As A Thief

[phareztamar]

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.