Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
The gates of God's strong and holy city are commanded to open so that the faithful people who have kept the truth may enter in at last. That entrance takes place when Christ Himself comes as King of glory, raises the faithful dead immortal, changes the living saints, and leads the redeemed company into the city. The righteous nation welcomed there are those made righteous through grace, washed white in the blood of the Lamb, clothed in Christ's righteousness, and obedient to all of God's commandments from loving hearts. Only a thoroughly converted people can pass through those pearly gates, those who have overcome sin by beholding Christ, followed Him fully, and been fitted by communion with God, self-denial, and holy character formed in this life. Inside is eternal life in the kingdom of glory, where Christ crowns the overcomers, places harps in their hands, wipes away sorrow and death, and gives them right to the tree of life and the joy of their Lord forever.
Song and Strong City
The command to open the gates for the righteous nation that keeps the truth belongs to the song to be sung in the land of Judah in that day. That song proclaims a strong city, God's strong city and city of God, with salvation appointed for walls and bulwarks and with the Lord's salvation as its walls and defenses. Its gates are commanded to be opened so that the nation defined by keeping the truth may enter in, remaining faithful to truth and trust in God. That entrance is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, near the close of this earth's history, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God.
The song belongs to the day of earth's last great crisis. Amid deepening shadows God's light will shine brightest, and the song of hope and trust will be heard in clearest and loftiest strains. It is a song of assurance about the strong city, joining admission of the truth-keeping righteous people with God's salvation and protection. With it stands the promise that God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him, through everlasting trust in the Lord Jehovah as everlasting strength.
The same promise belonged to Judah's restoration after captivity, expressing the triumph and security God gives His faithful people. The verse belongs to a song of confidence in God's protection and power, in which true faith in Him brings assurance and peace to the humble and contrite. The opening of the gates shows God's covenant-keeping people entering in, and all the Lord's counsels to that people are faithfulness and truth. His discipline of His church is loving-kindness that narrowness of vision keeps from being discerned.
God weighs the path of the just, examining motives and conduct by His standard of justice. That standard is His holy and unchanging law, which requires wholehearted love for God and love for one's neighbor. Each person's character is tested against it, and the comparison determines the person's standing before God.
Gates Opened for Entry
The command is for the gates of God's strong city to be opened so that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. That city is the holy city and the New Jerusalem, whose walls and bulwarks are salvation appointed by God as protection around His people. Entrance through its opened gates is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God near the close of this earth's history. Access belongs only to those who remain faithful to truth and trust in God, for the verse is a song of confidence in His protection and power in which true faith brings assurance and peace to the humble and contrite.
The gates are thrown back on glittering hinges, described as pearly and golden gates, swung back for the nations that have kept the truth to enter in. To enter in is heaven itself, life and eternal life in the kingdom of glory, the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom and the eternal inheritance. That entrance follows working the good warfare and pressing the battle to the gates by recognizing divinity through Jesus Christ and grasping that divinity, believing every word from His lips, obeying all His requirements, and trampling His commandments no more. It is gained by laboring faithfully and diligently doing what makes calling and election sure, fitting up now for future immortal life.
The golden gates open only for a thoroughly converted people changed by beholding who follow on to know the Lord, and no son or daughter of Adam will pass through without this conversion. Those who enter are converted people in whom Christ abides, whom He bought with His own blood to bring to eternal life, including children brought up in nurture and admonition, and they do not serve the devil half the time, for whether a person will enter or be forbidden is decided in the grand review going on now. Only those who stand temptation and overcome will stand then and enter, receiving the overcomer's reward which is the only true higher education, with a crown on the brow and a harp in the hand while songs of praise and victory resound through the heavenly courts. The fulfillment comes soon for the faithful as they come into line, labor in neighboring towns and country districts and bear a decided message in the great cities in harmony with God's opening providences, and those who enter will be met by a flood of people testifying that kind words, prayers, and encouragement led them there.
