. . . he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:14
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 12:11
These two verses have troubled a number of you since I began the Gems on these verses. Clearly there are some who don’t feel I have made the answer to your questions clear enough yet. A good teacher will explain things a number of ways to ensure the clarity of understanding. I have always planned to do this and to thoroughly cover the meaning of these concepts, but I planned to do it at this point in proceedings. I find it fascinating that it occurs in Gem 2300. It somehow feels appropriate.
When we think beneath the surface of Scripture there are times that lead to confusion given the words used. How are we supposed to figure out the meaning of washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb and making them white? As I told you in Gem 2263, it is all rather enigmatic, a puzzle to say the least, even for those familiar with the Bible, let alone those unfamiliar with biblical language.
Waiting for the Bus
We all have to realise these words are a metaphor or a word picture which sums up a deep biblical truth which runs through the Bible. John, the writer of Revelation, made the concept clear in his Gospel:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29
Isaiah explained for us Who it is who makes sins white as snow.
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18
As I explained in Gem 2263, this exchange doesn’t happen on earth; it happens in heaven. It is not we who make our sins white nor our robes white. We do not have that ability. It’s God who performs the transformation on the basis of our acceptance of the fact that we can’t do anything to change our current state. We depend on Him to do it for us. Our part is to accept His free gift of forgiveness and cleansing.
When examining Revelation 7:9-17 I listed a number of things clearly for you in that first paragraph under the passage in focus in Gem 2263. Then I opened the next paragraph with: I wish to guide you through the steps to help us understand this enigmatic statement only to return to our question at the end. The end I had in mind was this end point, at the end of the seven Gems it took me to cover what needed to be covered. Now is the time to return to the question at hand.
It is interesting to note (as I stated in Gem 2263), that no angel sings the Salvation song in Revelation 7. A translator friend of mine, Ellis Deibler, wrote a majestic song called I Heard the Angels Sing. You can read through the link to the lyrics of his song in Gem 1742. His fourth verse reads as follows:
- But angels held their breath when God created people
- Seeing them turn their back on such a God of love
- They wished that we would join them praising God the Father
- Singing in God’s choir up above.
Friends, angels don’t sing the Salvation Song. They don’t know what being separated from God feels like, with the exception of the fallen angels of course. Hence my comment in Gem 2263, no angel sings the Salvation hymn. “The angels are not singing, those blessed with salvation are singing. I suspect as before (Rev 5:9), the 24 elders and the four living creatures are singing along with the redeemed because they represent them. They know what it means to be redeemed; angels don’t. The Redeemed know their salvation comes from God and from the Lamb. Together they sing, ““Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever!’ Why? Because He has saved this multitude and not lost one He has marked for salvation.”
They washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the Lamb – an allusion to Ex 19:10,14. The washing is part of the ritual purification required after the shedding of blood.
Then the LORD told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. . . So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.
Exodus 19:10, 14
The early Christians regarded their frequent experience of persecution and opposition (Rev 1:9, 2:9-10) as part of the eschatological period of tribulation yet to occur at the end of time. The blood of the Lamb is a metonymy1 for the death of Christ and the atonement involved in the death of Christ. It is the blood which makes atonement leading to zoe (eternal life) which results from the resurrection of Christ from the dead; the first fruits of all who belong to Him and will follow. This is the entry point to [zoe] ‘the life of the age to come’.
1Metonymy is a figure of speech where one named thing stands for another attribute or closely related thing or concept. In this case the blood represents the sacrifice of Christ, as well as the washing. But linked to both the washing and victory (overcoming) is the resurrection and resultant everlasting life. It is all wrapped up in the one packaged concept, as complicated or as simple as it may seem.
An extremely close parallel is found in Revelation 22:14 in the context of the blessing pronounced on those who wash their robes.
Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.
Revelation 22:14
Ah, at which point we return to the quality of life at creation and enter into life as God originally intended it. But there is more. Of course there is more, with God there always is. Prof Brown taught me that.
Do you notice the similarity between Ezekiel 37 and Revelation 7?
Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
. . . This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 37:3-6, 12-13
Compare that with what is written in Revelation 7 immediately after the salvation hymn the Redeemed sing:
Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:13-17
Do you notice this end portion comes from Revelation 22:14 + 17
This amazes me for one reason. I know Dominggus Kenjam’s situation after lying in his earthly body for five and a half hours losing blood, brain and spinal fluid. Can anyone face a more desperate situation physically? Well yes, they can! Surely, we would all baulk at the notion of God bringing back to life dead dry bones!
- Can these bones become living people again?
- Can this Indonesian young man, Domi, live again?
- O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again.
- Whole nations can be affected, not just individuals; ask the Rwandans.
Now I have just one more concept to lay on you.
The Robe of Righteousness
I am covered over with the Robe of Righteousness
That Jesus gives to me, gives to me;
I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus
And He lives in me, He lives in me,
Oh what joy it is to know my heavenly Father loves me so,
He gives to me, my Jesus,
When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be,
But He sees Jesus, Jesus.
This simple song we sang back in the 1970’s when I was first a Christian sums it up well. Jesus is referred to as the Righteousness of God.
But now, apart from the Law, God’s righteousness is revealed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets—God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah—for all who believe. For there is no distinction among people, since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory. By his grace they are justified freely through the redemption that is in the Messiah Jesus . . .
Romans 3:21-24
That is why Paul talks about us putting on the Breastplate of Righteousness as part of our spiritual armour in Ephesians 6:
Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and being firm-footed in the gospel of peace. In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one, also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17
Precious friends, don’t misunderstand. The breastplate of righteousness has nothing to do with your righteousness, no matter how long you have been a Christian. Don’t think for a moment you can appeal to how righteous you are, nor can you appeal to the level at which you are rightly living according to God’s requirements. Our righteousness is like filthy rags in heaven. [Isaiah 64:6]
The only thing that counts according to the song I quoted above is:
I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus and He lives in me. When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be, but He sees Jesus’ righteousness with which He has covered me.
Dahlia McKitty
That is why Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of the World, There is no other.
Ian
There is no other way to deal with the sin problem and no other god can raise their followers from the dead other than God who gave them their first breath.
Ian
Confess your sins in order to find forgiveness and then forgive others no matter what they have done to you and God will do the rest.
Ian
If you want proof just read Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza or visit Rwanda to see the transformation of a nation for yourself. Better yet, try it for yourself.
Ian