Washing Our Robe
Washing Our Robe
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And 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 7:13,14)
What does it mean to wash our robe and make it white in the blood of the Lamb? How do we do that?
In the time in which we live, the Spirit of God is pointing out the sins of us Christians. The sins of worldliness, the sins of lust and other appetites, and the sins of disobedience to Christ.
If I am correct, God has a great revival in mind, and the Christian people need to wash their priestly robes in the blood of the Lamb that God may be pleased to work with them.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)
This may be the same witness symbolized by the two witnesses of Revelation, Chapter Eleven. If it is, then the two witnesses are Christ bearing witness along with His victorious saints. Remember, the Father, though invisible, was bearing witness along with Christ.
When the Spirit points out to us a sin of worldliness, or fleshly appetites, or self-will, we are to confess the sin clearly to Christ. Then we are to tell the Lord that by His help we never again will behave in that sinful manner, no, not for eternity. Our confession and repentance is an eternal judgment of Satan.
One great problem today is that the Gospel of the Kingdom is not being preached. We are supposed to be preaching the Good News of the coming of God to the earth, and the righteous behavior that is the fundamental nature of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Instead, we are preaching the Gospel of Heaven. That is, Christ has saved us so we can live in Heaven for eternity. This belief is based on an archaic translation of John 14:2. Actually, Jesus is not referring, in John 14:2, to "mansions in Heaven" but to places of abiding in Himself. He Himself is the Father's House.
There is no scriptural basis, according to my understanding, that support the teaching that Heaven is God's house. Do you know of any passage of Scripture that states Heaven is the house of God? The Scripture states, rather, that Christ and His Body are the eternal House of God. There are many dwelling places in Christ, aren't there? Many rooms in which the saints can dwell.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Does the passage above sound like Heaven is the house of God, or the Christian Church, with Christ as the Head, is the eternal House of God? What do you think about that?
If I am correct, then we do not wait to die to go to the House of God. Rather, we are being made the House of God. If this is true, it is not a question of our going anywhere but of adjustments being made in us.
The reason we must wash our robe is that we are God's priests, the Royal Priesthood. We are the House of God and also the priests of God.
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2:5)
Notice that the great multitude who come out of the Great Tribulation and serve God night and day in the white robes of the priesthood have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of [the] great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. (Revelation 7:14,15)
Do you notice any mansions in the above passage?
If our goal were to find rest in Heaven in a mansion, then we might not see any need to confess and turn away from our sins. But because we are being made the house of God and serve God in His Temple, it is obvious that we must keep our priestly garments spotless.
If we are to be witnesses of Christ during the last great revival that is on the horizon, then we must be a righteous, holy person sternly obedient to Christ. Such righteousness, holiness, and obedience are utterly necessary. A believer who is obeying the lusts of his or her sinful nature is not a true representative of the God of Heaven.
For us to come into an intimate relationship with Christ so He can find rest in us, we must be holy as He is holy. Do you remember what Christ said to the angel of the Church in Ephesus? He rebuked the believers because they were in love with their religion and its activities rather than in love with Christ, their original love.
We of today must return to a passionate desire for fellowship with God and Christ. We must seek Their Presence more than anything else in our life. In fact, we must invite the Lord Jesus continually into every aspect of our life. He continually is knocking. We continually must be opening the door of our personality to Him that we may dine on His body and blood.
Christ will not become our life, as He was the Life of the Apostle Paul, until we put away our worldliness, carnal appetites, and self-seeking. The teaching of today that we are saved by grace to go to Heaven no matter how we behave will never be accepted by the God of Heaven.
If we are to participate in the unprecedented revival of God's Spirit that is on the horizon we absolutely must continually confess and renounce our sins, thus washing our priestly garments in the blood of the Lamb.
There are two momentous aspects of the Divine redemption that call for such cleansing of the Christian believers of our day.
First, we must remember that the original Divine fiat was that man be made in the image of God. Of course, that means in moral character, and ultimately in bodily appearance—in God's image and in His likeness.
