The Righteousness of Saints
By Dr Roy Mitchell
The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Revelation 19:7,8.
Nearly all of the modern versions (NKJV, NIV, RSV, ESV, NASB etc.) have something like, “the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.” The word in question, dikaioma (plural in the text) meaning some concrete expression of righteousness, occurs several times in the NT, and can be variously translated as, “decree of acquittal,” “judgment,” “righteousness,” “ordinance,” “righteous act,” or as Robert Young defines it in his concordance, “a judicial sentence.” The Douay version renders it here as “justifications.”
What is its true meaning in the context of this verse? The answer is vitally important. The marriage of the Lamb immediately reminds us of the parable Jesus told of “a certain king who made a marriage for his son“ (Matthew 22), the same event in parabolical form. The servants finally gather as many as they could find, “both bad and good.” “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not a wedding garment” who was taken and cast into outer darkness.
The wedding garment is clearly of fundamental importance, an absolute requirement, and we need to know what it represents. Supposing we have not refused or neglected the invitation, what is it that is the deciding factor between our being admitted to the marriage supper and our being cast into outer darkness? Is this the garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness of Isaiah 61 or is it something of our own works that we clothe ourselves with, a question of whether we have been “bad” or “good”?
Hence, it is essential to come to a proper understanding of Rev. 19:8. The gospel itself is at stake here. The older commentators, Henry, Poole, Gill, JFB, Barnes are of one mind. For example, “It is implied here, as it is everywhere in the Scriptures, that this is not their own righteousness, for it is said that this was given to the bride” (Barnes). What about Spurgeon? “Do not forget that, whenever we read about Christ as a Lamb, it is to remind us of his sufferings and death in our room.” And, “I do not know where the prostitute obtained her apparel, but I know where the true church found her wedding dress, for it is written, ‘to her was granted’. This was a gift of sovereign grace, the free gift of her own Beloved.” And, “Best of all, we shall be arrayed on that day with what pleases the Bridegroom. Do I not remember how he said, ‘I counsel thee to buy from me white raiment’? Yes, she has remembered his request. She has nothing else but that ‘fine linen’ which is ‘the righteousness of saints’ and he delights in this. She comes to the Lamb bearing about her the result of his own passion, and of his own Spirit, and she is well pleasing in his eyes. The Lord sees in her the travail of his soul, and is satisfied.” (Sermon on Revelation 19:7,8).
Note that these men were not compelled to that conclusion by the Bible translation they used, as those following the modern versions are compelled to the opposite conclusion. These translators, by giving the word dikaioma a meaning it probably never bears in the NT, have set aside all this former comment on the text and betray such a lack of spiritual discernment as to call in question their qualifications for the task of translating the Word of God. Archbishop Richard Trench said that Scripture translation is not the business of Academia, but of the Church. One wonders whether that principle is somewhat neglected in these days.
How we cling to the thought that we can somehow appear in heaven clothed with the filthy rags of our own righteousness! Joshua, the high priest was probably an upright, well living and godly man in human terms, but his filthy garments must be taken away and new given him. Likewise Job, “perfect and upright,” yet in the presence of absolute Holiness, “Behold, I am vile.” This tendency that we cling to, will surely be fostered by these modern versions. It is true “their deeds follow them,” but they don‘t prepare the way for them. David Dickson, who wrote the Geneva series commentary on the Psalms, said on his death bed, and l quote from memory, but something like, “I have made a heap of my sins, and another of my good deeds, and have fled from both to lay hold on the righteousness of Christ.”