Revelation 3:5a Dear children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and guests, would you go to a birthday party in your underwear? No, of course you wouldn t. When you celebrate something really important you dress in your finest clothes. The Sunday as a Day of Rest and Worship is a special day, so we have special clothes. For your grad and the dinner that goes with it, you dress really special. For a wedding you dress very special. And if it s your own wedding, you dress really, really special. Your finest clothes. In Scripture clothing is often used in a symbolic way. The clothing is real, but there is often a deeper meaning to clothing in Scripture. The clothes God gave to Adam, the fact that Christ was naked when on the cross. The clothes the priest wore, especially the ones the high priest wore on the Day of Atonement. There s a symbolic dress code for God s people. Our text this morning brings much of that together. Our text is a comment made in a letter written to the church in Sardis. Not Sardis between Chilliwack and Yarrow. 1 The Sardis of our text was in Asia Minor, in what today is Turkey. In the 8 th century BC, so that s the time of the prophet Isaiah, Sardis was the chief city of the Lydian Kingdom. Among others it was known as the city where delicate woolen materials and rugs were manufactured and dyed. It was a city of fabric and clothing. That explains the symbolism of clothing is used in the letter Christ had John write to Sardis. Symbolism the book of Revelation is full of symbolism. In a previous sermon (Rev. 1:1-3) I noted that to understand Revelation well one needs to draw on the rest of Scripture. Especially when it comes to understanding the symbols in Revelation you need to understand the context of all of Scripture. For Revelation is the prophecy that brings all prophecies to a close. Here the lines of Scripture come together. This morning we ll see how that works as we consider the symbol of clothing in Scripture through the lens of our text, the promise of Christ that the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. This morning we hear the Gospel of God summed up with this theme: Christians are to wear white garments. We ll consider three matters. (1) Clothes in Scripture; (2) How we come by such clothes; and (3) How such clothes will fare. 1) Clothes in Scripture. Our clothes symbolically speaking of course. What do our clothes actually look like? Well, they are definitely not something to be proud of, something to boast about. In a prayer of confession of sin the prophet Isaiah (64:6) said the following: We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. A polluted garment. This is the kind of garment that you throw away. It s a rag that is so dirty, so gross, so unhygienic, it s even beyond washing. You use it and you burn it. Scholars figure this is actually talking about a sanitary pad for women. Picture it this way: a piece of fabric begins life as a wonderful garment. But over time the garment wears out and becomes casual clothing, and then it gets torn into rags, and at some point it reaches the end of its life because it has been used to soak up blood and, according to the Mosaic Law, that made the rag unclean and fit only for the fire. That s also the kind of thing the prophet Zechariah saw in a vision. Please take a Bible and turn to Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah was a prophet immediately following the Babylonian Exile. Some of the exiles had returned to Judah and were living in Jerusalem. At that time the high priest was a man named Joshua. We read Zechariah 3, the whole chapter. Joshua was the mediator, the person who represented reconciliation between God and His people. 1 Though that Sardis is named after the Sardis in our text.
Joshua had to make sure God s people were acceptable to God, by sacrificing for them and by praying for them. But, boys and girls, Zechariah sees something horrible. He sees Joshua the high priest standing before God s throne in filthy garments. Filthy, the Hebrew word makes clear one should think of what barn clothes look like, after you ve been milking in the parlour and you got splattered by a cow doing her business. The holy high priest, the special mediator between God and man, he s dressed in manuresplattered clothes. The office bearer responsible for making God s people acceptable to God is himself not acceptable. Polluted rages, filthy garments what does this mean? Both Isaiah and Zechariah make that clear. Zechariah: the LORD gives the command that Joshua have his filthy garments removed from him. And then God says: Behold, I have taken your iniquity from you. So filthy garments are the symbol of evil deeds, of wickedness, of sin. That s clear also from what the Lord says further: and I will clothe you with pure vestments. Iniquity and pure vestments are in a contrasted parallel. So, clothing stands symbol for what people do, filthy clothing is wickedness, clean, white clothing is good deeds. Now note how Isaiah put it. He said All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment not all our deeds but all our righteous deeds. Even our best works are but rags fit for the fire. There s more to this symbol of clothing. We also need to consider where clothing comes from. Boys and girls, where does clothing come from? There s an interesting and important story to that. We have to back all the way to our first parents Adam and Eve. Genesis 3. Let s turn to that now and read some verses together. We pick up the account where the conversation between Eve and the serpent has taken place. Genesis 3:6-11 At first Adam and Eve did not wear clothes. No clothes in Paradise. But then they sinned. They took of the fruit and ate. Their eyes were opened. And what was the first thing they saw? Scripture tells us, they saw that they were naked. Of course, they d seen that before. But now things were different. Seeing each other naked made them experience an emotion of selfishness they had not previously