Righteous Nation Identified
The righteous nation is the nations and peoples who have kept the truth, defined by remaining faithful to truth and by trust in God and by entering His covenant-keeping salvation. The gates of God's strong city, city of God, and holy city are opened for that righteous nation to enter in, with salvation appointed for walls and bulwarks. That entrance is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God near the close of this earth's history. Those who remain faithful through the conflict and overcome will enter and give praise to Christ and the Father, welcomed by Jesus into the heavenly city, with the gates pictured as swinging back on glittering hinges for the faithful to enter their eternal inheritance and the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Keeping the truth means willing obedience to all of God's commandments and laws. It means loving God with all the heart and soul and keeping His commandments, living by righteousness, with obedience showing love for Him. It means having truth in the inward parts, acknowledged from the Word, truth that lives and increases in value day by day. The faithful servants so identified enter to receive the tree of life and the riches of eternity, and they will see the King in His beauty.
Those who enter have washed their robes and been made white in the blood of the Lamb, with no impurity of character remaining. They stood firmly for truth and righteousness, exalted God, witnessed to His truth no matter what others said, and tried to win souls to the truth. They reflect Christ's character and have their names written in the Lamb's book of life, and their standing today in righteousness and in truth decides the transfer revealed when the judgment comes and the books are opened after the grand review when every case is decided. Persistent transgression cannot be allowed inside, because it would make another rebellion possible, and those once welcomed inside will never face a tempting devil again.
The entering nation is the sleeping saints raised in glorious immortality and the living saints changed in a moment and caught up together with them in the cloudy chariot to the Golden Holy City, when Jesus throws open the gates and leads them in. They are made welcome inside because they kept the commandments of God, honored His Sabbath, and shouted victory over the beast and over his image, and so have right to the tree of life. The welcome belongs to a people made righteous and faithful to the truth through receiving and practicing God's Word, through the pardon and removal of sins by grace, and through the wedding garment which is Christ's righteousness. In this same promise Adam, who lost Eden through disobedience, regains access to Eden and the tree of life through repentance and faithful obedience when the faithful dead are resurrected and the King of glory opens the city.
Fulfilled at Christ's Coming
The command is fulfilled when Christ appears and the King of glory Himself opens the city and leads the redeemed company in. He throws open the gates of the golden holy city, lays hold of the gate and swings it back on its glittering hinges, and bids the faithful nations enter. Inside He welcomes them, blesses them, and brings them into the joy of their Lord. The entrance comes after the resurrection and the end of the conflict, when the faithful dead are raised immortal. The sleeping saints are raised in glorious immortality and the living saints are changed in a moment and caught up together with them in the cloudy chariot to the city, made immortal at Christ's coming.
The entrance comes at the day of final awards and transfer after the grand review when every case is decided. As righteous Judge of all the earth God then sifts the nations, and when the judgment comes and the books are opened it is revealed who stood firmly to righteousness and truth, exalted God, and sought to win souls to the truth. Only nations fulfilling the divine purpose are permitted to enter, while nations that in arrogance and pride array themselves against God and fail of His purpose are brought down, shut out, and forbidden any part there. Whether a person will enter the courts of the Lord or be forbidden entrance is decided in the review going on now, and depends on how he stands today in righteousness and truth.
At entrance a crown is placed on every head and a harp in the hand. The saints receive their named crowns from Jesus with crowns of gold and of glory placed on their brows and golden harps placed in their hands, amid music and rejoicing and triumph, and join in grateful praise with songs of victory resounding through the heavenly courts. Then they hear the invitation to the obedient who keep His commandments and do His will: Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Only those who stand temptation and overcome in this world by practicing what keeps from ever falling and holding fast by living faith will stand then and enter.
Those who enter receive the kingdom prepared for them and enter Paradise restored as humanity's home. The gates open and the peoples that have kept the truth enter through the gates into the city, into God's kingdom and its joy. There eternal realities open before them and the hardships passed through on earth are not remembered. They enter into the joy of their Lord and receive the promised glory.
Character Fitted for Entrance
The golden gates open only for a thoroughly converted people, changed by beholding and following on to know the Lord, in whom Christ abides and whom He bought with His own blood to bring to eternal life in the heavenly courts. No son or daughter of Adam passes through without that conversion, and none succeeds in bringing others to those gates by example without it. Those who enter do not serve the devil half the time, for that loses heaven entirely, but press on and through Christ get rid of all their sins because of what God has done through Christ to give the gift of eternal life. Whether a person will enter the courts of the Lord or be forbidden any part there is decided in the grand review going on now, and once within the gates they go no more out forever in freedom from all sins.
