Rev 16:15

Rev 16:15

I wrote this for another site but will post it here also.

Rev. 16:15 (NASB)
"Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame."
(John quoting the risen Jesus.)

This is just one of the hundreds of verses in the Bible that has made no sense to me over the years. What does staying awake have to do with being naked? We keep our garments in a sense by keeping them unspotted from the world - but why naked? How can someone steal your clothing while you sleeping while you are wearing them? The word garment here does not seem to be talking about the symbolic white robe used for the believer. It seems to be talking about ordinary clothing. This is just another question that we in the twenty-first century try to imagine or speculate an answer for and we often cannot.

I finally ran across a logical answer - from history of course. The answer comes from tractate Middos. There were twenty-four guards at the Temple during the night. There were three Priests or Kohanim and twenty-one Levites. The guards were stationed at the various gates to the Temple itself and also at the gates of the Temple Mount. In some circumstances the guards were stationed outside of the gates in order to be located outside of the sanctified area of the Temple. This was so the guards could sit down and rest. Guards in the sanctified area had to stand at all times.

In the Temple there were a few cardinal rules. You did not turn your back to the Holy of Holies. All duties and tasks were arranged this way. You never sat or laid down at any time in the sanctified areas. During the night it was the job of the captain of the guard to make his rounds and see that all was well. He made his rounds with probably a couple of torch bearers. When he approached the guard he would say"Peace be unto you." The guard would arise, if he were sitting, and greet him with the proper response. If the guard were found to be asleep the captain of the guard would beat him with the whip that he carried. - or he also had the option of setting the guard's clothing on fire as punishment. This was considered to be the more severe method of the two. There was one recorded case mentioned where the Levite had his clothes set on fire - but it was not the captain of the guard that did it: in this case it was the guard's contemporaries. The three Kohanim guards were exempt from this practice. If my loose fitting clothing were on fire it seems that my first instinct would be to get them off - they may burn but hopefully I would not.

John the revelator was said to have been a priest in the Temple. So they were all very familiar with the practice.

Larry
 
America is a post-Christian nation where most have heard at least enough of the gospel to reject it and harden their heart, or at least to hear and deceive themselves.

We all need to wake up.

The cultural agnostism has crept into the churches. Instead of churches equipping saints to go out and preach the gospel, they've invited the world into pews of a permanent brick gospel tent, promoting little holiness, and rather tolerance, and the worldy lull has drifted in. I look around to see best-sellers fly off of the racks that contain truth mixed with error, truth without the gospel, man-centered gospels, and self-help in the flesh with a couple bible verses, and books that are just down right heretical and from the abyss. We need to wake up, wake up those around us, and really reach out, door-to-door gospel hangers, leave tracts in public places, hand them out, whatever.

There's something wrong when churches do good things to help people without using the oppourtunity to share the gospel, give glory to Christ, rather they might tell the people where their building is located. At least they might sleep better at night knowing that. The church is for disciples of Christ, who are to be trained and taught truth. If we want a revival, we need to get the gospel back to it's original state, not the watered-down thing that's out right now 'Jesus will make you feel better,' 'Jesus came so you could have the best life right now,' 'Jesus saved everybody, just thought I'd tell you the good news so you would know,' etc....

Jesus Christ came to lay His life down as a ransom for His sheep, whoever they may be, and bore the sins of many, whom He would justify. He fulfilled the law, bore the curse of it, took the wrath of God in substitution of guilty sinners, suffered and died on a cross, was dead and buried, rose bodily from the grave, ascended to heaven where He lives to make intercession for His people, and is returning to bring salvation to His people, will judge the living and the dead, and is coming quickly. There is a hell awaiting every sinner that does not repent and believe in Christ-the only savior who can forgive sins and save us from the wrath to come, which is a real hell that will last for all eternity. Eternal life is knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, as God. He says to pick up your cross and follow Him. In this country there are masses of legalists that are either self-righteous or suffering under their burden of sin....then there are masses of the licentious that justify themselves and try to work-off their sins. There are idolators that follow false gods, whether or not they identify with a religion. Satan is disguising himself as an angel of light and new-age thought/ dead spirituality is the hottest new thing sweeping across the culture, and even in the contemporary 'church.' America needs missionaries here in the home front. Spurgeon said about a hundred years ago, if he were to identify this church age with any of the seven churches, it would be Loadicea. That's so much more true today. Other nations are hungering and thirsting for the gospel and truth is exploding out of the darkness...and other places that had the light are being lulled to sleep as darkness is covering the land and the light is staying in the house. We need to get up on the roof tops and proclaim what we've heard, shine the light. If salt loses its saltiness it is good for nothing. May God kindle a fire in our hearts that are only after His own heart and use us mightily for His glory, in Jesus' Holy Name I pray.
 
Here in Rev. 16:15 we have a parenthetical exhortation which is meant for believers. We are exhorted to be vigilant for Christ's final appearing, because he will come unexpectedly. A time will come when satan will attempt to annihilate the community of faith and we must be prepared to hold firm.

We have the image here of a man who stays awake, fully clothed, conrasting this with the man who undresses and sleeps and will therefore be caught naked. If a believer so cares for his garments (here the metaphor must mean his Christian witness) he will not be ashamed. Thus in the context of the Apocalypse and specifically ch. 16, to "watch" and "keep one's garments" is to refuse to concede to the idolatrous demands of beast worship" Ch. 3:4-5 might give some light on this subject.

Thus we have vigilant resistance against persecution - remaining fully dressed in the whole armour of God.

A careful study of Scripture reveals that "nakedness" signifies a lack of rightousness.

God bless us all as we learn together.
 
The Truth

I wrote this for another site but will post it here also.

Rev. 16:15 (NASB)
"Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame."
(John quoting the risen Jesus.)

This is just one of the hundreds of verses in the Bible that has made no sense to me over the years. What does staying awake have to do with being naked? We keep our garments in a sense by keeping them unspotted from the world - but why naked? How can someone steal your clothing while you sleeping while you are wearing them? The word garment here does not seem to be talking about the symbolic white robe used for the believer. It seems to be talking about ordinary clothing. This is just another question that we in the twenty-first century try to imagine or speculate an answer for and we often cannot.

The garment represents one's spiritual purity. ( KJV Jude 1:23) "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Think about it, what person living in the flesh and not in the Spirit has eternal life, none, (KJV Romans 8:13) "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." and (KJV Romans 8:1) "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Therefore all they that walk after the flesh have soiled there garments because (KJV John 3:36) "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

The garment represents ones relationship to idolism. Whenever Israel had idols they were referred to as being naked and their shame could be seen. It is a spiritual concept and not with literal clothing. If one's life is free from idolism, then one's garment is white and clean, but if one's life is full of idolism, which is putting anything, person, or care ahead of God and making it number one in one's life, then their garment is spotted and contaminated with filth.
 
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