The Daily Word of Righteousness

When a Christian Dies, #4

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 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 great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they 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 away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:9-17)

What Happens to the Christian When He Dies?

The passage above appears to be confined to those believers who stand true to Christ during the terrible tribulation that will accompany the reign of Antichrist. Their destiny is to serve God day and night in His temple.

Standing before the Throne of God and before the Lamb with palms in our hands, serving God day and night in His temple, is a marvelous prospect. If we think about it, it is greatly to be desired in preference to living our private life in a mansion.

What does it mean to be clothed with a white robe? Remember, when we die we are a bodiless spirit. Being clothed with a white robe very well may signify that we have been given a body of glory with which to clothe our spirit. When it is time for the Lord to return to earth we will return with Him in a glorified body, descend to where our physical remains are interred, call up from the place of death our flesh and bones and receive them as part of our personality.

Now we are ready to return to the Lord in the air in preparation for the attack of Armageddon.

Notice also:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11)

Again we see the clothing of the bodiless spirits with the white robe woven from our Christ-filled, righteous behavior. Receiving the white robe means we have attained the first resurrection from the dead.

To be continued.