Clothed in Righteous Deeds
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready;
to her it has been granted to be clothed
with fine linen, bright and pure” –
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:6-10
God granted John a glimpse of heaven and told him to record it so that our faith might be strengthened. Imagine standing in heaven, surrounded by God’s glory while listening to a multitude of heavenly voices crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Revelation 19:6). God Almighty reigns! He is sovereign. He is in control. Hallelujah indeed!
With the chaos and uncertainty and clouds of darkness hovering around us, we might be tempted to withdraw in heart-wrenched sadness and anxiety-riddled fear, but God Almighty reigns! I pray for His protection and power and strength, and for the filling of all He is, and for His guidance and peace and rest, and because He reigns, I trust in His mercy and loving grace, and I join angels in heaven singing praises to God the Father, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and rejoicing, worshiping, exulting and glorifying the holy One. Can you imagine being there, seeing God in His full glory surrounded by heavenly beings worshiping Him continuously, hearing the multitude of heavenly voices singing, breathing in the sweet perfume? I try to imagine the scene and even in my feeble imagination it sends chills down my spine. God Almighty reigns. He is sovereign. He has all authority and power. He is the One worthy of our praise and worship.
The multitude of angelic voices continue saying, “for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” (Revelation 19:7-8). Christ Jesus is the Lamb. His church, the body of Christ, the great movement of His followers, is the bride; the two are married; and the bride’s clothing, “fine linen, bright and pure,” is the “righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation 19:8).
Righteous deeds of individuals making up the church adorn the bride. This requires holiness and action born out of holiness, consistent with God’s will. Righteousness, holiness, sanctification require relationship with God through Christ Jesus. As we surrender ourselves to Christ, we gain Him and His holy image, gradually receiving bits and pieces of His holiness, love and perspective. Little-by-little, we begin to see others as He sees them. When we act out in the world with His holy love flowing through us, our deeds are righteous, and we adorn the body of Christ. The bride’s wedding gown is righteous deeds of its people, how beautiful is that?
Out of all the various types of relationship on earth, God uses marriage as the analogy. Why?
Christian marriage is a three-way covenant between husband, wife and God founded on trust, commitment and love. I have heard it said the greatest compliment a person can give another is to take them at their word and to believe with absolute certainty that they truly mean it forever when they say “I do,” and trusting that when the other says “I do” they are saying “yes” to their spouse and “no” to everyone else, forever. It involves the sort of trust and confidence normally reserved for God, and God’s presence in the covenant makes possible, rationale even, and legitimizes the union.
God’s holy word describes husband and wife as becoming one saying, “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Discussing marriage with religious leaders, Jesus quotes Genesis saying,
“Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6
The covenant is freely entered and results in radical transformation – two become one. Commitment must be absolute. If someone were to enter marriage without sincere commitment, the union would be a sham and a violation of trust of unspeakable proportion.
Like the commitment necessary for Christian marriage, each follower must be fully committed to Christ Jesus, surrendering their old life to receive Christ’s new life, surrendering control to His Lordship. If we are His followers we are fully His and the church is a gathering of Christ’s followers, each fully committed to Christ Jesus, sharing the bond of His indwelling Holy Spirit. Anything less is a sham.
I fear people who would never cheat on their spouse routinely cheat on God. We say words of commitment, and probably think we mean them, before venturing out into the world opposing His holy will. The original sin involved people desiring to be God, and we regularly repeat the sin by insisting we are in control, demanding our rules are sovereign, and worshiping personal pleasure.
God calls us to love Him with our entire being and to love others, and His holy word explains if we truly love Him we see Him for who He is, we live according to His rules, we see others as beings created in His holy image, and we treat them with love. When our rules conflict with His, we must choose, and our choices indicate where our commitment lies.
The multitude in heaven sings, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). Who is invited to the marriage supper? Individuals making up the bride. Individuals whose righteous deeds adorn the bride. Individuals making a marriage vow to Christ Jesus, saying “I do” and truly meaning it forever.
While darkness and chaos and uncertainty surround us, God Almighty reigns! He is sovereign. He is in control. He is worthy of our praise and worship; He is worthy of our trust, commitment and faith; He is worthy of our lives. If you have not yet committed yourself to Christ Jesus, may you do so today.