Is there any suggestion in the Divine fiat that God created man to live eternally in Heaven in a mansion? I don't think so!
If I am not mistaken, all of the prior events of history have taken place in order to bring us to the place where through the Glory of Christ we can be made in God's image. This means that we must be cleansed of our love of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and our pride that causes us to seek our own way rather than to look to Jesus for everything we think, say, and do.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (I John 2:15,16)
How can we bring the last great witness to the world if we ourselves are bound with the filthiness of the flesh and spirit?
The second momentous aspect of the Divine witness has to do with the Day of Atonement, the sixth of the seven feasts of the Lord. It may be recalled that it was on the sixth day of creation that man was made in the image of God. The sixth article of furnishing of the Tabernacle of the Congregation was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant represents Christ—Head and Body.
It is my belief that in the present hour we are to experience the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish Day of Atonement.
During the Day of Atonement two goats were selected. The first goat was slain and its blood sprinkled in front of the Mercy Seat. This was to make an atonement for the sins of Israel.
The second goat was the Scapegoat. It was not slain, although it also was a goat of atonement, of reconciliation with God.
The Scapegoat was brought outside of the Tabernacle, the place of the Laver and the Altar of Burnt Offering. There the High Priest of Israel laid his hands on the head of the Scapegoat and confessed the sins of Israel.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:21,22)
There is an important concept that needs to be understood thoroughly in our day, as we are preparing for the witness to all nations. It is that there is a critical difference between removing the guilt of our sins, and removing the sinful behavior itself.
The first goat was slain in order to remove the guilt of the sins of Israel.
The second was not slain. Rather it represented the removing of the sinful behavior itself.
Many of the Christian people of today, while they have been forgiven, practice all sorts of sinful behavior.
The removal of the sinful behavior, during the Day of Atonement, was symbolic; for while the sins could be forgiven and an atonement made by the sacrifice of animals, as the Law states clearly, the removal of the sinful behavior could not be made until Christ was crucified, resurrected, and then was able through the power of the Spirit of God to actually remove the power of sin that bound His people.
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (Hebrews 10:1-4)
It was not possible for the blood of animals to take away the bondages of sin that prompt our behavior.
I have never heard a minister of the Gospel say that the purpose of the new covenant is to take away sins, in the sense of removing the bondages of sin from the worshiper.
I understand that the current teaching is that the slain animals of the Law of Moses could not actually remove the guilt of sin; but the new covenant does remove the guilt of sin. This is how the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is set forth in our day, in many instances.
But this concept does not agree with the Scripture. Notice:
And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat offering. (Leviticus 5:13)
"It shall be forgiven him." The expression "it shall be forgiven him" appears many times in the Book of Leviticus, in the King James Version.
Now, for Bible scholars to say the worshipers were not really forgiven is to ignore what the Word maintains. Either they were forgiven or they were not forgiven Both ideas cannot be true!
God, through Moses, said they were forgiven!
What did not happen when the animal was offered was that the worshiper was not delivered from the power of sin. That is the difference between the two covenants.
Today there is a harmful teaching. It is that because the Christian salvation does not include deliverance from the power of sin, but only deliverance from the guilt of sin, we must go to Heaven by grace. We still are unrighteous, morally unclean, and disobedient to God. But Divine "grace" makes us eligible for entrance into Heaven.
Do you remember the original Divine fiat? It is that man is to be made in the image of God. Would you conclude from that that there must come a point in the Christian plan of redemption when we are delivered from the power of sin?
Remember the two goats of the Day of Atonement. One goat was slain and its blood was sprinkled upon and before the Mercy Seat.
The second goat, the Scapegoat, was not slain. Its blood was not shed. Yet it is referred to as making an atonement.
The idea of "atonement" is that of reconciliation with God; peace with God. There cannot be reconciliation with God when He has forgiven us but we still are behaving sinfully. Do you agree with that? Doesn't there have to be some point at which the power of sin is removed from us so that we behave as God behaves? Can God by "grace" have permanent fellowship with a spiritually unclean, unrighteous individual?
