Revelation 16:15 - The 7 Last Plagues and Armageddon.
Revelation 16:15 - The 7 Last Plagues and Armageddon.
Revelation 16:15 (NKJV) "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed
is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and
they see his shame."
Revelation 16:15 (NIV) "Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is
the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked
and be shamefully exposed."
Revelation 16:15 (NLT) "Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a
thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing
ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed."
Revelation 16:15 (MSG) "Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a
thief. You're blessed if, awake and dressed, you're ready for me. Too
bad if you're found running through the streets, naked and ashamed."
CONTEXT
Revelation 16: The 7 Last Plagues and Armageddon.
WORD STUDY
Blessed: this is the third of seven beatitudes in Revelation
(see also 1:3; 14:13; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). [Nelson SB]
Keepeth His Garments: remains steadfast in faith and character
and wholly loyal to God. [SDA Bible Commentary]
Lest He Walk Naked: That is, lose his garment of character as a
result of yielding his faith. [SDA Bible Commentary]
Armageddon (vs. 16): Many modern interpreters identify
Armageddon with the Galilean fortified city of Megiddo and believe that a
literal military battle will be fought in the latter days in that
vicinity..... While this sense is not impossible, it is better to take the
name as being symbolic..... Megiddo, however, is a tell (artificial
mound only seventy feet high in John's day according to Mounce,
Revelation, p. 301) and not a hill or mountain and is never so designated,
though the fact that over two hundred battles have been fought in this
vicinity makes the site an appropriate symbol for the eschatological
battle.... Therefore it is better to understand the term symbolically..... In
any case, the name is symbolic and probably does not refer to any
geographical location we can now identify, whether in Palestine or elsewhere;
but it describes the eschatological confrontation where God will
meet the forces of evil in their final defeat...The great conflict
between God and satan, Christ and Antichrist, good and evil, which lies
behind the perplexing course of history will in the end issue in a
final struggle in which God will emerge victorious and take with him
all who placed their faith in him. [Expositors Bible Commentary]
COMMENTARY
The RSV and TEV translations indicate that this verse is not
part of the narrative as such but is a word from the Lord Jesus
Christ. (UBS Translator Handbook Series)
He gives the charge to be watching for his coming--to be
appropriately dressed in the robes of justification and sanctification.
[Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown Commentary]
The evil servant says in his heart, "My lord delayeth his
coming." He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at
the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions
and words he declares that the Lord's coming is delayed. He banishes
from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming
quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. They
are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Earthly passions,
corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. The evil servant eats and
drinks with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking. He
smites his fellow servants, accusing and condemning those who are
faithful to their Master. He mingles with the world. Like grows with like
in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. With the world he
is taken in the snare..... The world, full of rioting, full of
godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security. Men are putting
afar off the coming of the Lord.... At the very time when the world is
asking in scorn, "Where is the promise of His coming?" the signs are
fulfilling. DA635
Nothing seems more certain than death and taxes. Everyone
knows that he or she will die someday. It is a given, a nasty fact of
life, although not everyone will admit or think about that for too
long. Another fact every adult U.S. citizen knows is that on April 15,
they have to have their income-tax forms completed and in the mail.
Despite the fact that they have had significant sums of money taken from
each of their paychecks throughout the year, they may owe more. So
they have to pay up.
One thing is more certain than death and taxes Christ's
return. In this reading John tells his readers to be prepared today for
Christ's second coming because preparing tomorrow may be too late. For
those who heed John's warning, there is a wonderful blessing. As you
read Revelation 15-16, consider what you must do to be prepared.
Christ will return "as unexpectedly as a thief!" (Revelation
16:15; see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6). His return will take everyone
completely by surprise, and it will mark the beginning of the final
judgment (Revelation 16:1-21). There will be no more opportunities to
turn to God.
The certainty of tomorrow's sunrise falls somewhat shy of 100
percent. When God's plan calls for it, tomorrow will not come - Christ
will. Many people will have planned to get their act together that
day, to stop their indulgences and start living prudently on that
day, to do what they knew they ought to have done before that day.
Their one more chance will not materialize. Christ will have returned
to judge the earth, and only those who awaited his return - only
those who already submitted their lives to him - will be prepared.
Be ready when Christ returns. If you have not accepted him as
your Savior and Lord, today may be your last opportunity to respond
to the invitation he has been holding out for two thousand years.
[The One Year Through the Bible Devotional by Dave Veerman]
ONE OF THE BEST SERMONS ON THIS PASSAGE [Highly Relevant for
Today]
Defendant or Plaintiff by Pastor Ivan Blake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJqq67V0fwU
CLOSING ONE LINERS
If men and women will not yield to the love of God, and be
changed by the grace of God, then there is no way for them to escape the
wrath of God. Warren Wiersbe [Time With God SB]
If you can look on sin without sorrow, then you have never
looked on Christ. Charles H Spurgeon [Spirit Filled Life Devotional
SB]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
LINKS FOR PROPHECY SEMINARS:
Revelation Today by Pastor John Bradshaw:
https://revelationtoday.com/other-streams/
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
