Ecclesiastes 9:8. Let thy garments be always white.
In the warm countries of the East white clothing is more frequently and generally worn than with us. This allusion to white garments is a beautiful figurative exhortation to perpetual purity of character, and one that would be readily appreciated by the Oriental mind. “May God blacken his face” is a common imprecation in the East. Mohammed is often called “He of the white face.” In the Bible there are a number of references to white garments as typical of purity. In Daniel 7:9, the Deity is represented as clad in a “garment white as snow.” When Jesus was transfigured “his raiment was white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). The angels appeared in white robes when the disciples visited the tomb of their risen Lord (Matt. 28:3; Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:12), and also when he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:10). The redeemed are to be clothed in white (Rev. 7:13; Rev. 19:14).