“Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
“They have washed their robes...” Revelation 7:14
The people in heaven are all people who needed to be washed. All of them came to a place where they understood that they need to be washed. But John sees the people of God, dressed in white robes—pure white. The robes speak of purity. There isn’t a hint of stain on any of these people.
This is a picture of what Christ will do for our souls. Our souls get stained and soiled in this world because of our many sins. Sinful thoughts and sinful deeds bring great blots on the soul. They make you feel like you don’t belong in the presence of God, “It’s hard for me to see myself in heaven. I know my own heart.” We know we need to be washed, but how does that happen?
No one is made perfect through pain
“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” Revelation 7:14
Some people think suffering makes you holy. But suffering, in itself, does not make you holy—it can bring out the best in us, or it can bring out the worst in us—hidden sins and secret resentments. No one is made perfect through pain.
They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. When He hung on that cross, His blood was shed, and when a person comes to Christ, in repentance and faith, the shed blood is applied to that person to make him or her clean.
Blood usually makes horrible stains, but this blood takes our stains away!
The white robes are a wonderful picture of the purity that will be yours in heaven. The guilt of sin is removed from you now. When your sin is confessed to God and placed under the blood of Christ, its guilt is gone—as far as God is concerned.
The power of sin is broken for you now. That means there is no sin or temptation that you cannot overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit this week. But in this life, the presence of sin remains. You don’t need to be a Christian for long; you do not need to know yourself terribly well to know that sin’s presence remains in us throughout our lifetimes.
Who does the washing?
“They have washed their robes.” Revelation 7:14
Obviously it is Christ who washes the soul, and the Bible speaks about that in many places. But here we are told something else that we need to hear: “They have washed their robes.” Everyone in heaven has done something about their condition. They saw that they needed to be washed. They realized that, even at their best, their attempts at righteousness were like dirty rags.
Everyone in heaven believed that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and they came to Him in repentance and faith, “Wash me and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). Is this something that you have done? At this point, you must be clear. If not, I plead with you to make it clear by coming to Jesus Christ today.
Have you come to the place of seeing your need of a Savior? Have you come to believe that Christ is the Savior you need, and have you come to Him in faith and repentance, asking Him to wash you and cleanse you?
Is there evidence of this in your life today? Are you pursuing a life of holiness today? That’s the evidence that you belong to Jesus. Without that, what right do you have to claim that you are His? If there’s no evidence in your life today that you belong to Jesus, don’t be passive. Others are washing their robes in His blood. Why not you?
This LifeKey is based on the message (Feb 26, 2012) called: “Heaven,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, from the series, “The Inside Story of Your Future Life.”'
Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
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