But the garments are not only white, they are bright or shining (19:8). The meaning of bright is shining. Whiteness has a tendency to become dull, pale, and ordinary. But this garment is not only white, but shining. Before Eve sinned, she might have been white, but by no means was she shining. Before the fall Eve was sinless, but she was only innocent, not holy. God does not merely require that we be white, but also that we be shining. Whiteness is a passive, quiescent aspect, but brightness is a positive, active aspect.

Therefore, we must not be afraid of hardship, neither must we long for a smooth pathway, because days of difficulty can make us shine. With some Christians we do not sense that they have sinned or that they are wrong in any way. On the contrary, we feel that they are quite good in almost every aspect. But we also do not sense any brightness. Their goodness is just ordinary goodness. They are white, but they do not shine. However, there are other Christians who are frequently tried and faced with suffering. Often they are so shaken that it seems as if they will surely fall—but they continue to stand. After a certain period of time these Christians attain a shining quality. They are shining in their character and in their virtue. They are not plain, but shining; they are not only white, they are bright.

God is working in us all the time. He is continually expending much effort upon us so that we may be white, and He is continually laboring upon us to make us shining. His desire is for us to be bright. Therefore, we must pay a great price. We must be willing for every kind of difficulty to come upon us. Otherwise, we can never be bright. Merely being white is not enough; God requires a positive brightness to be seen in us. The fear of hardship, the fear of trouble, and the longing for an easy way and a smooth path will cause us to lose our brightness. The more sufferings and difficulties we encounter, the more we can shine. People whose lives are spent in an easy and ordinary way may be white, but they will never be shining.

This garment is of fine linen. According to the Scriptures, wool has a different meaning than linen. Wool denotes the work of the Lord Jesus and fine linen denotes the work of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 53:7 describes the Lord Jesus as a sheep that is dumb before its shearers. From this verse we can see that wool possesses the character of redemption. However, there is no character of redemption involved with fine linen. It is produced from a plant; it is not associated with blood. Fine linen is the product of the Holy Spirit's work within man. The fine linen garment tells us that God not only requires man to have God's righteousness, but also his own righteous deeds. God not only intends to obtain His righteousness in us, but He also intends to obtain many righteousnesses in us.

"And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean" (Rev. 19:8). All the deeds, all the outward righteousnesses, are produced by grace. "It was given to her..." The deeds are not manufactured by the natural man, they are the product of the Holy Spirit's work in man. We must learn to look to the Lord and expectantly say, "Lord, give it to me. Lord, grant me the grace." How good this is—the garment is given by grace! If we say that the garment is made by us, this is true; it has indeed been wrought by us. But on the other hand, it is given by God, because we cannot produce a thing when we depend upon ourselves. The Lord accomplishes it in us through the Holy Spirit.

Many times we feel that a burden is indeed great. We want to escape, almost pleading with the Lord, "O Lord, release me!" But we have to change our prayer and say, "Lord, make me able to carry the burden. Lord, cause me to stand up beneath it. Make me white and grant me to be clothed in a shining garment."

Revelation 19:9 says, "And he [the angel] said to me, Write..." God spoke, and He asked John to write it down. What did he write? "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb." The angel said, "These are the true words of God." Oh, there can be no other privilege, no other position higher than this—to be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. "These are the true words of God." God makes it especially clear that these are His true words. We must accept them, we must heed them, and we must remember them.

What is the difference between those who are called to the marriage dinner and the bride of the Lamb? The bride is a chosen group—the new man. But those who are called to the marriage dinner are a great many individuals—the overcomers. The marriage dinner of the Lamb refers to the age of the kingdom. Those who are called will be together with the Lord enjoying a unique and special fellowship, which no one has ever tasted before. The Lord said through the angel, "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb....These are the true words of God." May God cause us, for His sake, to be able to enjoy this special fellowship with Him. May He make us those who will humbly seek to satisfy His heart's desire. May He cause us to seek to be those who supply life for the sake of the church. And may He cause us and enable us to be the overcomers for the sake of the kingdom.