As A Thief
 

Chapter Three

As A Thief

Behold, I am against thee, pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers.

The sixth angel pours out the wrath of God upon the great river Euphrates. What makes this remarkable, is that it is local. In all of the other vials, notice how wide their application is. Those with the mark of the beast...the target of the first and fifth vial...are an innumerable host. The seas of the second vial are vast, covering nearly two-thirds of the planet. The rivers and fountains of the third vial, are pulmonary to the earth. The sun of the fourth vial can fit a million earths in it. And the air of the seventh vial...well...it's just everywhere.

But only here...at the sixth vial...is the target of judgment so localized. This vial is poured out upon the Middle Eastern river Euphrates...limited to Turkey, Syria, and Iraq...after which several epic things occur:
* The great river is dried up.
* The wadi becomes a crossing point for the kings of the east.
* From the mouth of the dragon, and the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet
come three unclean spirits like frogs.
* The three frogs are the spirits of devils, working miracles.
* These three gather the kings of the earth to Armageddon.

At the sixth vial, spiritual calamity is at a feverish pitch in the heavens. Back here on earth; disaster relief agencies across the globe are tapped out. The wrath of God has overrun all hospitals and morgues. Military machines are churning non-stop. Political unrest is aboil.

But in the midst of all of this; be humbled my fellows, at where my Lord's chief concern lies. It is for our garments.

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garment, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Against a terrifying apocalyptic backdrop, Jesus extends a blessing to the vigilant...those who pay close, focused attention to the assault being waged upon their garment. A blessing to those who keep an eye upon their garment every waking moment, guarding it against loss or damage or soiling. To do less in these perilous times is to risk the shame and indecency, of appearing before "them" completely nude. The pudenda.

Thank God, then, for the holiness standards raised by the church. And thank God for the spiritual discernment to eat the meat, but spit out the bones. And for the spiritual hunger to never forego the meat, just because of a few bones.

Re: As A Thief
 

Amen, good post!

Re: As A Thief
 

!!!

Re: As A Thief
 

Great! Thank you for sharing Pharez! :nod

Re: As A Thief
 

Thanx Maw Maw. Always a kind word from you.

Re: As A Thief
 

Wow: that was cool :thumbsup

Re: As A Thief
 

Thanx 2thex

Re: As A Thief
 

I suggest you consider that just as the PASSOVER LAMB in Exodus 112 was a reference point for Revelation 5 to speak of the LAMB redeeming people by His blood, and not an actual lamb was in view, Euphrates River was dried up in Daniel's day when Belshazzar had a feast and stands as a reference point for a spiritual message regarding the identity of the enemy noted in Revelation. Revelation mentions Babylon over and over again. And we know it's not literally Babylon, but a spiritual identity. And THE ONE INSTANCE that caused the Medes and Persians to take over Babylon was the drying of the Euphrates.

Re: As A Thief
 

Thank you for your thoughts elder. Yes, I am aware of the spiritual significance of many things in Revelation. But the nature of this ninth book...consistent with some advice you gave me a while back...was to plow through Revelation by first taking everything at face value. This also better serves my children, for whom I wrote these books, after I'm gone.

That being said, I've now started my 10th and final book, should my Lord grant me the mercy and grace to finish it. And in this final book, I at long last feel the freedom to indulge the spiritual messages not only in Revelation, but also in the law and the prophets. Again, thank you for your input, and for some awesome posts that I really enjoy reading and studying.:clap

Re: As A Thief
 

P.S. Still looking for Exodus 112.:heeheehee

Re: As A Thief
 

You are definitely going about it in the right way! Wonderful! Just see the pictures used and consider Old Testament patterns. Bible interprets Bible!

Re: As A Thief
 

Aaargh! lol

Re: As A Thief
 

Wonderful writing Bro. P!