I had the following asked in the guestbook of my web page:
"How do u interpret Revelation 16:14-16 " (quoted from my guestbook)
Below is the section he is refering to, from the KJV
16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The person that posted this was asking mainly about verse 15.
Any input that the group might have would be great! I haven't seen this verse referenced before, it is a new one to me.
Like the church in Sardis, the believers are being encouraged to wake up and be ready. Those who are unprepared will be caught unawares and their shame will be easily seen. The shame is not that of real nakedness, but of being unready for the Lord's coming. This is true in the end times as it is every day of our lives! We must be prepared spiritually, to meet the Lord when he comes. Adam and Eve were not prepared, not because they were naked, but because they were not ready to meet with their Lord.
You hit it right on the head. TH eway you explained it is exactly how I see it, even though you said it better, and with alot fewer words than I usually end up using...
And wasn't this verse asked about just a little while ago? Should still be on the first page.
We got a backlog of topics of about 5 years now (That long???) and that one question alone is going to be asked at least two or three times in the next five years.
That's OK.
However, if you want to look for something, such as a persons name or a subject, you can use the search feature that is next to "I want to post". Just type in a keyword and it should come up with everything that has that word or name in it. Maybe that will help.
But don't appologize for asking a question, it means people are still interested and learning and we need to keep answering and helping. It can always spark new questions and topics.
I know there are forum boards where people get bent out of shape when someone misspells, asks same questions that was answered "three years ago, didn't you read it?", or get "off topic" slightly, but we don't do that here. We want to help and we enjoy the relaxed attitude here. Just so we keep the purpose of the board going.
a thief waits until you are not looking to steal...Jesus will be coming when peolpe are not looking...we will be blessed if we are looking when he comes and I believe a deception like the ufo sightings and ufo abductions will happen...I think garments refer to faith not clothing
One interpretation is that folks worked naked. They needed to keep their clothing handy to be ready to be dressed to go somewhere if the call comes.
The shame is that perhaps someone would think them poor if they saw them going somewhere without clothes?
Being poor is a biggie with Jews and Chinese. The first question they ask you is not what you do but how much money do you make. We go after the same thing, but in a devious manner, by asking people what they do. You reply, "Oh, I'm a carpenter." You can see their mind swimming this around a bit trying to decide whether you're a wealthy carpenter or just one that gets by.
Ralph
The naked gardener
God's original intent
This naked gardening thing is what I do now.
There is a word that describes a tool that the Insurance companies use to "evaluate" the lifetime "worth" of a particular person by what he or she does for a living. I think that word is "Actuary".
They use it to determine the payout over a life time so they can dertermine how much to charge to begin with.
A floor sweeper may not be as valuable or as risky as a President of a company or a pilot.
What frustrates a person who does this is when you answer a question that does not fit their view of worth. If they ask you "what do you do", the answer should give them an approximate idea of how much you make. They don't give a flip what you really do, they just want to narrow your worth down to what ever they feel you fit.
One person I heard of frustrated an Actuary because he answered, "I help people fulfill their dreams". Now what is that worth? What he is saying is that he helps people make the kind of money ($500 a month to infinity) they need to fulfill whatever it is they need to fulfill. Of course, this guy is a millionaire, but that is not what he told the man. Now if he said "I create markets where I can make 4% off of each and every one I build, and they pull in about 5 to 10 million a year each", then he will know what he makes.
If you are ashamed to look less than "rich", then you will be telling others you make more than you really do. Another words, you will be lying. I find that when I dress down, way down, say with poor looking clothes, I don't get the response from people I do when I dress up really nice. If I wear a tie and suit, I get even more positive reaction, even to think I am an owner or manager of the establishment I'm at. Sorry, I'm as broke if not broker than you are!
I also knew of a man who made tons of money, but dressed like a skid-row so he can walk the money (thousands of dollars) to the dock to pay his workers cash. Driving up each week to pay would put him and his workers in danger. So it was safer to carry an empty bottle in a brown paper bag, and slump his way to the dock in old dirty clothing while carrying thousands in cash. He wasn't ashamed.
I have carried hundreds of dollars around in an old car and never locked it up. Nobody was interested in that old heap.
But naturism, that is another story. What does a millionaire look like naked in comparison to an average income or low income person?
A few years ago when I was in sales -- of necessity -- I used to drive an older car and wear blue collar clothes.. on one occasion I was secerly chastised for performing iumagewise below my perceived level...
I let it go in one ear and out the other (for there was a contract of large variety involved) until the contractr was signed and then....
I started to the door , changed the subject to Aggie talk (college ex stuff) and got to the door, upon cathching the door handle and seeing the party adversary -- the PA -- had no control over me, quickly changed the subject thusly.....
"Yhere is something to be shared with you...
My dad was one of the older Italians around town and he taught me one thing...
that was to not play your cards until necessary.. PA somewhat caught off guard looked me in the eye as I said....you know I must service a number of self perceived hard working small business people who resent the so called easy life of white collar rich guys ... I dress to conceal what would embarass them... now, if you would like I can be back in about 10 minutes in a tuxedo qand a new car and you have your image...
PA's answer was quite surprisingly .....You might just have something...
Upon learning the dress down I apply it to everyday life and live on a cul de sac in a blue collar neighborhood -- with garden homes and row houses.. oh yes the name of the street has further complicated my life of everyday spelling. All my life I have had to spell my real name -- now really you don't think my last name is Viking do you --and now it has a companinon spelling..clue the street name is a palace and the subdivision is two words one of which is castle...the other part is a card game play...
Now I understand my dad did not have appealing buildings on his farms... the tax people in this area seem to think that anybody in business for themselves in muy rico (rich) and hikes it to them on taxes... currently I am trying to gewt taxes reduced on a radio tower valued at $750,000 that is really worth a whole heck of a lot less...
