Word of Encouragement (11/10/2021)

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9-10).

What a glorious vision! This is our future. We will stand before the throne of God and the Lamb as a great multitude, too many to count. God’s elect from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue will be gathered as a holy and glorious assembly. This is in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham: “...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3); “...in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:18); “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.... So shall your offspring be” (Gen. 15:5). These are not Abraham’s offspring according to the flesh but according to the promise of God. Regarding this, Paul says,

“He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Rom. 4:11-12).

Even though we were once Gentiles in the flesh, we are made Abraham’s offspring by the grace of God through the principle of faith. Indeed, through our union with Christ, we are made God’s beloved children and fellow heirs with Christ! God is faithful to His word and He will not break any of His good promises to His people!

We will be clothed in white robes. When John asks one of the twenty-four elders who these people are, he says, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14). These white robes were mentioned in 3:5 in Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments.” We also saw these white robes in Ch. 6: the souls, who were slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne, were given white robes. What do these verses have in common? These white robes are given to those, who held on to their faith till the end, even to death. The color of these robes represents purity. But this purity does not refer to the perfection of our own goodness or righteousness. They are washed white in the blood of the Lamb. This purity is, then, not the purity of their works but of their faith. But that is not to say that our faith is pure. If it can be counted pure, it is only because our faith is in the Lamb, whose righteousness is pure.

How wonderful it would be to receive the white robe from our Lord! The white robe is a sign of God’s approval. But these white robes are not about how much we have done for the Lord. (God will reward us according to what we have done in another way.) They are ultimately about holding on to Christ by faith till the end, never letting go. In the end, that’s all that really matters, isn’t it? Thomas Adams said, “Our heavenly King is pleased with all our graces: hot zeal and cool patience pleaseth Him; cheerful thankfulness and weeping repentance pleaseth Him; but none of them are welcome to Him without faith, as nothing can please Him without Christ.” I know you trust Christ for your eternal salvation. If you can trust Him for your eternal life, you can trust Him for your life—for today and tomorrow, in sickness and health, in life and death—right? And as we begin this day, would you ask Him to help you trust Him to do what is right in His eyes whatever the cost?