Entrance is gained by believing every word that has proceeded from the lips of Jesus Christ, recognizing divinity through Him and grasping that divinity, and pressing the good warfare and the battle to the gates. It is the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom gained by laboring faithfully, diligently doing the things that make calling and election sure, and fitting up now for future eternal life. It depends on practicing the things that keep from ever falling and holding fast by living faith in a living God. It depends on how a person stands today in righteousness and in truth, witnessing to God's truth no matter what others say, with robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb and no impurity of character, because impurity cannot be looked upon at last and the opened books will reveal who stood firmly to righteousness and truth, exalted God, and tried to win souls.
Those who enter are obedient to all His requirements and do not trample His commandments any more, but follow the Redeemer and follow on to know the Lord. They are sober and holy in all conduct as obedient children, not fashioning life after former lusts or fashions, watching unto prayer, while those who make wild moves of disobedience will not have the gates thrown open to them. Only the pure and undefiled enter, only those without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, with no unlovely traits of character and no impurity. Every soul that works on the right side then realizes what it means to be saved by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony, a salvation bought when Christ took the burden and sins of the whole world upon Himself in Gethsemane, fearing separation from His Father, sweating great drops of blood, and yielding to the Father's will with an angel strengthening Him.
Fitness for entrance is the higher education that comes from Christ, the religion of Christ and sanctification of the Spirit through close friendship and communion with God and working under the ministration of His Spirit. Youth must be taught how to learn of God, how to overcome unhappy temperaments, how to cling to the Mighty One, how to deny self and sacrifice own will and ways to the will and way of God, and how to obtain fitness for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Only those with the converting power of God upon them can pass safely through the perils of the last days and be overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony while following on to know the Lord. That preparation requires overcoming an impetuous temper and hasty words that mar others, being kind, patient, accommodating and pleasant, thinking evil of no one, praying more, talking less, searching the Scriptures, and resisting the devil until he flees, with angels raising a standard against the enemy for those who resist. It means having a little heaven here below, with sanctified lips speaking only kind, tender, courteous, encouraging words that create a heavenly atmosphere, refraining from words that disturb the heart and lead to despondency and gloom, stopping hasty temper, speaking kindness and helping those who need help, and washing hands in innocency with prayer as never before while all heaven watches the characters being formed.
Character must be formed in this life for a future immortal life in preparation for the society of the heavenly angels, to become members of the royal family above as children of the heavenly King. Keeping the truth means loving God with all the heart and soul and keeping His commandments, having truth in the inward parts that lives and increases in value day by day, apart from worldly education. Fathers and mothers must teach their children to love the Lord, not to pattern after worldly fashions, and to learn from Christ, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and holding them by prayer and godly life. Then parents with their children come up to the gate together, the parents look with joy as their children are accepted, and they enter together to gain a place in the kingdom together and rejoice together with crowns of gold on their brows and golden harps in their hands amid music and triumph. No soul is given entrance unless they overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
Entering there is the reward of working the good warfare and pressing the battle to the gates, seeking God with all the heart, resisting the devil, fighting in the armor of righteousness with heavenly angels ministering, gaining spiritual discernment, breaking with the enemy, living a life of prayer, and ceasing faultfinding and criticism of brethren. It comes as believers come into line, labor faithfully in neighboring towns and country districts, bear a decided message in the great cities, see fruit with truth going forth as a lamp that burneth, and move in harmony with God's opening providences in united labor as co-laborers with Christ for souls perishing in sin. Those who are faithful in the conflict and overcome at last will enter to give praise and thanksgiving and glory forever and to win the crown of life eternal, and the prospect of standing with the redeemed makes faithful use of means to win souls to Christ now urgent. Those who enter will be met by a flood of people testifying that their kind words, prayers, encouragement, tears, supplications, and efforts led them there to see the King in His beauty and to share the glad day when the redeemed inherit the kingdom and rejoice in Christ.
Reward Within the City
To enter in is heaven itself, life and eternal life in the kingdom of glory, when the gates of the city of God are thrown back on glittering hinges for the nations that have kept the truth. It is the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom and the eternal inheritance, the glad day when the redeemed inherit God's kingdom and rejoice in Christ. Those who keep God's laws enter to enjoy eternal peace and comfort, and those who repent, turn to God, and live in obedience to His commandments are welcomed into the holy city, the New Jerusalem, to receive eternal life and inherit all things. The redeemed raised at Christ's coming are made immortal and welcomed by Christ into the joy of their Lord. Those who helped bring others to salvation will share in that joy.
