12 Sep Reflections on Revelation #283
‘Day 283
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and people will not see his shame.” Revelation 16:15. (NASB)
This is a very important text because it demonstrates that the Battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16) is a battle for the hearts and minds of real people. It is not about Middle Eastern oil or the kinds of fighting we have seen in that part of the world recently. Right in the middle of the passage describing the Battle of Armageddon is a call to the people of God to stay watchful and faithful as the End-time approaches.
What is particularly interesting is the connection between this text and the message to Laodicea in chapter three. There are four words in this text (garment, naked, see and shame) that appear together in only one other place in the Bible, Rev 3:17-18, the message to Laodicea! At the decisive end-point of history, we are reminded of the letter to Laodicea.
The key problem with Laodicea is in authenticity. What she says about herself and what she is are two different things. According to the text, Laodicea has put on a mask of riches but she lives in a reality of poverty. She’s put on a mask of beautiful clothing but there is the reality of nakedness. She claims to be living on easy street, but she is actually wretched and homeless. According to this text Laodiceans have taken the counsel in the last days to buy “the garment of righteousness” offered by Christ. Now they must “hang on” to it.
There are 2 gospels in Revelation: the 3 Angels of Rev 14:6-12 taken by God’s people in the end time to all the world. The counterfeit Gospel is proclaimed in Rev 16:13-14. These unclean spirits go out to the whole world also. This counterfeit gospel is also described in 2THess 2:9-12 and Matt 24:24-27. It is accompanied by miraculous signs. Those who do not rely totally on the words of scripture will be deceived in the final crisis.
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