Revelation 19:8 "The fine linen is the righteousness of saints"
What is your righteousness before a holy and just God? Is it your own works or the imputed righteousness of our precious Lord Jesus Christ? The imputed righteousness of Christ is illustrated and clearly taught throughout the King James Bible of 1611.
In the beginning, after Adam and Eve had sinned and hid themslves from God because they were naked, we are told in Genesis 3:21: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothed them.” An innocent animal was slain, and it's coat was made a covering for the naked, guilty pair. God has to cover us; we cannot cover ourselves acceptably before Him.
Isaiah 61:10 beautifully expresses this truth: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. . as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
Zechariah 3:1-4 illustrates the same truth. Satan stood at the right hand of Joshua the high priest to resist him. The Lord rebuked Satan. The Bible tells us that: “Joshua was clothed with filthy garments.” But God said: “Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”
In Matthew 22 our Saviour gives us a parable about a wedding where the guests were bidden to the feast. But the king saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. "And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Then the man was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness.
You and I have no righteousness of our own doing. Isaiah 64:6 tells us: "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him".
Philippians 3:9 the apostle Paul expresses his desire to "be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
Revelation 19:7-9 tells us again of the wedding feast: "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS."
This last phrase is consistent with the rest of Scripture that it is not our righteousness that makes us acceptable unto God, but the imputed righteousness of Christ.
Versions that read just like the King James Bible are Tyndale's New Testament of 1534, Miles Coverdale 1535, the Bishop's Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible of 1599, Green’s interlinear and Green's 2000 Literal Translation, John Wesley's 1755 translation, Daniel Webster's of 1833, the Spanish Reina Valera of 1909 (el lino fino son las justificaciones de los santos), the 1744 French Martin - ("ce fin lin désigne la justice des Saints."), Luther's 1545 German Bible,The Primitive New Testament 1745, the 1918 New Testament Translation from the Sinaitic Manuscript, Noyles Translation 1869, Worsley Version 1770, the 1998 Laurie Translation, Darby's translation 1890, the Bible in Basic English 1970, Lamsa's translation of the Syriac Peshitta, Murdoch's Translation 1852, Etheridge's Translation 1849, the Third Millenium Bible, the 21st Century KJB version, the 2000 English Jubilee Bible and even the 2002 paraphrase called The Message which reads: "She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints."
However, the Catholic Douay, New American (St. Joseph of 1970), and the Jehovah Witness Bibles read in a similar way to many modern versions. St. Joseph: "the linen dress is the virtuous deeds of God's saints." That doctrine is now taught by the NKJ, NIV, ISV, Holman Christian Standard, and the NASB.
The NKJV, NASB, ISV (2003 International Standard Version), the 2001 ESV (English Standard Version), the brand new Holman Christian Standard Bible, and the NIV have, “the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUS ACTS of the saints.” (or "the fine linen is the righteous deeds of God's people").
The Holman Standard reads: "For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints."
If our righteous acts or rignteous deeds are going to make up our wedding dress, it will be pretty soiled and tattered, don't you think?. At the very least, you have to admit that not all these versions teach the same truth in this verse. So which one is right?
The Greek word used here for "righteousness" is dikaioma. It can have several different meanings depending on the context. Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon list: "act of righteousness, judgment, punishment, plea of right, ordinance, decree, making or accounting righteous, a just claim or judgment of what is right".
Kittel's Theological Dictionary shows: "a legal claim, statute or ordinance, a judicial sentence especially of punishment, the actualization of justice, fulfillment of a legal requirement, righteous acts or righteous judgments".
The NASB complete concordance itself on page 1643 says the word comes from the verb meaning "to show to be righteous or to declare righteous". The NASB has variously translated the word dikaioma as: "justification, act of righteousness, ordinance, regulation, requirements". Likewise the NIV has translated it as: "regulation, righteous, act of righteousness, justification, requirements, righteous decree, and righteous requirements".
The context is very important in determining the sense of the word, and overall theology is paramount. If the NASB, NIV, NKJV had translated this as "the fine linen is the righteous requirements of the saints" there would not be much of a difference from the King James Bible, Geneva, Tyndale, Green, Darby, Spanish of 1909, Websters, and Third Millenium Bibles. The fine linen provided by Christ Himself meets all the legal requirements of the laws of a holy God.
However to translate this phrase as: "the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUS ACTS of the saints" overthrows the correct doctrine that there is no righteousness acceptable to God save that of Christ's alone - He is the LORD our righteousness.
I will show three commentaries relating to this verse. Those by Matthew Henry, John Gill and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown.
