Eternal Rewards

Session 9: Our Apparel in the Next Age

I.Clothed Forever:

In the last session we looked at eternal crowns; in this session we will see what else we may be wearing. Just as we have become accustomed to wearing clothing in this life it is clear that in the age to come we will be clothed forever. Somehow talking about wearing clothes in the next age just makes it seem so much more real; there are very few things as ordinary to us as wearing clothing everyday. Our apparel however will look very different in the days ahead, at the very least we will receive an upgrade and at the most immeasurably more than we could ask or think up.

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable (1Co. 15:53)”

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Eph. 3:20-21).”

II.Host of Heaven Clothed in White:

  1. Ancient of Days (the Father) is Dressed in White:

“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze (Da. 7:9).”

  1. The Pre-incarnate Jesus was Dressed in White:

“I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen…His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude (Da. 10:5-6).”

  1. Jesus at the Transfiguration was Dressed in White:

“There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Mt. 17:2).”

“His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them (Mk. 9:3).”

  1. Angels Dressed in White:

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow (Mt. 28:2-3).”

“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed (Mk. 16:5).”

“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them (Ac. 1:10).”

  1. The Elders are Dressed in White:

“Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads (Re. 4:4).”

  1. The Martyrs are Dressed in White:

“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Re. 6:11).”

  1. The Armies of Heaven are Dressed in White:

“The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean (Re. 19:14).”

III.Pure White Garments for the Resurrected Saints:

As we can see there is quite a bit of attention given to the reality of white garments in Heaven. This same emphasis spills over into the Age to Come. We should not understand this as the only type of garments that will be worn but we must understand the significance of it’s prominence.

  1. Purpose of the White Nature of the Garments:

The white speaks of purity. It speaks of blamelessness and the changed life, one who has been cleansed from his former way of life.

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Ps. 51:7).”

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool(Is. 1:18).”

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see (Re. 3:18).”

  1. The Saints will be Dressed in White:

“They will…(be)dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white (Re. 3:4-5).”

“Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders…dressed in white (Re. 4:4)…”

“I counsel you to buy from me…white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness (Re. 3:18)…”

  1. The Saints will Wear White Robes:

“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Re. 6:11).”

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes(Re. 7:9)...”

“Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Re. 7:13-14).”

  1. The Saints will Wear White Linen:

“The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean (Re. 19:14).”

“Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God (Re. 19:8-9).”

  1. The Saints will Wear Wedding Clothes:

Though the two stories below do not say outright that the clothes are white, the wedding begin spoken of in both passages is the Wedding of the Lamb at the End of the Age. And we learned above that the clothes we will be wearing is white. Here however the garments are simply called “wedding clothes.”

“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son…the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen (Mt. 22:1-14).”

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise…The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet (Mt. 25:1-10).”

IV.Heavenly-White-Garment-Textile-Mill:

With a couple hundred billion people all clothed in white garments it begs the question “where does it all come from?” Putting a few verses together makes it clear that at least at certain points, all the saints will be wearing white simultaneously. So where do we get a couple hundred billion different sets of glorified white clothes? Below are some ideas to ponder.

  1. Clothes Transformed into White Garments:

It is possible I suppose that when we receive our resurrected bodies that our clothes will just transform into white garments (as in the temporal case of the Transfiguration). There does however seem to be a good bit of support that there is more going on than that.

  1. When the Dead Rise:

Logistically, when the dead rise at the time of the rapture most of their bodies won’t have any clothes on to speak of due to years of decay and decomposition. Therefore they wouldn’t even have clothes in which to transform into white garments.

“According to the Lord’s own word, we…will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, …and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1Th. 4:15-17).”

  1. The Case of the Martyrs:

We are told that the martyrs are each given a white robe; meaning that these robes weren’t already on them. I don’t think that God just waves His hand and all of the sudden robes that didn’t exist a minute ago now all exists. In any case we are told clearly that they are given (handed) their white robes.