Inside, Jesus Himself leads the redeemed company to the gate, lays hold of it, swings it back on its glittering hinges, and bids the faithful nations enter into a city of rich glory everywhere to feast the eye. Christ welcomes them, blesses them, and gives them crowns of glory, with a crown placed on every brow and a golden harp placed in every hand, which they cast at His feet in worship and join in grateful praise. The saints stand radiant and receive eternal glory from Jesus, where sorrow and death and crying and pain are ended. Only the pure and undefiled enter, without spot or wrinkle or any unlovely trait of character, as overcomers. Christ acknowledges and blesses faithful soul-winning work with this reward, which far outweighs human opposition or earthly praise in this transient life, and there the saved will thank those whose kind words, tears, supplications, and earnest efforts led them to see the King in His beauty.
Those who remain faithful through the conflict and overcome enter to give praise to Christ and the Father, joining the song of triumph in the kingdom of glory. Their songs of praise and victory resound through the heavenly courts, with the glory of God revealed in them as from sanctified lips they sing the victor's song. Heaven's highest angel leads them in the song of redemption through Christ, singing in triumph the glory of God, while heaven's arches ring with the triumphant songs of the redeemed at the day of final awards. That praise and thanksgiving and glory continue forever.
Inside is Paradise restored as humanity's home, the Paradise home God's people seek, entered when Jesus opens the gates of His holy city. There eternal realities open before them and the hardships passed through on earth are not remembered. They receive the kingdom prepared for them, with right to the tree of life and right to the city to go no more out forever, seeing the King in His beauty. Adam, who lost Eden through disobedience, regains access to Eden and the tree of life through repentance and faithful obedience when the faithful dead are resurrected and the King of glory opens the city. There they face no tempting devil and run no more risks.
The overcomer's reward is the only true higher education, given only to those who stand temptation and overcome in this world. When the golden gates are thrown back on glittering hinges, the thoroughly converted who have been changed by beholding and follow on to know the Lord enter in to receive it. Those who enter are met by a flood of people testifying that their kind words, prayers, and encouragement led them there.
The gates of God's strong and holy city are commanded to open so that the faithful people who have kept the truth may enter in at last. That entrance takes place when Christ Himself comes as King of glory, raises the faithful dead immortal, changes the living saints, and leads the redeemed company into the city. The righteous nation welcomed there are those made righteous through grace, washed white in the blood of the Lamb, clothed in Christ's righteousness, and obedient to all of God's commandments from loving hearts. Only a thoroughly converted people can pass through those pearly gates, those who have overcome sin by beholding Christ, followed Him fully, and been fitted by communion with God, self-denial, and holy character formed in this life. Inside is eternal life in the kingdom of glory, where Christ crowns the overcomers, places harps in their hands, wipes away sorrow and death, and gives them right to the tree of life and the joy of their Lord forever.
Song and Strong City
The command to open the gates for the righteous nation that keeps the truth belongs to the song to be sung in the land of Judah in that day. That song proclaims a strong city, God's strong city and city of God, with salvation appointed for walls and bulwarks and with the Lord's salvation as its walls and defenses. Its gates are commanded to be opened so that the nation defined by keeping the truth may enter in, remaining faithful to truth and trust in God. That entrance is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, near the close of this earth's history, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God.
The song belongs to the day of earth's last great crisis. Amid deepening shadows God's light will shine brightest, and the song of hope and trust will be heard in clearest and loftiest strains. It is a song of assurance about the strong city, joining admission of the truth-keeping righteous people with God's salvation and protection. With it stands the promise that God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him, through everlasting trust in the Lord Jehovah as everlasting strength.
The same promise belonged to Judah's restoration after captivity, expressing the triumph and security God gives His faithful people. The verse belongs to a song of confidence in God's protection and power, in which true faith in Him brings assurance and peace to the humble and contrite. The opening of the gates shows God's covenant-keeping people entering in, and all the Lord's counsels to that people are faithfulness and truth. His discipline of His church is loving-kindness that narrowness of vision keeps from being discerned.
God weighs the path of the just, examining motives and conduct by His standard of justice. That standard is His holy and unchanging law, which requires wholehearted love for God and love for one's neighbor. Each person's character is tested against it, and the comparison determines the person's standing before God.