Matthew Henry says: "You have here a description of the bride, how she appeared; not in the gay and gaudy dress of the mother of harlots, but in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints; in the robes of Christ’s righteousness, both imputed for justification and imparted for sanctification—the stola, the white robe of absolution, adoption, and enfranchisement, and the white robe of purity and universal holiness. She had washed her robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and these her nuptial ornaments she did not purchase by any price of her own, but received them as the gift and grant of her blessed Lord. 2. The marriage-feast, which, though not particularly described (as Mt. 22:4), yet is declared to be such as would make all those happy who were called to it, so called as to accept the invitation, a feast made up of the promises of the gospel, the true sayings of God.
John Gill on Revelation 19:8 - "for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints, or "righteousnesses"; not good works, or their own righteousness; for though these are evidences of faith, by which the saints are justified, and are what God has prepared for them, that they should walk in them; yet these are not comparable to fine linen, clean and white, but are like filthy rags, and cannot justify in the sight of God; but the righteousness of Christ is meant, and justification by that; for that is the only justifying righteousness of the saints: and though it is but one, yet it may be called "righteousnesses", or "justifications", in the plural number; partly because of the many persons that are justified by it, as also because of the excellency of it."
"Christ's righteousness may be compared to fine linen, clean and white, because of its spotless purity; those that are arrayed with it being unblamable and irreprovable, and without spot and blemish, and without fault before the throne;... all the Lord's people will be righteous, they will have on the best robe, and wedding garment, which was despised by the Jews in Christ's time, who refused to come to the marriage feast; and their being arrayed with it will be owing to the grace of Christ, who grants it; and so Christ's righteousness is called the gift of righteousness, the free gift, and gift by grace, and abundance of grace; and faith, which receives it, and puts it on, is the gift of God, (Romans 5:15-17) (Ephesians 2:8) . Not only the garment is a gift of grace, but the putting of it on is a grant from Christ, and what he himself does, (Isaiah 61:10) (Zechariah 3:4)."
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comment: "granted--Though in one sense she "made herself ready," having by the Spirit's work in her put on "the wedding garment," yet in the fullest sense it is not she, but her Lord, who makes her ready by "granting to her that she be arrayed in fine linen." It is He who, by giving Himself for her, presents her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, but holy and without blemish.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown continue: "righteousness - Greek, "righteousnesses"; distributively used. Each saint must have this righteousness: not merely be justified, as if the righteousness belonged to the Church in the aggregate; the saints together have righteousnesses; namely, He is accounted as "the Lord our righteousness" to each saint on his believing, their robes being made white in the blood of the Lamb."
The King James Holy Bible gives us the correct doctrine of the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are clothed in HIS righteousness, not our own "righteous acts".
For another article I have written about the religion of works being promoted by all modern versions, including the NKJV, see:
http://www.oocities.org/brandplucked/keepobey.html
Will Kinney
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS"
"Blessed are they that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
This verse is sometimes criticized as teaching a works salvation, and thought to be based on inferior Greek texts. Let's examine the issues more closely.
Other modern versions that began to appear with the Revised Version of 1881 are based on a very different Greek text than the Traditional text of the King James Bible. Westcott and Hort introduced textual changes in the New Testament affecting some 5000 words, most of these being omissions; but there also were some additions, and other cases of substitutions.
The case presented in Revelation 22:14 is one of substitution. The traditional texts read as does the King James Bible - "Blessed are those that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS". This is the reading found in the vast Majority of all Greek texts, as well as some Old Latin copies, the Syriac versions (Peshitta, Harkelian, and Philoxenian), Lamsa's 1936 translation of the Syriac Peshitta, the Coptic Boharic (3rd to 4th century), and the Armenian ancient versions.
It is also so quoted by several church Fathers, such as Tertullian 220, Cryprian 258, and Tyconius 380 A.D.
"They that do his commandments" is the reading found in all English translations that were based on the Traditional Greek texts widely used before the Westcott-Hort texts began to be accepted in the Protestant churches. This includes Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, the Bishop's Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, and the 1611 King James Holy Bible. After 1611 it continued to be the reading in Wesley's 1755 translation and Webster's 1833 version. Luther's German Bible of 1545 and the Italian Diodati both read as does the King James Bible. It is also that of Young's, the NKJV 1982, the KJV 21st Century version, Green's Modern KJV 1998, the Hebrew Names Version, World English Bible, the Third Millenium Bible, as well as the Spanish Reina Valera from 1602 - 1909. (The Spanish RV of 1960 changed their text and now reads as do the NASB, NIV.) The brand new Worldwide English New Testament also reads as does the King James Bible. The Modern Greek New Testament, used by the Greek Orthodox churches today, still reads as does the King James Bible.