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. (II Corinthians 6:17)
The New Testament teaches clearly that removal of sin from the Kingdom of God will take place at the end of the age:
So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:40-43—NASB)
When shall the removal of stumbling blocks and lawlessness be thrown into the Lake of Fire?
At the end of the Church Age, that is, in our day.
The righteous shine forth as the sun. Now think for a moment. Imputed righteousness does not shine forth as the sun. Imputed righteousness is an attitude in the mind of the Father. It is righteous works that the world is supposed to see if they are to glorify God. It is impossible to see "imputed" righteousness in a human being!
In any case, this is not speaking of people who are "saved by faith" so they can go to Heaven. The "righteous," in this case, are those from whom all stumbling blocks and lawlessness have been removed. They are a witness to the nations because Christ's righteousness can be seen in them.
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. (Isaiah 62:1,2)
The Amplified Bible can be helpful at times. But I really question the passage below.
First of all, I believe it is the Spirit of Christ speaking, not Isaiah.
Second, imputed righteousness cannot "forth as brightness" or as a "burning torch." As I stated previously, imputed righteousness is not something that mankind can see. It is an attitude in God's mind.
How can nations see a righteousness and justice ascribed to us? How can kings see a salvation and glory ascribed to us but not actually evidenced in our behavior?
For Zion's sake will I [Isaiah] not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until her IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND VINDICATION GO FORTH AS BRIGHTNESS, AND HER SALVATION RADIATES AS DOES A BURNING TORCH. And the nations SHALL SEE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND VINDICATION [YOUR RIGHTNESS AND JUSTICE—NOT YOUR OWN, BUT HIS ASCRIBED TO YOU], and all kings shall behold your salvation and glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name. (Isaiah 62:1,2—Amplified Bible)
It may be true that the comments above tells us what is incorrect about Evangelical thinking. To my way of thinking it is ridiculous to maintain that salvation radiates as a burning torch when there is nothing to see. We simply cannot see imputed, ascribed righteousness in a fellow human being. What we see is his behavior, not what God thinks about him or her.
How can we refer to this sort of perception? I do not believe it is a willful blindness. It may be true that the translator is so set on proving that we must be saved by grace and not by any godly behavior on our part that the Spirit of Christ in Isaiah could not possibly mean that there is an actual righteousness and salvation, because that would mean we are "saved by works."
Paul meant we are not saved by the works of the Law of Moses. However, the Bible states that God does honor righteous behavior.
But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:35)
I believe it would make Evangelical teaching more biblical if it were recognized that God does honor righteous behavior. But many teachers of today in their anxiety to make converts to their point of view ignore the fact that there have been millions of people throughout the centuries who have lived a decent life according to their conscience.
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; (Romans 2:14,15)
Such is the righteousness of the first Adam, so to speak. God honors people of integrity. But this is not an eternal righteousness.
When the Father presents Christ to an individual, he cannot trust his own righteousness to make him acceptable to God. He absolutely must from that point forward place his trust in Christ if he is to please God. We cannot ignore the sacrifice made on Calvary!
Christ does more than impute an invisible righteousness to us. He not only trains our mind, He also is planted in us as a Seed. If we nourish this Seed with prayer, reading the Bible, and obeying Christ, Christ is formed in us. This is the only true, eternal, "burning torch" of righteousness, and it results in behavior that can be seen by the nations.
It is not merely ascribed to us. It is created in us! The flesh is made the Word!
It may be true that one of the disastrous errors of the Christian Era is the belief that Christian righteousness is found only in God's mind and is not revealed in a change in our behavior.
As helpful as the Amplified Bible can be at times, it has done a dreadful disservice to the Christian community with its commentary on the first two verses of the Sixty-second chapter of the Book of Isaiah.
The Lord Jesus prayed that His Church would be one with Him and the Father. Then the world will believe that God has sent Jesus into the world and that God loves the saints as He does His firstborn Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe it is true today that the Christian people by and large are not bearing a witness of God that the people of the world can see.
