‘Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and may enter in by the entrances into the city.'
Christ is not just concerned to express His glory, He wants it to affect men's behaviour and attitudes. In the final analysis only by being cleansed through the blood of Christ can men find entry to the tree of life and become part of the city that is comprised of the people of God. For ‘wash their robes' compare Revelation 7:14, where it indicates making them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is this which gives them the right to come to the tree of life, and to enter into the city. The Bible began with expulsion from the tree of life, now it ends with a welcome to the tree of life. It is a record of how that has been accomplished.
This is the seventh statement of blessedness in the book. In Revelation 1:3 those who read, hear and keep the prophecies of the book are blessed. In Revelation 14:13 those who ‘die in the Lord' are blessed. In Revelation 16:15 those who watch and keep their garments by them in readiness for His return are blessed. In Revelation 19:9 those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed. In Revelation 20:6 those who share the First Resurrection are blessed. And in Revelation 22:7 those who keep the prophecies of this book are blessed. Now those who are cleansed in the blood of Christ are blessed. For they, unlike the fallen Adam, have entry to the tree of life and entry into the city of God.