Revelation 16:13: A burglar calls.

13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.NIV

It was a Wednesday afternoon like most others, except that the street seemed quieter than normal. We were enjoying the peace of a day off, and we were totally unprepared for what was about to unfold. Around 3.20 we left home to pick up our young daughter from a local primary school. By the time we returned, around 3.45, a thief had paid us a call and got away with one or two things. His visit was completely unexpected.

 This is not the first time the Bible uses this analogy, and we get it don’t we? Or we should. I heard a denominational leader say recently that the reason why many church leaders in ‘third world’ countries are so industrious in preaching the gospel and planting churches, is because they really do believe Jesus is coming soon. ‘But we don’t,’ he said. He has a point. Oh, I know some do, but many of us have lost our edge, our sense of urgency. We do need to live ‘in the future tense’ – live in the light of His coming. There is a stark warning to heed in this verse.

‘‘…I suggest…John is aware, as the plagues become more terrible, that some of his hearers might nod off, not physically but spiritually. How easy to think, ‘Oh, yes, those people have got it coming to them – they are wicked and they deserve it; but we’re all right, we can just relax. Let’s sit back and enjoy the movie.’ No, you can’t, John is saying. I’m talking about the serious danger of deceitful spirits let loose in the world. Many of you have a poor track record at recognising deceit when it stares you in the face. You need to keep awake…’ Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for Everyone’, p.145.