June 4th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Yesterday we looked at the refreshingly positive letter to the church at Philadelphia.  Today we want to look briefly at the sweeping promise Jesus gives to them, and by extension to us, in the next verse.

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Revelation 3:10

This was not telling of a future localized persecution.  It speaks of a future hour of testing that would come upon the whole world. “Those who live on the earth” is a phrase used several times in the book of Revelation referring to unbelieving people.   The conclusion: this promise was God’s word to faithful believers that they would be kept from the hour of trial, the tribulation, described in the remainder of this book – that hour of testing was intended for unbelievers, and those who stand faithful with Christ have already passed the test – they are already overcomers!  To read a more detailed explanation of this verse’s meaning and how this promise extends worldwide to all believers, I recommend you read or listen to this sermon from John MacArthur – he gives a much more thorough look at this topic!

Obviously the issue of the timing of the rapture is one that has been hotly debated in Christian circles for years.  As I stated at the beginning of this series, it is my desire to avoid debate and argument about theological positions during this series.  I am convinced that Satan has used these ongoing debates to distract us from the clear message of this book.

That being said, I do want to be clear that I do hold to a pretribulational view of the rapture, meaning that Christ will return for His church before the beginning of the tribulation.  This is not a “hill I’ll die on,” but the more I study the Scriptures the more I feel that this view best fits with what I see in the text from Old Testament to New.

These letters to the churches give me incredible confidence – they remind me that we serve a God who sees everything and is fully in control of the affairs of this world.  They remind me that He will reward and He will judge, and I rest in His justice and holiness.  So no matter when you or I think the rapture will be… quite frankly it doesn’t matter in the end.  I rest in His sovereign plan and take confidence that He is in the midst of His church.

For further reading, I appreciated the explanation in this article: Are you looking for the Christ or the Antichrist? A discussion of the Biblical basis for the time of the rapture from Friends of Israel.

If you have missed posts from the Revelation series, you can find them all listed here.  To make sure you don’t miss any more, I hope you will consider subscribing in a reader or by email!

Art used (with permission) by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site,  http://revelationillustrated.com.