known. It s the emotion of self-centred desire, of lust. It s the emotion that creates a market for pornography. It s also the emotion of vulnerability, of being at the mercy of another. Nakedness brings with it embarrassment and fear. No one wants to be caught with their pants down. Selfish lust and vulnerability: knowledge of good and evil had distorted man s blissful existence. What did Adam and Eve then do? They grabbed some fig leaves, those are pretty big and easy to connect together. They made loincloths, like skirts from those leaves. That way they protected their nakedness from each other. And then they went and hid in the bushes, they also wanted to protect themselves from God. For note what Adam says when God comes looking for him: I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. Clothes to hide our fear and shame, clothes to protect us from sin. By nature we go dressed in manuresplattered clothes, in blood-polluted garments. Many of the church members in Sardis had also soiled their clothes. What is God s will when it comes to clothing? How does He want us to be dressed? Well, to know what kind of clothes are approved of by God we should look in God s Word at the people who were closest to God. The people who represent God or who have to come into God s presence. Where humans are concerned, those would be the priests. Like Joshua in Zechariah. So, what was God s dress code for priests? The dress code for priests is described in Exodus 28:40 and 42. It s very short. For the clothes the priests were to wear were very simple. Let s turn to that for a moment. Exodus 28:40 & 42. Basically the priests had 4 pieces of clothing. Underpants, somewhat like boxer shorts, though more like board shorts or swimming trunks. Then there was a cloak that went from the shoulders to the ankles.
On their heads the priests would wear a simple turban, the kind of head-covering worn by Sikhs. And finally there was a sash or belt. All of this was to be made of fine linen. That s not linen in the technical sense of the term, but a type of cotton that was grown in Egypt, a type of cotton that could be spun and woven into a very fine cloth. 2 The fabric produced from this cotton would look a lot like silk. As to colour, the three larger garments were to be pure white. The colour white symbolized purity, holiness. White clothes are soiled the quickest, they show dirt immediately. White clothes thus are a symbol for integrity. The material cotton also had a purpose. It would have been easier for the Israelites to use wool. For Israelites tended to be shepherds. The problem with wool is, especially in a warmer climate, that it causes one to sweat. And perspiration was considered unclean. As it still is today: dry arm-pits are preferred. Cotton is a much cooler fabric to wear (cf. Ezekiel 44:18). So the priests normally went in white. The only one that did not was the high priest. The high priest was dressed in very ornate clothes, very colourful. Except on one day of the year. On Yom Kippur, on the Day of Atonement. On that day the high priest had to undress, take a ceremonial bath, and dress in the white clothes of the priest! (Leviticus 16:4). In other words, on the day when one might expect the most pomp and splendour the high priest had to dress down. He had to be dressed in white. The point: where atonement of sins is to take place, everything must be without sin. This is why the high priest Joshua, in the vision which the prophet Zechariah saw, has the soiled garments removed and is given new clothes. Pure vestments, a clean turban. The word pure actually means festive. Pure vestments would mean, in today s language, a prom dress, a ball gown, or a 3- piece tux. And as the clothes of the priest are white, clean would imply a bright white colour. Another place to consider when seeking to understand God s view of clothes is Genesis 3. Adam and Eve made themselves clothes of a sort from fig leaves. In Genesis 3:21 we read that the LORD God made clothes for Adam and Eve from the skin of animals. This isn t just an interesting fact in the story. There s a message to this. For the nakedness which caused Adam and Eve to hide their private parts from each other with fig leaves, and which had them hide in the bushes from God, that nakedness is now covered by animal skins given by God. This tells us the following. First, nakedness is inappropriate where God is concerned. God doesn t say: you have to learn to deal with your nakedness now, so take those loincloths off. No, God is gracious and helps us. He knows, nakedness leads to impure thoughts. Nakedness causes people to look and to lust. Adam and Eve cover themselves and God approves of that. But God takes it a step further. For leaves, that won t work too long. God gives the skin of animals. God gives clothes of a better quality, more durable. Animal skins. Skins, that raises a second matter. Animals had to die so that man might wear clothes. Animals had to die so that man s sin might be dealt with, that it might be covered. Clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins made clear how death, the flowing of blood, is necessary for sin to be atoned for. We learn two things. First, clothes are necessary. No nakedness in God s presence. It is striking: on Mount Carmel the Baal priests took their clothes off but Elijah didn t. Nor did the priests in the temple of God. Second, the clothes we are to wear must be decent, of good quality and in a perfect state. They are to be white, so pure, so white, that every spot and blemish could be seen. That s why we read in our text: The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. God is looking for all of His people to be dressed like the priests were. We ve seen how Scripture speaks of clothes. We know what we re wearing and what God wants us to wear. That raises the question it s our second consideration how do we come by such clothes? 2 Checking it on the internet I learn that this Egyptian cotton is still the best there is.
