They shall walk with Me in white by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/white.html

They shall walk with Me in white

Jesus said to the church at Sardis: "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:4,5).
How glorious it will be, when this life is over, to walk with Christ in white!
To the lukewarm church at Laodicea, Jesus said: "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed" (Revelation 3:18). 
What does it mean to walk in white, and how can we 'buy' such garments?
White garments represent purity and glory. Jesus appeared in white when His majesty was revealed on the mountain: "As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening" (Luke 9:29); "And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2); "His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them" (Mark 9:3).
Angels wear white. "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses" (Revelation 19:14). Of the Angel who rolled the stone from the tomb of Jesus, we read: "His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow" (Matthew 28:3). When Mary looked into the tomb, "she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain" (John 20:12). After Christ's ascension, we read: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel" (Acts 1:10).
Christ and His angels are dressed in white, showing their purity and majesty.
But how can we, sinful people, walk with Christ in white? It is possible only with God's help.
Priests under the old covenant were dressed in white (2 Chronicles 5:11,12). Only by grace could they stand before God in white. In a vision of Zechariah we read: "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. ... Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' And to him He said, 'See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.' And I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by" (Zechariah 3:1, 3-5). 
After King David had repented of terrible sins, he prayed to God: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:9).
God provides a means of cleansing for those who love Him and repent of their sins. He admonished His people: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 'Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the LORD, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool'" (Isaiah 1:16-18).
We are now under the New Covenant. Jesus can make us clean. "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:13,14).
If we are sanctified by the blood of Christ, and remain faithful until the end, we shall walk with Him in white. "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments" (Revelation 3:5). To overcome means to remain faithful until death (Revelation 2:10,11). Of the martyrs under the altar we read: "Then a white robe was given to each of them" (Revelation 6:11).
John sees a magnificent vision of the saints in the temple of God. "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Revelation 7:9,10). "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?' And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes'" (Revelation 7:13-17). 
Do you long to walk with Christ in white? You can. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 3:16; Acts 8:37,38), if you are sorry for your sins and turn to God (Luke 13:5), if you confess your faith in Jesus (Romans 10:10), and if you are baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38), they will be washed away by the blood of Christ (Acts 16:22), and you will rise from the waters of baptism in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Then if you faithfully serve Christ until death, you shall walk with Him in white. What a glorious prospect for the followers of Christ.
Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From Heaven by Gary Rose

I have always loved to look at the heaven; especially on a clear cold night when thousands upon thousands of stars are visible. I can’t even begin to place a number on the times I have wondered what the stars are really like (up close) and to marvel at the complexity of the heavens. This picture is entitled: “The road to the milky way” is a perfect example of those nights I remember in winter in upstate New York.

Having said all this, there is something wrong with this picture and its title. This picture should be entitled something like:From the Milky Way to the Earth or something akin to it. Why? Well, look at the road. In the U.S. we drive on the right side, yet the portion on the left indicates that something was coming towards us; that is, from The Milky Way.

When I think of something coming from the heavens towards us, I naturally associate it with Jesus and with His discussion with the Jews in the Gospel of John. Read on to see for yourselves…

John 6: 22-69 (World English Bible)

  ²²  On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.  ²³ However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.  ²⁴ When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 
  ²⁶  Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.   ²⁷  Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.” (emphasis added) 
  ²⁸  They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” 
  ²⁹  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
  ³⁰  They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?  ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
  ³²  Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.   ³³ For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
  ³⁴  They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 
  ³⁵  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (emphasis added)  ³⁶  But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.   ³⁷  All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.   ³⁸  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.   (emphasis added)  ³⁹  This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.   ⁴⁰  This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
  ⁴¹  The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”   ⁴² They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’” 
  ⁴³  Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.   ⁴⁴  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.   ⁴⁵  It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.   ⁴⁶  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.   ⁴⁷ Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.   ⁴⁸  I am the bread of life.   ⁴⁹  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.   ⁵⁰  This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.   ⁵¹  I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
  ⁵²  The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 
  ⁵³  Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.   ⁵⁴  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.   ⁵⁵ For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.   ⁵⁶  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.   ⁵⁷  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me. (emphasis added)  ⁵⁸  This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”   ⁵⁹ He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 

  ⁶⁰  Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?” 
  ⁶¹  But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them,“Does this cause you to stumble?   ⁶²  Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?   ⁶³  It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. (emphasis added)  ⁶⁴  But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe, and who it was who would betray him.  ⁶⁵ He said, “For this cause have I said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”

  ⁶⁶  At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.  ⁶⁷ Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?”
  ⁶⁸  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.  ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Fact: if you don’t eat or drink, you will die. This is the truth and it is indisputable. Another Fact: Everyone who is alive this will eventually die and this too is indisputable. One last FACT; Jesus was a real person. He lived and died and lives again (as attested to by as many as 500 people).

While on Earth, Jesus taught that HE and HE alone was the way to heaven (Jn. 14:6). In the 6^th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus claims to have come from heaven to give us eternal life. Those who eat his body and drink his blood will live forever because they partake in God’s true spiritual food. Some will reject Jesus for this, but others will believe.

I encourage you- read the 6^th chapter of John and decide for yourself. Once you have come to the point where you can agree with Peter’s statement of verses 68f., then go to the book of Acts and read chapter the second chapter. Peter’s sermon will tell you what you need to do.

Lastly, what about that eating and drinking of Jesus’ body and blood? This is done symbolically, every first day of the week as the Apostle Paul explains...

1 Corinthians 11 (WEB)

²³  For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.  ²⁴ When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”   ²⁵ In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”  ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Hopefully, the next time you are outside and look at the heavens, you will think about Jesus. I know I will!!!