He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments
Revelation 3:5 Living with His promise in mind is a strong incentive to stay faithful and serve the Lord in the earthly time we have left.
Image created by Microsoft Designer AI
“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 3:5 NASB1995
I must admit to being quite timid about writing about anything in Revelation. I have a difficult time understanding eschatology (the study of the end times) in the first place, and I’ve always felt that I must understand something before I can explain it. God chose to point me to this specific verse today, so I’m going to try my best with His help.
In this chapter, Jesus (through John) is addressing the church at Sardis, a city in what is now Turkey that is best known for being the first place where modern coinage was minted. It was one of the seven churches of Asia to which Jesus spoke in Revelation, and Jesus knew that it had a reputation for life and vitality. However, He also felt that despite this reputation, the church was dead spiritually.
David Guzik of Enduring Word wrote this about Sardis:
Dead: This indicates no struggle, no fight, no persecution. It wasn’t that the church at Sardis was losing the battle. A dead body has lost the battle, and the fight seems over. In this letter Jesus didn’t encourage the Christians in Sardis to stand strong against persecution or false doctrine, probably because there simply wasn’t a significant danger of these things in Sardis. Being dead, the church in Sardis presented no significant threat to Satan’s domain, so it wasn’t worth attacking.
i. Sardis was “A perfect model of inoffensive Christianity.” (Caird cited in Mounce) Their problem was not scandalous wickedness, but a decent death. Their image said “alive,” but in substance they were dead.
ii. “The church of Sardis was at peace — but it was the peace of the dead.” (Barclay)
Jesus hasn’t given up on Sardis by any means! In Revelation 3:2, He asks the church to “wake up, and strengthen the things that remain”, as He had “not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God”. He goes on in verse 3, saying “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”
Jesus wanted them to remember the moment that they first received and heard the Word of God, to hold fast to what they learned and repent if they have strayed. If they didn’t, He was reminding them that He could come back with immediate judgement at any time… and He still can! In Revelation 3:4 Jesus points out that there are still a scattered few in the church of Sardis that have not “defiled their garments” — in other words, have remained faithful to the Lord.
With that bit of background, we then move into today’s verse. Jesus says that those who overcome — in the sense of either being faithful or rekindling their faith in God — will be “clothed in white garments.” Their names would remain in the book of life, meaning that their place in Heaven was assured. This is in reference to a common practice in ancient times, when each city had a register of living citizens. Death or a criminal conviction resulted in having your name removed from the city’s book of the living. Having one’s name removed from Heaven’s book of life is being eternally separated from God and His love.
Jesus goes on to assure the faithful that He will “confess his name before My Father and before His angels,” a wonderful promise! Once again from Enduring Word,
This was an amazing promise. It simply makes sense that we should be willing to confess the name of Jesus, but it is amazing that He would not be ashamed to confess us!
i. It is important for us to accept Jesus. But it is far more important to know if Jesus accepts us.
Living with His promise in mind is a strong incentive to stay faithful and serve the Lord in the earthly time we have left.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father, thank You for Your warning that those who live in sin will suffer the loss of Your love when they come into Your presence. Help me to remain alert to Your coming, remain obedient to Your Word, die to the desires of the flesh, and to live my life for Christ. Keep me pure in word, spirit, and deed for the rest of my life, as I long to hear You say “well done, good and faithful servant” in the presence of God the Father and His holy angels. I ask this in Jesus’ name, AMEN.