Gates Opened for Entry
The command is for the gates of God's strong city to be opened so that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. That city is the holy city and the New Jerusalem, whose walls and bulwarks are salvation appointed by God as protection around His people. Entrance through its opened gates is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God near the close of this earth's history. Access belongs only to those who remain faithful to truth and trust in God, for the verse is a song of confidence in His protection and power in which true faith brings assurance and peace to the humble and contrite.
The gates are thrown back on glittering hinges, described as pearly and golden gates, swung back for the nations that have kept the truth to enter in. To enter in is heaven itself, life and eternal life in the kingdom of glory, the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom and the eternal inheritance. That entrance follows working the good warfare and pressing the battle to the gates by recognizing divinity through Jesus Christ and grasping that divinity, believing every word from His lips, obeying all His requirements, and trampling His commandments no more. It is gained by laboring faithfully and diligently doing what makes calling and election sure, fitting up now for future immortal life.
The golden gates open only for a thoroughly converted people changed by beholding who follow on to know the Lord, and no son or daughter of Adam will pass through without this conversion. Those who enter are converted people in whom Christ abides, whom He bought with His own blood to bring to eternal life, including children brought up in nurture and admonition, and they do not serve the devil half the time, for whether a person will enter or be forbidden is decided in the grand review going on now. Only those who stand temptation and overcome will stand then and enter, receiving the overcomer's reward which is the only true higher education, with a crown on the brow and a harp in the hand while songs of praise and victory resound through the heavenly courts. The fulfillment comes soon for the faithful as they come into line, labor in neighboring towns and country districts and bear a decided message in the great cities in harmony with God's opening providences, and those who enter will be met by a flood of people testifying that kind words, prayers, and encouragement led them there.
Righteous Nation Identified
The righteous nation is the nations and peoples who have kept the truth, defined by remaining faithful to truth and by trust in God and by entering His covenant-keeping salvation. The gates of God's strong city, city of God, and holy city are opened for that righteous nation to enter in, with salvation appointed for walls and bulwarks. That entrance is the hope of God's people when the conflict is over, a coming rejoicing and meeting in the city of God near the close of this earth's history. Those who remain faithful through the conflict and overcome will enter and give praise to Christ and the Father, welcomed by Jesus into the heavenly city, with the gates pictured as swinging back on glittering hinges for the faithful to enter their eternal inheritance and the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Keeping the truth means willing obedience to all of God's commandments and laws. It means loving God with all the heart and soul and keeping His commandments, living by righteousness, with obedience showing love for Him. It means having truth in the inward parts, acknowledged from the Word, truth that lives and increases in value day by day. The faithful servants so identified enter to receive the tree of life and the riches of eternity, and they will see the King in His beauty.
Those who enter have washed their robes and been made white in the blood of the Lamb, with no impurity of character remaining. They stood firmly for truth and righteousness, exalted God, witnessed to His truth no matter what others said, and tried to win souls to the truth. They reflect Christ's character and have their names written in the Lamb's book of life, and their standing today in righteousness and in truth decides the transfer revealed when the judgment comes and the books are opened after the grand review when every case is decided. Persistent transgression cannot be allowed inside, because it would make another rebellion possible, and those once welcomed inside will never face a tempting devil again.
The entering nation is the sleeping saints raised in glorious immortality and the living saints changed in a moment and caught up together with them in the cloudy chariot to the Golden Holy City, when Jesus throws open the gates and leads them in. They are made welcome inside because they kept the commandments of God, honored His Sabbath, and shouted victory over the beast and over his image, and so have right to the tree of life. The welcome belongs to a people made righteous and faithful to the truth through receiving and practicing God's Word, through the pardon and removal of sins by grace, and through the wedding garment which is Christ's righteousness. In this same promise Adam, who lost Eden through disobedience, regains access to Eden and the tree of life through repentance and faithful obedience when the faithful dead are resurrected and the King of glory opens the city.
Fulfilled at Christ's Coming
The command is fulfilled when Christ appears and the King of glory Himself opens the city and leads the redeemed company in. He throws open the gates of the golden holy city, lays hold of the gate and swings it back on its glittering hinges, and bids the faithful nations enter. Inside He welcomes them, blesses them, and brings them into the joy of their Lord. The entrance comes after the resurrection and the end of the conflict, when the faithful dead are raised immortal. The sleeping saints are raised in glorious immortality and the living saints are changed in a moment and caught up together with them in the cloudy chariot to the city, made immortal at Christ's coming.