The reading found in such versions as the RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV, Holman Standard, Darby, the Jehovah Witness New World Translation, and all Catholic versions is quite different. These versions read: "Blessed are those WHO WASH THEIR ROBES, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city."
This reading is found in very few Greek manuscripts, the most notable being Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus. The entire book of Revelation is missing from the Vaticanus copy. The reading of "those who wash their robes" is also that of the Latin Vulgate 425, and some Old Latin manuscripts, as well as the Coptic Sahidic, and Ethiopic ancient versions. It is also so quoted by Athanasius 373.
The Greek evidence for the King James reading of "those that do his commandments" is far more extensive and numerous, but there is also evidence for the reading found in the RSV, NASB, NIV, Holman Standard, and the ESV. However the Greek evidence is primarily limited to that of the Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus copies, and it should be noted that these two frequently differ from each other and Sinaiticus is notoriously wild in some of its readings.
Sinaiticus gives us some really strange readings in the book of Revelation, none of which are followed by any modern version. For example:
Revelation 4:8 "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." But Sinaiticus says: " Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty..."
Revelation 7:4 and 14:3 Both these verses mention the number of 144,000. However Sinaiticus has 140,000 in 7:4 and 141,000 in 14:3.
Revelation 10:1 "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and A RAINBOW was upon his head..." Sinaiticus says: "clothed with a cloud with HAIR on his head."
Revelation 21:4 "For THE FORMER THINGS are passed away". Sinaiticus reads: "For THE SHEEP are passed away."
Revelation 21:5 "Behold, I make all things NEW", while Sinaiticus says: "Behold, I make all things EMPTY."
To affirm that Sinaiticus is one of the oldest manuscripts and therefore the best, is to ignore the plain evidence of its many erratic readings and omissions.
Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus (the two primary manuscripts from which "they that wash their robes" come from) constantly disagree with each other. For example, in Revelation 21:3 the words "and be their God" are missing from Sinaiticus, but found in Alexandrinus. In Revelation 21:1 the word "GOD" in "God shall wipe away all tears" is found in Alexandrinus but omitted by Sinaiticus. Sinaiticus also omits the words "any more pain" in 21:4, but they are found in Alexandrinus.
In Revelation 21:11 and 12 the words "Having the glory of God" and "at the gates twelve angels" are omitted by Alexandrinus but found in Sinaiticus, and in Revelation 22:2 Sinaiticus omits "of the nations" in the phrase "for the healing OF THE NATIONS", but they are found in Alexandrinus. This is the true character of these two "oldest and best" manuscripts.
Now, to address the meaning of the verse as it stands in the King James Bible. "Blessed are they that do his commandments...that they may enter in through the gates into the city." This verse cannot mean that we do all the commandments of God perfectly, for no one can possibly attain unto perfect obedience in this life; but in the believer there is a degree of change and submission to Christ as our Lord and Saviour. This is in contrast to those described in the very next verse which reads: "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
Our ability to believe in Christ and obey Him are themselves the results of His grace working in us. Christ Himself is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13). Again, we read in Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now the God of peace...make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Even king David, who, as a believer had at times sinned grievously, could say in Psalms 119:166 "LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments." Had he done them perfectly? By no means, but there was a change in David's life resulting from his knowing the true God.
The principal commandments of our Lord and Saviour are to believe on Him and to love other Christians. "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." 1 John 3:23.
John Gill remarks concerning Revelation 22:14 that the commandments of Christ are "done evangelically, when they are done in the strength of Christ, from love to God, in the exercise of faith upon him, with a view to his glory, and without dependence on them, acknowledging the imperfection of them, and looking unto Jesus for righteousness and life, and so are blessed persons."
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown comment about the two different readings, and have this to say regarding the text of the King James Bible: "The English Version (King James Bible) reading is quite compatible with salvation by grace; for God's first and grand Gospel "commandment" is to believe on Jesus. Thus our "right" to the tree of life is due not to our doings, but to what He has done for us. The right, or privilege, is founded, not on our merits, but on God's grace."
Surprisingly, Adam Clarke mentions only the King James reading and remarks that the obedience seen in Christians is only the result of the grace of God working in them.
Obviously I take the position that the King James Bible reading is the correct one. I find it ironic that the modern version promoters often tell us that the more difficult reading is to be preferred, but in this case they reject what would initially seem to be the more difficult reading in favor of an "easier" reading found in a minority of manuscripts. In fact, I believe this is why some early scribes changed the reading found in the vast Majority of all Greek copies. They wrongly thought the KJB reading teaches a works salvation, and so they changed the text. When properly understood, the King James Bible consistently teaches that salvation is solely by the grace of God in Christ.
Will Kinney