Revelation 3:5

5. White raiment A full and joyous expansion of the promise hinted in Revelation 3:4. On the brilliant white here implied the whiteness of glory, the celestial coruscation see note on Revelation 3:18. On this Trench beautifully remarks: “As we cannot conceive of any room in heaven for raiment, in the literal sense of the word, we must understand by this that vesture of light, that clothing with light as with a garment, which shall be theirs who shall then ‘shine out ( εκλαμψουσι Matthew 13:43) as the sun in the kingdom of their Father;’ their ‘raiment,’ and yet for all this, not something external to them, but the outward utterance of all which now, inwardly, they are who have left all sin behind them forever. The glorified body, defecated of all its dregs and all its impurities, transformed and transfigured into the likeness of Christ’s body, (Philippians 3:21,) this, with its robe and atmosphere of light, is itself, I believe, the ‘white raiment,’ which Christ here promises to his redeemed.” Compare our note on 1 Corinthians 15:43-44.

Blot out his name When the glorious vestments of the resurrection are put on, the citizenship in the New Jerusalem is sure, and the name in its city census, the book of life, can never be blotted out. For this image of blotting, see our note on Luke 10:20.

Will confess his name When the man presents himself in resurrection array there is his record in the book, and the Lord will confess that blessed owner of the name, will remember how unspotted was his vestment in the Church below, and will acknowledge his “title clear to mansions in the skies.”

Before my Father… angels In presence of the celestial court shall he be introduced and recognised as belonging to the holy society of God, angels, and heaven. Such was the prospect of, alas! but few in this great city, the once rich capital of Lydia. The many, both in the Church and out, were facing toward a reverse future.