Boys and girls, Adam and Eve, how did they come by their clothes? The loin cloths they made themselves. But that wasn t good enough. What happened then? Did God say: Adam, make a bow and arrow, shoot an animal, skin it, and use the skin to make clothes? No, God did not. We read in Genesis 3:21: The LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. God gives the clothes. We read of the prophet Isaiah (61:10) singing it out: My soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness. Or take Joshua the high priest. God gives the command that the filthy clothes be removed and Joshua be dressed in clean clothes. God gives the clothes. Just like that? Does God give clothes just like that? Like: here s some clothes, put them on? No. For us to be dressed in new clothes something has to happen. Adam and Eve, for them to wear those animal skins, animals had to die. The high priest had to bathe before he could put on the priestly clothes for the Day of Atonement. There s a washing, there s a death that has to take place. As students of the Bible our minds then wander to Golgotha. Boys and girls, clothing and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, what do you know about that? Psalm 22 prophesied of it, and the various Gospels report what happened. The clothes of Christ were divided among the soldiers, they even used dice to determine who would get the seamless upper garment. If the soldiers were taking the clothes, then Jesus must have been wearing nothing. Yes, He hung naked on the cross. He couldn t sew some fig-leaves, His hands were nailed to the cross. He couldn t run and hide in the bushes, He was stuck to the cross. The Christ was naked in the presence of God. All sin was openly exposed. And God forsook Him. For God wants nothing with naked people. Indeed, the Christ was naked that we might never be naked. Christ became uncovered sin that our sin might be covered. At that point, brothers and sisters, this whole clothing thing in Scripture is taken to a new level. For what do we dress ourselves with after Christ? That can be answered in different ways. The images become complex, they don t even seem to fit with each totally. But that s typical for symbolic language. First, we dress ourselves with clothes made clean. Our clothes are to be washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). Picture that, boys and girls, washing a white t-shirt in blood. You know, blood is one of the most difficult things to get out of clothes. So it s something counter-intuitive, it doesn t make sense: the blood of the Lamb washes our clothes clean, white as snow. A second image is that of receiving totally new clothes. As happened to Joshua the high priest or as happens in our text. A third image is the most amazing of them all: we are to dress ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Christ as our clothing. That s what baptism makes clear: being baptized is being clothed with Christ. Where God is concerned, animal skins are but a temporary solution, a symbolic solution. Christ is the real thing. Wash the clothes, put on new clothes, clothe ourselves with Christ Another important text, also to understand Revelation, is found in Daniel 12(:10): Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined. That s the language of laundering clothing applied to people. A similar image is found in Ephesians 4(:22&24): Put off the old self put on the new self. So here we are taking ourselves off, and putting another ourselves on. Both of these texts refer to the work of sanctification, the work of purification, the work of actually cleansing us of our sins. That s the labour of the Holy Spirit. Just as our deeds are washed with Christ s blood unto forgiveness so our deeds are washed with Christ s Spirit unto holiness. The imagery is complex but the message does become clear through it. How do we come by our clothes? We receive them from the Father, through the Son, by the agency of the Holy Spirit. And so we put them on. How does that go? The process of putting on the new clothes God gives us begins with recognizing that the clothes we are wearing are inadequate. They are filthy, totally unsuitable. Adam and Eve s loincloths of fig-leaves, not good enough. Joshua the high priest s clothes: they were filthy, manure-splattered barn clothes. Our
righteous deeds are like polluted garments, sanitary pads. The first step in being appropriately dressed is acknowledging your sins. Realize that your transgressions are like a splash of ketchup or soy sauce on your white Sunday shirt. Realize that your shortcomings are like holes and rips in your sweater. Yes, picture yourself like the younger son in the parable, the son who ran away from home. Picture the younger son when he comes home. His clothes were rags and he stank of the pig sty. Acknowledging the state of your clothing also requires knowledge of God. There are people who figure they can go to God as they please. God will accept me as I am. Guess what? God doesn t. There s the parable the Lord tells of a wedding banquet. We find it in Matthew 22. That s our last Scripture reading. A wedding banquet. The invited guests don t come. So the people are invited off the street. The poor and the homeless, they fill the banquet hall. Let s read of the Lord telling what happens next. We turn to Matthew 22:11-14 To understand this well you have to realize that it was normal for a person coming to a wedding to receive a festive garment as he entered the wedding hall. Just like today the groom and bride will get their bridal party the clothes they are to wear, back then everyone was given clothes to wear by the one putting on the feast. So there s no excuse for not wearing the right clothes. The man in the parable, he