“They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Re. 6:10-11).”

  1. The Case of Adam & Eve:

Adam and Eve were born naked. When it came time for them to be clothed because of the fall God did make them clothing, but the point is that clothing had to be made, it didn’t just appear, nor was it already there.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Ge. 3:21).”

  1. Large Rooms Filled with Clothes.

God loves to partner with people to get His will accomplished. It seems so much more the process of the Kingdom, of any kingdom, to have seamstresses work diligently on each garment in order to partner with God in His purposes. Think of the scenes where all the elves are working busily in Santa’s workshop trying to get ready for Christmas Eve, joyfully but diligently making their quotas because the day draws near. I image that the skillful seamstresses and tailors throughout history have been enlisted in the honor work of sewing together the white garments of eternity. If this is so then there is a very large room right now currently being filled with beautiful white garments awaiting the day.

V.Not Only White Garments:

  1. Additional Hints at Our Heavenly Garments:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Co. 3:12).”

“Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty (Ps. 45:3).”

“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1Pe. 5:5).”

  1. Diversity:

The point in all this discourse is again to point to the likelihood of diversity.

  1. The eternal city is filled with every color imaginable.

“The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone….jasper…sapphire…chalcedony…emerald…sardonyx…carnelian…chrysolite…beryl…topaz…chrysoprase…jacinth…amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass (Re. 21:18-21).”

  1. This city is called “The Bride.”

“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (Re. 21:9-10).”

  1. It is unthinkable that this beautiful city full of color, that also bears the same name as the Bride that dwells there, would have a fashion world limited to one color.
  1. Angel’s Attire:

If angels can be mistaken as normal people they probably aren’t wearing bright shinning white clothing. I would think that brilliant white clothes would be a tip off that the guy might be angel.

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it (He. 13:2).”

  1. Jesus’ Attire:

If Jesus can be mistaken as a normal person then He probably doesn’t always wear bright shinning white clothing either.

“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;but they were kept from recognizing him (Lk. 24:15-16).”

VI.Examples of Non White Raiments in Heaven:

  1. Gold Belt:

Jesus can be seen wearing a very fine gold belt even with His white linen apparel. The mere reference once

“I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist (Da. 10:5).”

  1. Golden Sash:

“And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest (Re. 1:12-13).”

“Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests (Re. 15:5).”

  1. Sash of Faithfulness:

“He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist (Is. 11:4-5).”

VII.Clothing Eternal in Nature:

  1. Clothed with Immortality:

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory (1Co. 15:53-54).”

  1. Clothed with Our Heavenly Dwelling:

“Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life (2Co. 5:2-4).”

  1. Clothed with Eternal Salvation:
  1. Salvation is eternal for all who obey:

The writer of Hebrews tells us that because of Jesus’ role as the perfect priest an eternal salvation has been made available for those who obey Him.

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek (He. 5:7-10).”

  1. The priests of Jesus will be clothed with salvation:

“I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy (Ps. 132:16).”

VII.Other Possible Articles:

  1. Palm Branches:
  1. At Jesus’ first coming:

When the people thought that they were going to be crowning their new King they took palm branches and made a path for him.

“They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel (Jn. 12:13)!”

  1. The multitudes of Heaven:

Just before Jesus comes the second time the multitudes of Heaven will have gathered together with palm branches, perhaps as the real beginning pathway for the procession to Jesus taking His throne on Earth. Whatever the case, there are a bunch of folk in Heaven with palm branches in their hand for at least this one occasion. This is another amazing dynamic making life in Heaven very real; the idea that all of the saints in Heaven spend time getting ready to celebrate an event.

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count…standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…holding palm branches in their hands (Re. 7:9).”

  1. Marks of Persecution:
  1. The holes in Jesus’ hands and side where still visible in Jesus’ resurrected body.

“(Thomas)said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe (Jn. 20:25-27).”