“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. (Revelation 7:14)
John saw a glorious vision of a vast, uncountable number of people, the redeemed from every tribe and nation. These are the Saints, a multitude that includes every believer. These have all faithfully suffered and endured through the great tribulation. These all wear white robes, an image that seems almost like a paradox. How can any clothing or any thing for that matter be made white by blood? Yet this image conveys the great spiritual truth that underlies our Christian faith. The white robes the saints wear as they worship before the throne of God signify their purity, their righteousness. This righteousness is not achieved by the good works, or charitable deeds they performed in their earthly lives. The purity results from the blood shed by Jesus which atoned for the sins of all. These saints have been blessed and marked by that blood through faith, a faith which has been applied to them by the grace of God.
Such a glorious image as we see here described by John, should make us long for our heavenly home. The saints he describes have all received their reward: eternal joy in heaven, free from sin, pain, fear and death in the presence of Jesus, the lamb who was slain. They come from every ethnicity, language, and race across the earth, all made righteous together, all made one in the Church of Jesus Christ.
This heavenly image should also inspire us to see the church on earth as it is in heaven, with no racial or social boundaries or prejudice, with all the saints arrayed in the purity of Jesus. The image should also make us take stock of how white our robes are. Yes they are pure white in the sight of God because they have been bleached by the faith we have in Jesus. But in practice, in our daily lives, how soiled have our robes become? Have they been blackened by unforgiveness, anger, bigotry, self-righteousness, lying, and immorality? Have they been sullied by idolatry and compromise with the ways of the world? This is quite a disturbing image to contemplate.
Therefore, we saints must daily call out to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness. We must pray and study the Word of God to avail ourselves of His wisdom. We need His help to discern truth from lies, orthodoxy from heresy, something which we find quite difficult to do in these days of electronic mass media and the world wide web. We need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit who can make our robes are as white on earth as they are in heaven.