had obviously refused the festal garment. He figured his own clothes were good enough. He figured the King would accept him as he was. But no. The man is thrown out of the feast. Your own clothes are not good enough. Yes, God accepts you, but God does not, does not accept your clothes. Your clothes are such that even a Thrift Store will dump them. What we need to do is wash our clothes in the blood of the Lamb. What we need to do is take off our clothes and wear the clothes that Christ gives us. And then, what s next? Well, boys and girls, what do your parents say once you re dressed for church? Keep those clothes clean. In many families getting dressed for church is something you do after Sunday breakfast. We don t want any Nutella on those shirts Keep those clothes clean. That s hard. That s tough. We often fail. Our clothes invariably become dirty. Think of it, as we hear the law. Keep the Sabbath day holy yet sweat soaks our clothes. You shall not commit adultery, yet our clothes do not remain clean. Still -- and this is the beauty, the comfort of the Gospel beloved! -- still we may wash our clothes time and time again in the blood of the Lamb. And more: we will find the Holy Spirit tugging us away from the mud puddles, no, the manure pits of sin. We get dressed for God by knowing our sins, removing them from our lives, and clothing ourselves with the righteousness of Christ, with the ways the Holy Spirit points out. All that, brothers and sisters, brings us to the climax found in our text. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. We want to consider yet how our clothes will fare. The church of Sardis. It s not the best of churches. They had the reputation of being alive. But, says Christ, you are dead. Dead because their works did not measure up to their faith. The church people in Sardis lived double lives. Kind of like You shall not murder but I ll drink all the alcohol I want. You shall not commit adultery but I ll still look at things I shouldn t be looking at. You shall not steal but I will still waste money on toys. Double lives. Again, I think of the parable of the wedding feast. Remember, that one man who wasn t wearing the right clothes, that was his own fault. Festive garments were handed out at the door to the room. But this man had refused. That s why he was thrown out. We may come to church, we may participate in everything, we may look very alive. But brothers and sisters, if there is sin in your life and you re not fighting it, if your clothes are dirty and you are not washing yourself with Christ s blood and Spirit, if you are not clothing yourself with Christ and with the new self, then you are facing a huge problem. You can t stand before God in fig leaves, in a blood stained rag, in manure-splattered garments.
There were just some in this church, said Christ, just some, who had not made their clothes dirty. Not that they were holy, perfect, without sin. No. For what s striking about these people is that they are still going to be clothed in white garments. I realize you can t tell it very well from the English, but the word clothed in our text means to be made to wear clothes, to dress. Earthly clothes are replaced with heavenly clothes. Relatively speaking clean clothes become super clean clothes. The one who conquers, those are the people who fight the fight against sin in the power of the Spirit and who gain the victory because they keep the faith, they live by God s will. That s the beauty, the comfort, of being given the clothes we need. In the end it doesn t depend on our individual effort. I think of the souls under the altar, of whom we read in Revelation 6. Souls under the altar: people who have died and are now in the presence of the instrument of atonement. They are as priests in God s presence, they pray for God s Kingdom. We read that they were each given a white robe. In other words, God enabled them to be proper priests. Revelation 7:9: the multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, they were clothed in white robes. I think especially of the church, of the bride of Christ as noted in Revelation 19(:7-8): 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; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Christians are to wear white garments. A short text in Revelation do you see how much is packed into this? You need to study, you need to dig in Scripture to get this out of it. In Revelation all sorts of things from Scripture come together. It s amazing to think how the fig leaves and animal skins of Genesis 3 have something to say about the nakedness of Christ on the cross and the white garments the one who conquers is given to wear. Let us indeed put of the old self, the old man, the filthy garments, and let us clothe ourselves with Christ, let us wash our deeds in His blood and Spirit. When Christ returns, brothers and sisters, do not be caught in your barn clothes, your work clothes, your casual wear, your exercising wear. God is looking for us to be dressed festively, in pure white. I haven t said anything about what you wear to worship, and I know us well enough to know that some of you are waiting for that. I trust nothing needs to be said. After all, symbols only make sense if they reflect a reality. What s true on the inside should be seen on the outside, you know a tree by its fruits. So: let the way you dress not be an indication of sin but of holiness. That s what God wants. That s what Christ came for. That s what the Spirit is doing with you. That s why, when we enter God s presence in worship, we want to be dressed in our best. For blessed are they says the Revelation in its closing chapter, Blessed are they who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (Rev. 22:14) Amen.