The Garments

One of author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales tells of an emperor who is fooled into buying a set of invisible clothes and then walks naked through town. This verse, however, is not talking about physical nakedness.

Several chapters later, we are told that the virgin bride, Christ’s true church, is dressed in “fine linen,” which “is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:8). “The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). God’s righteousness “is the patience of the saints” in the third angel’s message—“the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). It is this righteousness by faith that acts as the armor to the devil’s end-time demonic “signs” (16:14).

This “fine linen” is also the “wedding garment” (Matthew 22:11) about which Jesus spoke in a parable. The man in the story “did not have on a wedding garment” and was evicted from the celebration. Without Christ’s righteousness, our sinfulness is laid bare, and we will ultimately, to our own “shame,” lose our salvation. This is not a piece of clothing you can simply take on and off at a whim—this is your character.

Today’s verse heavily references the Second Coming, revealing that the sixth plague occurs near the end of the world. Jesus made direct comparisons to His “coming as a thief” during His earthly ministry (24:42–44; Luke 12:35–40). And Peter likewise declared, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

During that time, though all living will have been either sealed for salvation or marked for death, God’s people nonetheless will remain “sober” and “vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8). The Greek word for “keeps” in today’s verse, tereo, means to keep watch. God’s people will do no other than keep watch for that most precious moment, the coming of their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ, our Bridegroom, please clothe me with the garments of salvation and cover me with the robe of righteousness.

For Further Study: Isaiah 47:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:2–10; Revelation 3:4, 5, 18

Key Bible Texts

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15 KJV)