by Rev. Neil Cameron, Glasgow
“And one of the Elders answered, saying unto me, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” And I said unto Him, “Sir, thou knowest.” And he said unto me, “These are they which came out of great tribulations and 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 that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe all tears away from their eyes.” Rev. 7:13-17.
This book contains the visions which the Apostle John received in the Isle of Patmos. It begins by giving the Divine authority of the Book and a promise to the reader and hearer of the prophecy. John is commanded to write to the angels or “ministers” of the seven churches in Asia separately and give the character suited to the case of that particular church to which the letter is directed, whether for encouragement or terror just as he received it from Christ. After this John seeth the Throne of God in heaven and round about that Throne were seated four and twenty Elders clothed in white raiment and crowns of gold on their heads but we do not intend to dwell on this meantime. After this, we have the Book sealed with seven seals which no man is worthy to open. John weeps at human inability and is comforted by the Elder who told him that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the Book and to loose the seals thereof. We have the opening of the seven seals, one after another, and what they represented. Now in coming to the chapter we have read, it begins by the words “And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth that the winds should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” The four winds spoken of here are probably errors or false doctrines which afterwards plagued the church of Christ, as the Angel ascending from the east, and having Divine authority from the Father over angels and every creature, did not allow those winds to blow until the true people of God were sealed in their foreheads, the most conspicuous part of the body, so that they should be known by all men. These are not blown away like chaff when the wind of false doctrine and error blows upon the church in the world. John heard the number that were sealed in the different tribes of the children of Israel amounting to one hundred and forty and four thousand but we do not take this as a definite figure of all that were saved in Israel. We take this as an arithmetical representation of the literal Israel converted to Christ because Israel, as descended in the line of promise, was a numbered people. After this he beheld a great multitude which no one could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, which stood before the Throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. It is in connection with this our text comes in, from the 13th verse to the end of the chapter.
One of the Elders put the question to John “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? The Elder here was one of the saints, now made perfect in holiness. He did not ask this question because he did not know who they were and whence they came, neither did he think that the Apostle John was ignorant as to who they were and where they came from. We find John hesitating in giving an answer and no wonder as the change was so great from the poor, despised and afflicted people whom he knew in the world. It is always profitable that people should be asking questions about spiritual things and it shall be profitable to the Church of God down to the end of time that the Elder asked such a question here. Although John knew very well who they were he preferred that the Elder himself should answer the question and therefore he said, “Sir, thou knowest.” The Elder now answers the question, “These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
We shall first consider some of the tribulations of the people of God as they pass through the wilderness of this world.
Secondly, the work in which they were constantly employed while passing through that wilderness — washing their robes.
Thirdly, where they are now come to. They are standing before the Throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palms in their hands.
No doubt, some of these mentioned here had a good share of the troubles and trials of this world while yet in a state of nature, for the wicked are not without troubles and trials. This is the fruit of sin, for by the fall man lost communion with God and is under His wrath and curse, and made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself and to the pains of Hell for ever. But the tribulations of the people of God are of a different nature from the troubles and trials of the wicked. We may say that the tribulations mentioned here begin in the day when God by His Spirit convinces them of sin. The sinner is now convinced of his lost and ruined condition and sees no way of escape. God is angry with him, God’s Law demands perfect obedience — which he cannot give and Justice demands satisfaction. He would give anything now that he could go out of existence but out of existence he cannot go. He sees Eternity before him and no place for him but the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels. He might have laughed at this before but it is not a matter of laughing now. He can now say with the Psalmist, “The pains of hell took hold on me. I grief and trouble found.” He now justifies God in sending him there; his mouth is stopped and he is brought in guilty before the bar of God. The Psalmist says in another place, “When as I did refrain my speech and silent was my tongue, my bones then waxed old because I roared all day long. For upon me both day and night Thine hand did heavy lie, so that my moisture turned is in summer’s drought thereby.” Although God does not allow His own people, while under conviction of sin, to come to absolute despair yet they are brought so low as to throw away every false hope. It is when they come to this stage that God, the Holy Spirit, sets before them a way of escape, enlightens their minds in the knowledge of Christ, persuades and enables them to embrace Christ as He is freely offered in the Gospel. They are now amazed at the love of God to perishing sinners — that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have Eternal Life. They could say now, like the Psalmist, “For but a moment lasts His wrath, life in His favour lies, weeping may for a night endure, at morn doth joy arise.” They could not express in words the joy they felt. It was unspeakable and full of Glory. They might have thought that all their tribulations had come to an end now and that this joy would continue. We do not say that all got the same measure of this but we do say that all experienced it in some measure. Their tribulations, however, did not end there. The Devil, whom they so faithfully served before, has now become their bitter enemy. Their former companions now began to cast scorn at them and called them by all sorts of names: even their own flesh and blood turned against them: graceless professors of religion called them narrow-minded bigots and so on. This is not all an easy matter for flesh and blood but this warfare continues as long as they are in this world. It is through faith alone that they gain the victory of which we have to speak later on.
