Revelation: White Garments

 Revelation: Justification by Faith

White Garments

Revelation 3:4-6 (ESV)
4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

It may be striking, especially to a Protestant ear, to hear that white garments will still be given later in connection with justification or judgment.

Jesus speaks here about the book of life. In this book, every name that will live forever is written, and from it, a judgment will be made. Jesus also speaks of how He will confess the names of Sardis before His Father and His angels—not just before the Father, but also before the angels.

Thus, He pleads as our Redeemer before both the Father and the angels concerning judgment.

The white garments here do not symbolize sanctification, as clothing that can become dirty, but rather a certain forgiveness of sin—something more legal and judicial, as the context indicates.

When we place our faith in Jesus, we are justified and forgiven in the eyes of God. However, there will still be a kind of sealing, where every name will be brought up in judgment, and every case will be judged.

The Father already knows everything, but there must also be clarity for the angels. God is exceedingly clear in all His judgments and ways and makes them as evident as possible.

Thus, white garments of redemption and righteousness are still promised for a later judgment.

Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

How, then, shall we be written in this book of life?

When Israel sinned, God said to Moses:

Exodus 32:33-34 (ESV)
33 But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

Those who have sinned may expect condemnation. Moses, a mere man, wanted to die for the people of Israel. But he could not die in their place. Each person had to give an account to God for themselves.

A created being cannot take the place of another created being. Only God Himself can take responsibility for our sins as our Creator. He alone can stand in our place. That is why He was blotted out of that book, but the cost was sufficient to raise Him up again.

Isaiah 53:8 (ESV)
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?

Now Jesus Himself can save us. He stands in heaven to apply His blood as a perfect argument for our names. He is not ashamed to call us brothers, to redeem us in this way. He pleads for every name that believes, to be written in the book.

And when that judgment comes, we should not worry about what God thinks of us, but about Jesus, our Advocate.