Who will be in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Yeshua Messiah tells us in Rev 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
What commandments is He referring to?
We are told in Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.
Why is it important to keep the commands?
Yeshua Messiah, tells us in various places, like John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
We do not keep commands to “EARN” salvation.
We keep commands because of our salvation.
If we want to be in His kingdom, we have to love our Messiah.
He tells us how we are to do that:
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
We don’t get to be in His Kingdom if we do not love Him.
We also don’t get to be in His Kingdom if we make up our own way of loving Him. We must love Him as He says to.
In fact, He states this very clearly in Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
How do we love HIM?
He tells us a third time in John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
It sure would be nice if scripture gave us an easy way of sorting all of this out…
It does.
Really?
Yes.
1John 2:3-6
3 Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— 6 whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.
Did you notice that is a New Testament scripture?
Did you notice this was written after Messiah’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension?