The Daily Word of Righteousness

Glorified in His Saints, #6

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 to me, These are they which came out of [the] great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:13,14)

The great tribulation will cause many to purify their personality through the blood of the Lamb.

The sufferings of the great tribulation will cause the sincere believers to practice righteousness now, and to receive a body of righteousness in the Day of Christ. It is this righteousness of behavior that is the white robe of the saint.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous deeds] of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

God's royal priesthood consists of those who overcome the Antichrist:

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)

Revelation 20:4 (above) describes the royal priesthood, the participants in the first resurrection those who will rule throughout the thousand-year Kingdom age. They have lost their own heads, their own self-direction, and have borne a true witness of Christ and of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They follow Christ to the point of death (compare John 21:18).

These same purified saints, clothed in the white raiment of their righteous deeds, are the army of the Lord, a firstfruits of the Bride of the Lamb. They will participate with Christ in the cavalry charge of Armageddon:

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14)

It is this glorious attack that the first and second chapters of Second Thessalonians are describing when they speak of "taking vengeance on them that know not God"; "when he shall come to be glorified in his saints"; and "the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."

The army of the Lord Jesus Christ is terrifyingly invincible.

They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: (Joel 2:7)

The Christian believers of our day are not ready for such deadly spiritual warfare. During the days ahead the churches will be pruned, being reduced greatly in number; although first there will come a worldwide "latter-rain" revival that will bring multitudes of people into the Christian fold.

After the latter-rain revival there will be an age of unprecedented lawlessness. Sin and rebellion will abound. Because of the abundance of sin most Christian people will fall away from the faith. The fraction that remains will be tested in every conceivable manner. Those who persevere with God will be judged totally, and all the aspects of their personalities that are not pleasing to the Lord will be burned out of them. Then when they fall on the sword, the Word of God, they will not be wounded (Joel 2:8).

To be continued.