The entrance comes at the day of final awards and transfer after the grand review when every case is decided. As righteous Judge of all the earth God then sifts the nations, and when the judgment comes and the books are opened it is revealed who stood firmly to righteousness and truth, exalted God, and sought to win souls to the truth. Only nations fulfilling the divine purpose are permitted to enter, while nations that in arrogance and pride array themselves against God and fail of His purpose are brought down, shut out, and forbidden any part there. Whether a person will enter the courts of the Lord or be forbidden entrance is decided in the review going on now, and depends on how he stands today in righteousness and truth.
At entrance a crown is placed on every head and a harp in the hand. The saints receive their named crowns from Jesus with crowns of gold and of glory placed on their brows and golden harps placed in their hands, amid music and rejoicing and triumph, and join in grateful praise with songs of victory resounding through the heavenly courts. Then they hear the invitation to the obedient who keep His commandments and do His will: Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Only those who stand temptation and overcome in this world by practicing what keeps from ever falling and holding fast by living faith will stand then and enter.
Those who enter receive the kingdom prepared for them and enter Paradise restored as humanity's home. The gates open and the peoples that have kept the truth enter through the gates into the city, into God's kingdom and its joy. There eternal realities open before them and the hardships passed through on earth are not remembered. They enter into the joy of their Lord and receive the promised glory.
Character Fitted for Entrance
The golden gates open only for a thoroughly converted people, changed by beholding and following on to know the Lord, in whom Christ abides and whom He bought with His own blood to bring to eternal life in the heavenly courts. No son or daughter of Adam passes through without that conversion, and none succeeds in bringing others to those gates by example without it. Those who enter do not serve the devil half the time, for that loses heaven entirely, but press on and through Christ get rid of all their sins because of what God has done through Christ to give the gift of eternal life. Whether a person will enter the courts of the Lord or be forbidden any part there is decided in the grand review going on now, and once within the gates they go no more out forever in freedom from all sins.
Entrance is gained by believing every word that has proceeded from the lips of Jesus Christ, recognizing divinity through Him and grasping that divinity, and pressing the good warfare and the battle to the gates. It is the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom gained by laboring faithfully, diligently doing the things that make calling and election sure, and fitting up now for future eternal life. It depends on practicing the things that keep from ever falling and holding fast by living faith in a living God. It depends on how a person stands today in righteousness and in truth, witnessing to God's truth no matter what others say, with robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb and no impurity of character, because impurity cannot be looked upon at last and the opened books will reveal who stood firmly to righteousness and truth, exalted God, and tried to win souls.
Those who enter are obedient to all His requirements and do not trample His commandments any more, but follow the Redeemer and follow on to know the Lord. They are sober and holy in all conduct as obedient children, not fashioning life after former lusts or fashions, watching unto prayer, while those who make wild moves of disobedience will not have the gates thrown open to them. Only the pure and undefiled enter, only those without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, with no unlovely traits of character and no impurity. Every soul that works on the right side then realizes what it means to be saved by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony, a salvation bought when Christ took the burden and sins of the whole world upon Himself in Gethsemane, fearing separation from His Father, sweating great drops of blood, and yielding to the Father's will with an angel strengthening Him.
Fitness for entrance is the higher education that comes from Christ, the religion of Christ and sanctification of the Spirit through close friendship and communion with God and working under the ministration of His Spirit. Youth must be taught how to learn of God, how to overcome unhappy temperaments, how to cling to the Mighty One, how to deny self and sacrifice own will and ways to the will and way of God, and how to obtain fitness for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Only those with the converting power of God upon them can pass safely through the perils of the last days and be overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony while following on to know the Lord. That preparation requires overcoming an impetuous temper and hasty words that mar others, being kind, patient, accommodating and pleasant, thinking evil of no one, praying more, talking less, searching the Scriptures, and resisting the devil until he flees, with angels raising a standard against the enemy for those who resist. It means having a little heaven here below, with sanctified lips speaking only kind, tender, courteous, encouraging words that create a heavenly atmosphere, refraining from words that disturb the heart and lead to despondency and gloom, stopping hasty temper, speaking kindness and helping those who need help, and washing hands in innocency with prayer as never before while all heaven watches the characters being formed.
