What does Revelation 21:27 imply about who can enter heaven? Canonical Text “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” — Revelation 21:27 Immediate Setting: The New Jerusalem Revelation 21 describes the descent of “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (21:2). Verses 24-26 picture redeemed nations walking in God’s light, kings bringing their glory into the city, and its gates standing eternally open. Verse 27 provides the gatekeeping condition: absolute moral purity grounded not in human merit but in the Lamb’s registry. Holiness as the Constant Requirement for God’s Presence From Eden’s expulsion (Genesis 3:24) to Sinai’s warning boundary (Exodus 19:12-13) and the veil in the Temple (Exodus 26:33), Scripture insists that sin bars communion with a holy God. Isaiah, beholding the throne, cries, “Woe to me… I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Hebrews reiterates, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). The Exclusivity and Inclusivity of the Lamb’s Registry Entrance is exclusive—only names in the Book; yet the invitation is inclusive—“Let the one who is thirsty come” (Revelation 22:17). Salvation is offered to “every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9), but the decisive criterion is union with the crucified and risen Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 4:12). Ethical Transformation Evidenced in Present Life Revelation 21:27 does not teach salvation by moral achievement; rather, moral transformation evidences genuine saving faith. Compare: • “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? … And such were some of you. But you were washed” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). • “Everyone who names the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19). Persistent, unrepentant practice of “abomination or a lie” displays a heart unregenerate and therefore absent from the Book (1 John 3:9-10; Revelation 22:15). Complementary Passages on Heaven’s Eligibility • John 3:3 — “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” • Matthew 5:8 — “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” • Hebrews 10:19-22 — We enter the Most Holy Place “by the blood of Jesus.” • Revelation 20:15 — “If anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Summary Revelation 21:27 teaches that heaven—specifically the New Jerusalem—is barred to all impurity and reserved exclusively for those whose names are inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Entry is secured, not by human virtue, but by cleansing through Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, evidenced by a transformed life that repudiates abomination and falsehood. |
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