167. White Raiment
Revelation 3:5a He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment.
The fifth promise to the overcomer: Clothed in White. When we believed in Jesus we were given a wedding robe and clothed in white. The obvious significance is that we, and our sins, are covered with righteousness and purity; we are covered with the robe of righteousness earned and given by Jesus Christ. We are clothed in such a way that no one, even the Father, can see our sins and filthy nakedness. The raiment is what God sees and on the basis of which He judges.
This garment is given to believers before the judgment and makes us ready for the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. The robe indeed covers our sins, but more than that the white robe replaces the sinfulness and guilt that was ours. This covering and replacing prepares us for the Judgment Day and allows us into the Feast of Heaven. This is the promise for the believer.
The white raiment is also inside us, invisible to everyone but the invisible world. God sees Jesus in me; He sees the whiteness and purity; He sees the righteousness and innocence. This is the accurate view of myself that I need to see and remember and relate to; I can look at myself as God sees me. I look inside by faith and see the white, thanks to Jesus. I take this promise and I believe it. One Day, after death, I will see with my resurrected eyes this promise as true and real forever. This view that God has is also valuable for me as I view other people, either as those clothed in white or potentially clothed in white when they come to faith in Christ. These “rose-colored” glasses can change our view of the world and how we treat others: “as if they had never sinned.”