Revelation 19:8 says, “It was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.” Here the fine linen, which is the righteousnesses of the saints, refers to Christ lived out of us in our daily life. This indicates that while the church is under great degradation, we should be the overcomers to live Christ and even live Him out as our subjective righteousness day by day. In the eyes of God the fine linen is the Christ expressed in our daily life.
In verse 8 the word clean refers to the nature, whereas bright refers to the expression. The Greek word translated “righteousnesses” may also be rendered “righteous acts.” The righteousnesses do not refer to the righteousness (which is Christ) that we received for our salvation (1 Cor. 1:30). The righteousness we received for our salvation is objective and enables us to meet the requirement of the righteous God, whereas here the righteousnesses of the overcoming saints are subjective (Phil. 3:9) and enable us to meet the requirement of the overcoming Christ. Hence, the fine linen indicates Christ, as our overcoming life, whom we live out of our being.
The righteousness that is Christ Himself is sufficient for us to be justified and saved; this righteousness is singular in number. The use of righteousnesses in Revelation 19:8 is in the plural, however, and proves that what is mentioned in this verse is not Christ as our righteousness for us to be justified. Rather, it is righteous deeds, the daily walk, the Christian living, which Christ as our life works out through us. This outworking of the inner life is the white linen with which we are clothed. In order to attend a feast, especially a wedding feast, we must dress in a proper way. In the same way, we need the proper clothing in order to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb.
According to the revelation of the whole Bible, we, the saved ones, need two garments—one for our salvation and one for our reward. For our salvation we need a robe to cover us. This robe is the robe put on the prodigal son in Luke 15. Upon his return, the prodigal son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21). He thought himself unworthy to be in the presence of the father. But the father said to his servants, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). This robe is Christ as our righteousness. It is for us to be justified by God in His presence. We all have this first robe, which is Christ as our righteousness, our justification, that enables us to stand before the righteous God.
However, we also need the second garment. This garment is not for our salvation; rather, it is for our reward, qualifying us to attend the wedding feast of the Son of God. The first garment qualifies us to meet God for our salvation. The second garment qualifies us to meet Christ for our reward. This second garment is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is actually the Christ by whom we live and whom we live out. It is the Christ expressed through us in our daily living.
The second garment is also the righteousness spoken of in Matthew 5:20. In this verse the Lord Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” This verse clearly indicates that we must have a righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the Pharisees. This righteousness is not the objective Christ whom we receive as our robe for our justification. Rather, it is the subjective Christ whom we live out as our daily living. It is not the justifying robe; it is the garment that qualifies us to receive the reward.
This is also illustrated by the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11 and 12. In this parable the Lord spoke of a man who comes into the wedding feast without a wedding garment. The king, seeing the man, says, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” The guest is speechless. Then the king says to his servants, “Bind his feet and hands, and cast him out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (v. 13). The wedding garment is not the justifying garment; it is a very special garment. According to the custom of the ancient Jews, no one could attend a wedding feast without a special wedding garment. If we would be in the wedding feast of the Lamb, we must be clothed with such a garment. If we would be qualified to attend the wedding feast of Christ, we need to live by Christ and live Him out in our daily living. This Christ, the subjective Christ, will be the wedding garment to qualify us to be admitted into the wedding feast. Therefore, we need both the justifying garment and the wedding garment.
The second garment is also referred to in Revelation 3:4, 5, and 18. In 3:4 and 5 the Lord told the church in Sardis that those who have not defiled their garments will walk with Him in white and that the overcomers will be “clothed...in white garments.” This is the garment for the wedding feast. In 3:18 the Lord advised the church in Laodicea to buy from Him “white garments.” Thus, in the book of Revelation the matter of the second garment is stressed. If we do not have it, we will miss the wedding feast.
These two garments are also seen in Psalm 45. In this psalm the queen has two garments (vv. 13-14), one corresponding to the objective righteousness for our salvation and the other to the subjective righteousness for our victory. The latter is equivalent to the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11 and 12. The queen in Psalm 45 signifies the church. Her first garment is inwrought with gold, and her second is embroidered clothing. In the Bible gold signifies the nature of God. At the time of our salvation we received a golden garment that enabled us to be in the presence of God. In addition to this, we need another garment, a garment of embroidery. This embroidery signifies the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit today is working on us to transform us, just as an embroiderer puts many stitches into cloth. Although we have the first garment, our second garment is now being prepared under the embroidering work of the Holy Spirit. This garment will qualify us to see Christ at His judgment seat. Day by day we are under the needle, the transformation work, of the Holy Spirit. This is because we need not only justification but also approval. When we appear before the judgment seat of Christ, will He approve of us? Only those who have the second garment produced by the embroidering work of the Holy Spirit will be chosen and qualified to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb.
The bride in Revelation 19 is clothed with fine linen, bright and clean—the righteousnesses of the saints. This is Christ growing in and living out of us. When we live out Christ by letting Him grow in us, He will be our living. The only way for Christ to grow in us and live out of us is by our eating and drinking Him all the time.
For the bride to be prepared means that she has the fine linen, bright and clean. No doubt, these righteousnesses are related to the righteousness in Ephesians 4:24, where we are told that the new man was created in righteousness. The fact that the clothing of the bride is clean, or pure, means not only that it is without dirt but also that it is without mixture. The righteousnesses of the bride here denote the subjective righteousness, Christ as the righteousness which has been constituted into our being. The more this subjective righteousness is wrought into the church, the more she is prepared to become the bride. Those who compose the bride have been redeemed and regenerated. But they also need to have the subjective righteousness interwoven into their being in order to have the fine linen, bright and clean. Actually, it is this linen that is the beauty of the bride.
The bride in Revelation 19 refers to the redeemed and transformed tripartite mankind. This bride will wear white linen, which is the righteousnesses of the saints. If we would have a share in this bride, we need to adorn ourselves with the bright, shining, and pure righteousness. Day by day we need to prepare bright linen clothing to cover ourselves. This is our daily righteousness. We produce such a garment of righteousness by walking daily according to the Spirit of life and by having a life that is a life of the Spirit. If we prepare our wedding garment day by day, month by month, and year by year by living such a life in the Spirit, we will not be found naked when the Lord comes. Instead, at His coming, we will be wearing a bright and clean, or pure, wedding garment (3:18).
Ultimately, the bride in Revelation 19 will become the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22. The city of New Jerusalem will bear the appearance of jasper. Speaking of the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:11 says, “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.” According to Revelation 21:18, “The building work of its wall was jasper.” Also, the first foundation of the New Jerusalem will be jasper (v. 19). Therefore, the appearance of the entire city will be that of jasper. Revelation 4:3 indicates that God sitting on the throne in the heavens also has the appearance of jasper. Hence, jasper denotes God’s image, His expression. The fact that jasper is the appearance of both God and the New Jerusalem indicates that this holy city will bear the same appearance as God. The entire city will express God. The jasper of the New Jerusalem is equal to the righteousness of the bride. Today we are preparing our bridal gown, a gown that will have the appearance of righteousness, which is the expression of God. Ultimately, in the New Jerusalem this will be the appearance of jasper.