I have a question about a few verses in Revelation….specifically Rev 21:27 & Rev 22:15. The first verse follows a description of the new Jerusalem & it mentions that nothing evil will be allowed to enter, no idolators, etc. I guess I thought there would be no evil after the millennium. The second verse describes the people who are not allowed to enter the city…again they are described as immoral, murderers & sorcerers. I thought these types would be condemned at this point & cast into the lake of fire. Can you provide some clarification on my confusion?
These two verses are among the clues that tell us Rev. 21-22 are primarily about the Millennium, and not eternity. Once you realize that Rev. 20:7-15 is essentially a parenthetical insert that allowed John to bring his explanation of the destiny of Satan and the unbelieving world to its conclusion, the last three chapters of Revelation make more sense. The truth is, once we leave in the rapture the Church will never live on Earth again. We will be involved with the Lord in ruling and reigning on Earth but our home will be in the New Jerusalem.
Another clue that this is the case is in Rev. 21:1. The phrase “new heaven and new earth” is a direct quote from Isaiah 65:17 where the context is clearly the Millennium, and still another is in Rev. 22:1-2 where the description of the tree of life is a summary of Ezekiel 47:1-12, another Millennial passage. These verses show us that after describing Satan’s doom in Rev. 20:7-10 and the judgment of unbelievers in Rev. 20:11-15, John went back to the beginning of the Millennium to describe the New Jerusalem, home of the Church, descending from heaven in Rev. 21 and the River of Life on Earth in the opening verses of Rev. 22.
As you pointed out Rev. 21:27 and Rev. 22:15 cannot possibly be about eternity because such behavior will no longer occur after the Millennium ends.
Remember, the Bible is about the Age of Man, which will end with the Millennium. The only thing it mentions about eternity is that there will be one.