Why not? Because the believers are being taught that it is impossible to be delivered from the power of sin, and that God has given us grace as an alternative to being delivered from the power of sin.
If people believe it is impossible for us who are flesh and blood and living in the world to be delivered from the bondages of sin, they are not going to have the faith necessary to press into the life of victory in Christ.
As long as we are bound with sin we cannot bear the last great witness of the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the earth.
In fact, most of us may know little or nothing about the Kingdom of God since we are accustomed to hearing about the Kingdom of Heaven. Also, when we speak of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness we may mean that we are going to Heaven to live forever on the basis of imputed righteousness, not actual righteousness of behavior, which is the basic characteristic of the Kingdom of God.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, actions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21—NASB)
"Will not inherit the Kingdom of God." This is spoken to the Christians in Galatia. We really are in a theologic mess, aren't we?
I realize some are teaching that the Kingdom of God is different from another kingdom which is in Heaven. Matthew refers to the Kingdom of God as the Kingdom of Heaven. However, it can be shown readily that the same parables that Luke and Mark apply to the Kingdom of God are spoken of by Matthew as parables of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Hebrew Prophets did not speak of two kingdoms, to the best of my knowledge.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44)
The current teaching of "two kingdoms" is an attempt to place Gentile believers in a kingdom in Heaven, where they live in a state of ascribed righteousness, while Jewish believers inherit a kingdom on the earth and strive to live righteously. This idea is so far removed from the Scriptures that I will not discuss it further.
Our Lord Jesus instructed us to pray that God's Kingdom would come to the earth and God's will would be done here. Most of us pray for this to happen, and it is good enough for me!
God is ready to send the fullness of the harvest rain so a true witness of God can be borne to every nation. But He cannot do that until our teaching is straightened out and God's people begin to stress righteous, holy, and obedient behavior rather than numbers in attendance, the size of the offerings, the magnificence of the buildings, or prowess in missionary work.
The "Sheep" Gate must be built before the "Fish" Gate.
Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. (Nehemiah 3:1—NASB)
The need of the hour is for us to draw closer to Jesus until He is our Life. The fault of the believers in Ephesus was that they became enamored with religious activities but lost their love for the Lord. Because of this they no longer had access to the body and blood of Christ.
Since the body and blood of Christ are our resurrection and our life, we understand that loving the activities of the Christian religion rather than Christ is indeed a dangerous behavior on our part.
It is time now for us to wash our priestly robes in the blood of the Lamb, and to do this continually. We may be amazed when we discover how dirty our robes are. Each and every behavior that is not in the image of God must be confessed and renounced. The Spirit of God will lead us in this if we will humble ourselves and be cooperative.
There is no use criticizing the sinners in the world. They are in the condition they are because they have not seen the image of God in the Christian churches. While we are discussing an imminent "rapture" they are dying in their ignorance of God and Christ.
It is time now to cease from our practice of unscriptural traditions and return to the Bible. The Bible tells us that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The Bible tells us that if we sow to our sinful nature we shall reap corruption in the Day of Resurrection; that we shall reap what we are sowing.
It is time now for Zion to awake and put on her beautiful garments; not beautiful garments of imputed righteousness while our works are not in the image of God, but beautiful garments of righteous, holy, and obedient behavior.
Can you say "Amen" to this?
A Christian cannot be forced to sin. The Lord is present to guide the believer into complete victory, if this is what he desires with singleness of purpose.
The reason we do not find complete deliverance is that we have not made up our mind that this is what we desire. Also, the teaching we are receiving is telling us it is impossible for the Lord Jesus to break the chains of our sin.
If we find we are double-minded in this matter, we should go to the Lord Jesus and ask for a resolute determination to overcome the stumbling blocks and lawlessness that are destroying our peace and joy.
Christ will give us such singleness of mind, such intensity of purpose, that it will not be long before we have the level of consecration we desire. It is not His will that we keep on sinning.
Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22)
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:12,13)
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16)
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Hebrews 8:10)
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. (I John 3:8)