We have an account in the 11th chapter of Hebrews of the marvellous work faith can do and what some had to suffer for the faith. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection and others had trials and cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned — they were sawn asunder — were tempted — were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. This actually took place in our own land — in Scotland.
Another tribulation they had was when they saw men, to whom they gave a place in the world as being truly gracious men, fall into sin. What grief of heart this caused them. They were also harassed with an evil heart of unbelief and a perverse will so that they could say with the Apostle Paul, “For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would that I do not, but what I hate that I do. For I know that in me that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I know not; for the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do”; and this caused them to cry out “Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
In the second place we shall consider the work in which they were employed while passing through the wilderness of this world — washing their robes. In the day of their justification they were clothed in the unspotted robe of Christ’s Righteousness and this robe can never be defiled so that it would be nothing less than blasphemy to think that any human being could ever make it whiter than it is, therefore it cannot be the robe of Christ’s Righteousness which they are washing. We take these robes which they are continually washing to mean the robes of their profession. This is a robe which every Christian should do his utmost to keep clean. If it is once defiled it is not an easy matter to get it back to its original colour. This robe is continually getting spots on it, no matter how careful the Christian may be in trying to keep it clean. The Devil is trying to throw all the filth he can on it. The world that lieth in sin are doing their utmost to throw mud on it so that the true child of God is continually at the washing tub with this robe. His whole ambition is to keep it white before the world for nothing would please the world more than to see them going about with defiled garments. The cleaning of our temporal clothes does not trouble us much for the women do it for us. They have what they call the washing day. So it is with graceless professors — the washing of their garments does not trouble them. They do not know how to wash them or where to wash them. They leave them till the washing day — a false delusion that all will be well at the end. But this is not the way with the believer for he is continually in the wash tub — at a throne of Grace confessing his sins and seeking forgiveness for Christ’s sake. They know from experience that nothing will take away the guilt of sin but the Blood of Christ. Child of God, of whom it is true that this is your daily practice and who may be on the verge of giving up, take courage, the time will not be long till you rest from your labours. “The troubles that afflict the just in number many be but yet at length out of them all the Lord doth set him free.”
We shall now consider briefly the third and last head — where they are now. They are now in Eternal Glory along with the Glorious Trinity, the Holy Angels and the saints of God arrayed in white robes and carrying palms of victory in their hands singing “Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” Neither themselves nor the World nor the Devil can put a spot on the garment in which they are now arrayed — for nothing shall enter in there that defileth. “He that is righteous, let him be righteous still and he that is holy let him be holy still.” All their tribulations in this world are now behind them for ever. They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. Many a hungry and thirsty day they had going through the wilderness. As we have in the Psalm in which we were singing, “For thirst and hunger in them faints their soul,” and this kept them continually crying to the Lord as David did in the 42nd Psalm:
“Like as the hart for water brooks
in thirst doth pant and bray
So pants my longing soul, O God,
that come to Thee I may.
My soul for God, the living God
doth thirst, When shall I near
unto Thy countenance approach
and in God’s sight appear.”
But He led them in a right way that they might go into a city of habitation. Their hunger and thirst were of such a nature that the world or the things of the world could never satisfy them. They desired holiness, full communion with God and to be with Christ for ever. The heat of the sun causes great thirst to travellers passing through the wilderness where water cannot be found so the corruption of their nature and the tribulations through which they were passing in the world caused them to thirst more and more for the time when they would appear before the Lord in Sion. The sun shall not light on them now nor any heat — all these things are behind them for ever more — for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them into living fountains of water and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
There have been different opinions about these fountains and some even went the length of making pictures of fountains as we have them among the hills in the Highlands. We have always been of the opinion and are more confirmed in it now that these fountains mean the attributes of God. The Fountain of His Love, the Fountain of His mercy, etc. Although they are perfect in holiness and their hunger and thirst fully satisfied, yet they will be going into the mysteries of the Glorious attributes of God and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Many a tear they shed in the valley of Baca. “Thou tears of sorrow giv’st to them instead of bread to eat. Yea tears instead of drink Thou giv’st to them in measure great.” They had many reasons for shedding tears in the world — their own condition, the condition of their nation, the condition of their congregations — no fruit seen, the condition of their near and dear ones. All this caused them to be shedding tears and sighing when others would be sound asleep — but God Himself will wipe these away and they shall ne’er shed a tear again. Woe unto you, careless sinner, when God takes away to Glory those who were shedding tears over you in this world. Oh, what bliss, what joy, they have now following the Lamb into fountains of living waters throughout the endless ages of Eternity.