Character must be formed in this life for a future immortal life in preparation for the society of the heavenly angels, to become members of the royal family above as children of the heavenly King. Keeping the truth means loving God with all the heart and soul and keeping His commandments, having truth in the inward parts that lives and increases in value day by day, apart from worldly education. Fathers and mothers must teach their children to love the Lord, not to pattern after worldly fashions, and to learn from Christ, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and holding them by prayer and godly life. Then parents with their children come up to the gate together, the parents look with joy as their children are accepted, and they enter together to gain a place in the kingdom together and rejoice together with crowns of gold on their brows and golden harps in their hands amid music and triumph. No soul is given entrance unless they overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
Entering there is the reward of working the good warfare and pressing the battle to the gates, seeking God with all the heart, resisting the devil, fighting in the armor of righteousness with heavenly angels ministering, gaining spiritual discernment, breaking with the enemy, living a life of prayer, and ceasing faultfinding and criticism of brethren. It comes as believers come into line, labor faithfully in neighboring towns and country districts, bear a decided message in the great cities, see fruit with truth going forth as a lamp that burneth, and move in harmony with God's opening providences in united labor as co-laborers with Christ for souls perishing in sin. Those who are faithful in the conflict and overcome at last will enter to give praise and thanksgiving and glory forever and to win the crown of life eternal, and the prospect of standing with the redeemed makes faithful use of means to win souls to Christ now urgent. Those who enter will be met by a flood of people testifying that their kind words, prayers, encouragement, tears, supplications, and efforts led them there to see the King in His beauty and to share the glad day when the redeemed inherit the kingdom and rejoice in Christ.
Reward Within the City
To enter in is heaven itself, life and eternal life in the kingdom of glory, when the gates of the city of God are thrown back on glittering hinges for the nations that have kept the truth. It is the abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom and the eternal inheritance, the glad day when the redeemed inherit God's kingdom and rejoice in Christ. Those who keep God's laws enter to enjoy eternal peace and comfort, and those who repent, turn to God, and live in obedience to His commandments are welcomed into the holy city, the New Jerusalem, to receive eternal life and inherit all things. The redeemed raised at Christ's coming are made immortal and welcomed by Christ into the joy of their Lord. Those who helped bring others to salvation will share in that joy.
Inside, Jesus Himself leads the redeemed company to the gate, lays hold of it, swings it back on its glittering hinges, and bids the faithful nations enter into a city of rich glory everywhere to feast the eye. Christ welcomes them, blesses them, and gives them crowns of glory, with a crown placed on every brow and a golden harp placed in every hand, which they cast at His feet in worship and join in grateful praise. The saints stand radiant and receive eternal glory from Jesus, where sorrow and death and crying and pain are ended. Only the pure and undefiled enter, without spot or wrinkle or any unlovely trait of character, as overcomers. Christ acknowledges and blesses faithful soul-winning work with this reward, which far outweighs human opposition or earthly praise in this transient life, and there the saved will thank those whose kind words, tears, supplications, and earnest efforts led them to see the King in His beauty.
Those who remain faithful through the conflict and overcome enter to give praise to Christ and the Father, joining the song of triumph in the kingdom of glory. Their songs of praise and victory resound through the heavenly courts, with the glory of God revealed in them as from sanctified lips they sing the victor's song. Heaven's highest angel leads them in the song of redemption through Christ, singing in triumph the glory of God, while heaven's arches ring with the triumphant songs of the redeemed at the day of final awards. That praise and thanksgiving and glory continue forever.
Inside is Paradise restored as humanity's home, the Paradise home God's people seek, entered when Jesus opens the gates of His holy city. There eternal realities open before them and the hardships passed through on earth are not remembered. They receive the kingdom prepared for them, with right to the tree of life and right to the city to go no more out forever, seeing the King in His beauty. Adam, who lost Eden through disobedience, regains access to Eden and the tree of life through repentance and faithful obedience when the faithful dead are resurrected and the King of glory opens the city. There they face no tempting devil and run no more risks.
The overcomer's reward is the only true higher education, given only to those who stand temptation and overcome in this world. When the golden gates are thrown back on glittering hinges, the thoroughly converted who have been changed by beholding and follow on to know the Lord enter in to receive it. Those who enter are met by a flood of people testifying that their kind words, prayers, and encouragement led them there.