WASHED WHITE BY THE BLOOD?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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. Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Revelation 7:13-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever had a cut, laceration, or abrasion and it ended up bleeding onto your clothing?

I know I have and whenever it happens, there is always a concern that the stain won’t come out. Such is the nature of blood when it comes into contact with any kind of absorbent cloth. In fact, if you do a little research on the subject of clothing stains, you will find blood right up there with tomato sauce, ketchup, and permanent markers.

So given this, it would be counterintuitive for anyone to think that blood might actually clean someone vice stain them but that’s exactly the analogy we find when we look at today’s passage from the final verses of Revelation, chapter 7. There, we find John sharing this:

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. Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Vv.13-17

You may recall that this chapter begins with a sealing (or protecting) of 144,000 servants of the Lord Most High, twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were commissioned to continue to spread the Gospel during the Great Tribulation period. Their work would produce so many new Christian believers that the scriptures tell us they were uncountable. All were dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hand as they waited for their time of resurrection to come.

This introduction to this multitude of new Jesus followers is picked back up on as we get to verses 13 through 17 which begin with one of the twenty four elders in the throne room of God asking John a question he already knew the answer to:

“These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

Then, responding to his own question, the elder tells John:

“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. Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Note here how the newly saved Christians had “come out of the great tribulation” and their robes were white because they had been “washed...in the blood of the Lamb” who we know is Jesus.

This special spiritual cleansing that defies mere human convention is affirmed from as far back as the times of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah where we find the Lord saying this:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” 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.” v.18

And then in John’s first of three letters found in the New Testament, we find this:

...if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1:7 NLT

Cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

This is what happens to everyone who places their belief and faith and Him as Lord and Savior. He, Jesus, justifies the Christian believer so that they are made just as if they had never sinned, the dirty stains of sin washed away by the blood of the Lamb., leaving the transgressor white as snow as they then await what is to come while enjoying the privilege and honor of being in God’s throne room. There, they will “serve Him day and night in His temple” while He shelters “them in His presence”, ensuring that they will never hunger or thirst again. Led by Jesus, their Good Shepherd, they will enjoy the “springs of living water” and experience the comfort and love of God who “will wipe every tear from their eyes”.

After the Rapture, we know that bad times are coming to earth as Jesus breaks each of the seven seals on the scroll taken from His Father’s right hand. But in between seals six and seven, we have seen how there are some positives that will happen, despite the great tribulation and the judgment it brings. For even in the midst of administering His punishment, God still shows how He is a God of mercy and grace and forgiveness, extending salvation to anyone who would trust in His Son as Savior.

Let us give thanks and rejoice in this truth each and every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.