Revelation 22:15
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The final indictment isn't just about committing sins, but about a deep-seated love for falsehood—a heart that actively embraces and practices deceit, making it the ultimate disqualifier from God's perfect city. This isn't just about outward actions, but an internal disposition that actively rejects truth.
This verse concludes the descriptions of who will and will not enter the New Jerusalem, directly following warnings against adding to or subtracting from God's word. It echoes a list from Revelation 21, reiterating that all who practice specific sins and delight in falsehood are excluded from God's presence and eternal city. The list serves as a stark reminder that obedience and truthfulness are essential to fellowship with God.
The imagery of 'dogs' outside the city might seem strange to us. What did this word really communicate to the original readers?
When John calls people 'dogs' outside the New Jerusalem, he's using a loaded term.
Unclean and Unwanted
In ancient Near Eastern culture, dogs were often seen as scavengers – unclean, wild, and scavenging the streets or fields. They weren't the beloved pets we know today. Their presence outside city walls, especially at night, was a sign of impurity and danger.
Fierce and Foul
These weren't just stray animals; they were symbols of the vile, the impure, and those who were utterly unwanted and excluded. The term 'dogs' was used in Scripture to describe enemies and the deeply depraved. It’s a stark image of exclusion, marking those who have no place in God's holy city.
The verse lists specific sins, but ends with a broader category. What's the difference between 'doing' a lie and 'loving' one?
Revelation 22:15 doesn't just list outward actions; it touches on the heart's disposition.
Actions and Affections
The list includes explicit sins like murder and idolatry. But the final phrase, 'everyone who loves and practices falsehood,' goes deeper. It points not just to the act of lying or deception, but to a genuine affection for it.
A Heart for Deceit
To 'love falsehood' means that untruth, deception, and error are not just occasional mistakes but are genuinely appealing and chosen. This isn't about someone who tripped up; it's about someone whose heart finds satisfaction and delight in what is false. This deeply ingrained preference for untruth is what marks them as being 'outside'.
Understand the original words
kyōn · Greek Noun
In biblical imagery, those who are morally vile, ritually impure, or apostates who have excluded themselves from the covenant community.
pharmakos · Greek Noun
Those who practice occult arts, witchcraft, or use spells, standing in direct opposition to reliance upon the true God.
pornos · Greek Noun
Those who engage in sexual acts outside of the marriage covenant established by God, violating the sanctity of the body.
eidōlolatrēs · Greek Noun
Those who put their trust in created things or concepts rather than the Creator, effectively committing spiritual adultery against God.
This verse directly parallels Revelation 22:15 by listing similar sins as those excluded from the New Jerusalem, reinforcing the idea that unrighteousness has no place in God's presence.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10Paul lists various behaviors, including sexual immorality, idolatry, and falsehood, that will prevent people from inheriting the kingdom of God, echoing the exclusion mentioned in Revelation.
Galatians 5:19-21This passage details 'acts of the flesh' which are similar to the sins listed in Revelation 22:15, warning that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
John 8:44Jesus describes the devil as 'a murderer from the beginning' and 'a father of lies,' directly linking the practice of falsehood and violence with evil, which aligns with their exclusion from God's city.
Proverbs 12:22This proverb states that 'the Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who are trustworthy,' highlighting God's inherent opposition to falsehood and His favor towards truthfulness.
ellicottRevelation 22:15: "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
(15) For without are dogs and sorcerers . . . —Better, Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolators, and every one loving and doing falsehood. The language is again an echo of earlier words. (See Revelation 21:8 .) The allusion to the dogs outside the city is hardly appreciated by Westerns. In the Ea…
barnesRevelation 22:15: "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
For without are dogs - The wicked, the depraved, the vile: for of such characters the dogs, an unclean animal among the Jews, was regarded as a symbol, Deuteronomy 23:18 . On the meaning of the expression, see the notes on Philippians 3:2 . The word "without" means that they would not be admitted into the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:…
The final indictment isn't just about committing sins, but about a deep-seated love for falsehood—a heart that actively embraces and practices deceit, making it the ultimate disqualifier from God's perfect city. This isn't just about outward actions, but an internal disposition that actively rejects truth.
This verse concludes the descriptions of who will and will not enter the New Jerusalem, directly following warnings against adding to or subtracting from God's word. It echoes a list from Revelation 21, reiterating that all who practice specific sins and delight in falsehood are excluded from God's presence and eternal city. The list serves as a stark reminder that obedience and truthfulness are essential to fellowship with God.
This verse concludes the descriptions of who will and will not enter the New Jerusalem, directly following warnings against adding to or subtracting from God's word. It echoes a list from Revelation 21, reiterating that all who practice specific sins and delight in falsehood are excluded from God's presence and eternal city. The list serves as a stark reminder that obedience and truthfulness are essential to fellowship with God.
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pseudos · Greek Noun
Any deviation from the truth of God; a lie or deception that opposes God, who is Truth Himself.
"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." — The final indictment isn't just about committing sins, but about a deep-seated love for falsehood—a heart that actively embraces and practices deceit, making it the ultimate disqualifier from God's…
