<p>16:15- see on 1 Jn. 2:28.</p><p><em>Behold, I am coming like a thief Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed</em> - This is a call to those Christians who have not come out and testified under the beast's domination, thinking they can hide under the garments of nominal acceptance of the beast. They must keep their white garments around them. The paradox is that they will then be exposed as naked; they are apparently clothed, but not in the distinctive white garments of Christ, which publicize their position to all. His thief life coming is an idea used elsewhere about His coming being like this to those within His household who are unprepared. Clearly there will be true believers living under the domination of the latter day beast within its territory, the land promised to Abraham. This is a sober thought. Their numbers at this time are small, but perhaps the witness of the Elijah ministry and various gospel proclamations mentioned throughout the tribulation prophecies will result in many converts.</p><p>1 Tim. 5:24,25&nbsp;implies a 'going through' of the good and bad works of men, with the added implication that it is done in the presence of others. Thus they will &quot;see his shame&quot; (Rev. 16:15). &ldquo;All that behold&rdquo; the unfinished spiritual building of the wicked &ldquo;will mock him&rdquo; (Lk. 14:29); and the accepted will praise each other for their humility in taking the lowest seat in ecclesial life (Lk. 14:10). The rejected will awake to &quot;the reproach and abhorrence of the age&quot; (Dan. 12:2 Dr. Thomas' translation)- as if they will be reproached by some. &quot;When the wicked are cut off, the righteous shall see it&quot; (Ps. 37:34). The 12 disciples will judge the tribes of Israel (Mt. 19:28). At judgment day, the children of the Jews who criticized Jesus would judge them- &quot;they shall be your judges&quot; rather than Jesus Himself (Lk. 11:19). &quot;The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of fools&quot; (Prov. 3:35) is looking ahead to the judgment. But &quot;shame&quot; must be in the eyes of someone; therefore the rejection of the wicked will be in the eyes of those who once knew them in the ecclesia. The men of&nbsp;Nineveh will condemn first century Israel (Mt. 12:41); the folly of the rejected will be made manifest unto all men (2 Tim. 3:9). This is not so as to simply humiliate the rejected. It is so that the faithful <em>learn </em>something too. This was all foreshadowed in the way that Israel experienced their judgments in the sight of the nations, so that God's principles would be taught even to the Gentile world (Ez. 5:8,15). Indeed, the idea of God executing judgment on His people <em>in the sight</em> of others is quite common (e.g. Ez. 5:8; 16:41). But we can learn the principles of God's judgments right now, from His word.</p><p>A read through Rev. 16:13-16 makes it evident that the 6th vial concerns the gathering of the nations to Armageddon; but right in the middle of this section we read: &quot;Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked&quot;- clearly relevant to the saints. It's as if the punishment of the unworthy believers and that of the nations is to be connected. The collapsing of time at the judgment would enable this to actually happen- the events used to punish the world could fall upon the rejected from the judgment seat. These unfortunate individuals will be threshed, as will the world be (Mt. 3:12; Rev. 16:16). This is foreshadowed by the way apostate Israel were treated like the surrounding Gentile world in the time of their judgments (Jer. 4:7). Thus in the 'judgment day' of AD70, the 'rejected' Jews were sent back into Egypt as slaves. &quot;They shall return to Egypt&quot; had been God's earlier prophesy (Hos. 8:13; 9:3). Their condemnation was expressed in terms of an undoing of the redemption from the world which they once experienced.</p>