. 33, 37). All, then, are capable of prayer, and it is the duty of all to engage in it. But I do not think that all are …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

That Worthy Name.
James ii:7. IN the second chapter of the Epistle of James the Holy Spirit speaks of our ever blessed Lord as "that worthy Name." Precious Word! precious to every heart that knows Him and delights to exalt His glorious and worthy Name. His Name is "far above every Name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." (Ephes. i:21.) It is "as ointment poured forth" (Song of Sol. i:3); yea, His Name alone is excellent (Psalm cxlviii:13). But according to His worth that blessed …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Apostles Chosen
As soon as he returned victorious from the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus entered on the work of his public ministry. We find him, at once, preaching to the people, healing the sick, and doing many wonderful works. The commencement of his ministry is thus described by St. Matt. iv: 23-25. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout …
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young

An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man
THERE are not a few difficulties in the account, which Moses has given of the creation of the world, and of the formation, and temptation, and fall of our first parents. Some by the six days of the creation have understood as many years. Whilst others have thought the creation of the world instantaneous: and that the number of days mentioned by Moses is only intended to assist our conception, who are best able to think of things in order of succession. No one part of this account is fuller of difficulties, …
Nathaniel Lardner—An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man

Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome.
IT pleased God, to whom all his works are known from eternity, to prepare Gregory by a twofold process, for the great and difficult work of the guidance of the Western Church, then agitated by so many storms. Destined to be plunged into the midst of an immense multitude of avocations of the most varied character, he was trained to bear such a burden by administering, until his fortieth year, an important civil office. Then, yielding to a long-felt yearning of his heart, he retired into a monastery, …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

Christ's Prophetic Office
'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet,' &c. Deut 18:85. Having spoken of the person of Christ, we are next to speak of the offices of Christ. These are Prophetic, Priestly, and Regal. 'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet.' Enunciatur hic locus de Christo. It is spoken of Christ.' There are several names given to Christ as a Prophet. He is called the Counsellor' in Isa 9:9. In uno Christo Angelus foederis completur [The Messenger of the Covenant appears in Christ alone]. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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