Why in Revelation 22:15, after the passage about the New Jerusalem, do we read "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood"? Where did these people come from? I thought they were destroyed in Revelation 21:8 - the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Is it possible that these people will still be in existence after the tribulation? -- Brandon
You are perceptive. Indeed, the end of Revelation is only indirecly talking about heaven. This part of Revelation refers to the state of the church triumphant as it has been delivered from the persecutor (the Roman Empire). The fact that this is not heaven itself is proved by the presence of the unconverted.
For more, please hear my audio series Revelation & the End of the World.
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