By Faith Alone.
It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. – Revelation 19:8 NASB
Read again Rev 19:1-9 c.f. John 14:1-3
Oppressive Babylon is gone, the cry of “How long, O Lord,” is answered. The suffering from Abel to the end is vindicated. Revelation assures God’s people that evil, oppression, and suffering will come to an end. It is now time for Christ to usher in His everlasting kingdom. The remaining chapters of Revelation describe not just the destruction of end-time Babylon, but also the destruction of Satan and all evil. We get glimpses, too, of the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom.
In describing the marriage, John goes through the order of a Hebrew wedding: The bridegroom goes to the bride’s house and pays her dowry. He then returns to His father’s house to prepare a place for her. Meanwhile the bride stays in her father’s house and prepares herself for the wedding. When both the bride and the place are ready, the bridegroom will come and get His bride. The bridegroom will then take His bride to His Father’s house for the wedding.
2000 years ago, Christ left His heavenly home with an invitation to a wedding supper (Matt. 22:1-14) that will take place after His marriage to His bride. The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, called also ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife’.
In the parable of Matthew 22 the judgment that takes place before the second coming is clearly represented in this parable as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb V:11. After His death and resurrection, the Bridegroom returned to His Father’s house to “prepare a place” for His people, His wedding guests (John 14:1-3). They remain on earth preparing for His return. At the end of the world, He will come back and take them to His Father’s house.
Revelation 19:8 states that the fine and clean linen was given to the bride by Christ. This apparel shows that the wedding guests who enter the city do not claim any merit for their deeds. Thus, the “fine linen, clean and bright” represents “the righteous acts of the saints”, acts that came because of their union with Christ, who lives in them. Thus, these robes symbolize His righteousness and that His people “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). While on earth, Jesus told a parable about a wedding. However, one of the guests preferred to wear his own attire instead of the wedding garment provided by the king, and he was expelled from the wedding (Matt. 22:1–14).
Revelation 3:18 shows that the robe of Christ’s righteousness, the gold of faith and love, and the eye salve of the Holy Spirit are the greatest needs of God’s people living at the time of the end. Jesus’ offer that the Laodiceans “buy” these gifts from Him shows us that He asks for something in exchange for what He offers us. We give up self-sufficiency and trust in ourselves, in exchange for a life of faithful obedience to Christ and trust in Him as our only hope of salvation.
We indeed are saved by works – not ours, but His! We are saved by faith alone but the faith that saves is never alone. While it is true that no one will be saved by good works, it is also true that no one will be saved without them. If we have accepted Jesus into our lives then we have made the exchange at the cross, where His perfection is credited to us and our sin is credited to Him, and He pays the penalty for it – He dies in our place! His life becomes ours and our death becomes His. He was condemned for our sins in which He had no share so that we could be justified by His righteous in which we have no share.
This is the exchange offered at the cross. It is entirely a gift! When you have made that exchange you are covered with his perfect righteousness – the wedding garment – and you are ready for entry into the wedding. Do we deserve it – no! but we are saved by grace through faith. Take the time to read one of the mightiest passage in all of scripture – Romans 3:18 – 31. It is like a crescendo in a wonderful symphony.
You’ve made it very clear Pastor, about the wedding garment, and the need to appropriate it by faith, and keep it on. The one who wears it will do the good works they were created for
🙂