How does Revelation 22:14 connect to Genesis 3 and the fall of man?

The Open Gates of the New Jerusalem

“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.” (Revelation 22:14)

• The final chapter of Revelation closes with a beatitude that echoes the lost blessings of Eden.

• “Wash their robes” points to the cleansing accomplished by Christ’s blood (Revelation 7:14).

• The promise: restored access to “the tree of life” that once stood at the heart of the Garden (Genesis 2:9).

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Eden Lost: A Quick Rewind to Genesis 3

• Adam and Eve’s sin brought immediate consequences:

– Spiritual death (Genesis 2:17).

– Shame: fig leaves for clothing (Genesis 3:7).

– Expulsion: the LORD “drove out the man” and stationed cherubim “to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

• Humanity’s fellowship with God, symbolized by walking with Him in the garden (Genesis 3:8), was broken.

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Threads That Tie the Beginning to the End

1. The Tree of Life

• Genesis 3:22–24 — access blocked.

• Revelation 22:2, 14 — access restored, bearing fruit “for the healing of the nations.”

2. Clothing

• Genesis 3:21 — God provides garments of skins, prefiguring substitutionary sacrifice.

• Revelation 22:14 — believers appear in washed robes, the righteousness of Christ (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

3. Presence of God

• Genesis 3:8 — sin causes hiding.

• Revelation 22:3–4 — “His servants will serve Him. They will see His face.”

4. Guardians at the Gate

• Genesis 3:24 — cherubim with flaming sword bar the way.

• Revelation 21:25; 22:14 — city gates “will never be shut,” inviting the redeemed to enter freely.

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“Wash Their Robes”: How Salvation Reverses the Curse

• Cleansing comes through faith in the Lamb (John 1:29; 1 John 1:7).

• Romans 5:12–19 contrasts Adam’s disobedience with Christ’s obedience, showing how the second Adam secures our right to enter.

• Galatians 3:13 — Christ became a curse for us, overturning Eden’s curse.

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Living Now in Light of the Coming Garden-City

• Practicing daily repentance mirrors the continual “washing” spoken of in Revelation 22:14.

• The promise of unrestricted fellowship motivates holiness (1 John 3:2–3).

• Our future access to the Tree of Life assures us that God’s original intention—to share eternal life with His people—will be fulfilled (Titus 1:2).

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Summary Snapshot

• Genesis 3 shows paradise lost: sin, separation, and closed gates.

• Revelation 22:14 shows paradise regained: cleansing, communion, and open gates.

• The storyline of Scripture moves from a garden barred by a sword to a garden-city flung wide for the redeemed—proof that God’s redemptive plan never wavered from Eden to eternity.