Daily Devotional For October 4, 2025
Behold, I come as a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and hangs on to his garments, in order that he might not walk naked and they see his shame. Rev 16:15.
This is a very important text because it demonstrates that the Battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16) is a battle for the hearts and minds of real people. It is not about Middle Eastern oil or the kinds of fighting we have seen in that part of the world recently. Right in the middle of the passage describing the Battle of Armageddon is a call to the people of God to stay watchful and faithful as the End-time approaches.
What is particularly interesting is the connection between this text and the message to Laodicea in chapter three. There are four words in this text (garment, naked, see and shame) that appear together in only one other place in the Bible, Rev 3:17-18, the message to Laodicea! At the decisive end-point of history, we are reminded to the letter to Laodicea.
The key problem with Laodicea is inauthenticity. What she says about herself and what she is are two different things. According to the text, Laodicea has put on a mask of riches but she lives in a reality of poverty. She’s put on a mask of beautiful clothing but there is the reality of nakedness. She claims to be living on easy street, but she is actually wretched and homeless. I can relate to her condition.
Some thirty years ago I was visiting the Riverside Church in New York City one Sunday with a couple of friends. It has one of the five largest classical organs in the world. Being an organist myself at the time I never got enough of it. The organist that day was Frederick Swann. He was internationally famous, with dozens of recordings.
When the worship service was over, I took my friends up on the platform to get a closer look at the organ. And since I knew quite a bit about such things, I began to explain some of the different features of the organ. As I talked about the organ, the audience began to grow. It was fun having a bigger audience. So I began to expand on the story a little. And the audience got even bigger. Then suddenly I began to realize that the people weren’t looking at me anymore. They were looking behind me. I turned around and was standing face to face with Frederick Swann himself. He looked me in the eye and said, “You’d better get your facts straight, Sonny, before you open your mouth.” He turned around and walked away. I wish I could have been teleported to another planet instantly! I learned a very painful lesson in authenticity that day.
Lord, I confess that sometimes I don’t even know how much I try to be something that I’m not, or polish an image of me that isn’t real. Help me to find my security in You so I can give an authentic witness to the reality of Your presence in my life.