Board index ‹ Heaven and Hell

[Lord R]

Would the people in heaven or the new earth wear clothes?

I ask because according to Genesis clothes are an outcome of sin.

[jimwalton]

Their nakedness in the Garden of Eden was an expression of their lack of shame and fear. As soon as they had spiritual shame, they also had physical shame. It's no surprise that all reality is related, and that our physical and spiritual lives work in tandem with each other.

When God clothed them in Gn. 3.21, it shows us that God treated them with grace and provision despite their sin, and that the offer of His grace came before His act of judgment (banning them from His presence, i.e. sending them out of the Garden). In many places in the Bible, very characteristic of the ancient world, clothing someone was a very symbolic act (think kings and priests). We can even outline the story of Joseph by looking at his clothing in each piece of the narrative. Often a change of clothes accompanied a change of status—so also here. Adam & Eve were being demoted (removed from the Garden), and yet treated with kindness and grace by God, and still being clothed as if to say they were still considered God's priests (as in 2.15), despite their sin.

In heaven, there is every indication we will all be clothed. Without exception, every resident of Heaven in the book of Revelation has a white robe, symbolic of salvation, purity, and victory (Rev. 3.4, 5, 18; 4.4; 6.11; 7.9, 13-14; 19.14).

[Lord R]

So if you no longer have spiritual shame in heaven why clothes?

[jimwalton]

Clothing in the Bible, and in Bible times, as it is in our world, is often symbolic. You can often tell royalty by the accoutrements. The wealthy have expensive suits (men) and jewelry (women). Teen-agers have a certain look, as do the 30-somethings who work for Apple or Google. Antifa wear full-face masks and usually hoodies. Clothing tells us a lot about each other: women in business suits, men in imported Italian clothing, women in mico-mini skirts, men with unbuttoned shirts—I hope you get what I'm saying.

In heaven there is no shame, but there is a new status: that of having come through life, been saved by the blood of Jesus, and exalted to a status of righteousness and justification by God. The white, shining clothing represents the new status. It has nothing to do with shame or no-shame.