{"id":18963,"date":"2018-09-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-015-kept-from-the-hour\/"},"modified":"2018-09-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-015-kept-from-the-hour","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-015-kept-from-the-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 015 – Kept From the Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18963","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 015 - Kept From the Hour","sermon_date":"20180916","sermon_month":"","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6079,"sermon_slides":6072,"sermon_mp3":6073,"sermon_id":"916188521810","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"3:10","sermon_transcript":"Dr. Andy Woods\n\nKept from the Hour\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9-16-18\n\nRevelation 3:10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 15\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 3, and verse 10.\u00a0 The title of our message is Kept from the Hour.\u00a0 We have been working our way through the Book of Revelation, we have been looking at the things our Lord has been saying to the church at Philadelphia.\u00a0 And right in the middle of His exhortation to the church at Philadelphia we read these words: \u201cJesus said because you have kept My perseverance I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.\n\nAnd what we\u2019ve just entered into is one of the most hotly debated verses, not only in the Book of Revelation but perhaps in the whole Bible.\u00a0 So as God allows it we\u2019re going to be spending all of this morning on verse 10 and we still might not even finish it.\n\nBut notice if you will the first part of verse that verse, notice what the Lord says.\u00a0 He says, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 That raises sort of an interesting question, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Well, what if I don\u2019t do my part?\u00a0 What if I\u2019m not persevering enough?\u00a0 A lot of people will tell you well, if you\u2019re not persevering enough then you miss the rapture, which is what the rest of this verse, as I\u2019ll be revealing to you, teaching you this morning, indicates.\n\nThere is a view out there and some of you may be familiar with the rapture debate, some may not, but there is a view out there called the partial rapture theory.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t tell you how many Christians I know struggle because they\u2019ve been taught this theory.\u00a0 The partial rapture theory goes something like this: well, you\u2019d better be living and righteous because if the Lord comes at a specific instance when you\u2019re not living holy and righteous, for example, you\u2019re in that movie theater watching a movie that you shouldn\u2019t be watching and the rapture occurs at that point you\u2019re going to be\u00a0 left right there in your seat and you\u2019re going to be (to quote the late Timothy LaHaye) Left Behind<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s called the partial rapture theory.\u00a0 And so the partial rapture theory basically argues that the purpose of the tribulation period, which is going to be described as we move through the Book of Revelation, is to straighten out those carnal Christians, partial rapturism.\n\nThis verse, Revelation 3:10, is a key verse that they use to argue for partial rapturism. Let me just make some generic comments about partial rapturism first before I show you what I think is a proper way to interpret verse 10\n\nWhat are some problems with partial rapturism?\u00a0 Number 1, every divine blessing that we have is by God\u2019s grace, even including your spiritual gifts, your salvation.\u00a0 And so that would also include and encompass part of what I like to call the grace package, your participation in the rapture.\n\nBeyond that we have some problems with what we call symbolic parallels.\u00a0 Take the situation of Lot.\u00a0 You know, Lot in the Old Testament, the best I can tell, doesn\u2019t really look like a believer at all but he is called a believer in the New Testament; he\u2019s called a righteous man.\u00a0 2 Peter 2:7-8, positionally righteous but he wasn\u2019t practicing it.\u00a0 [2 Peter 2:7-8, \u201cand if<\/em> He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men [8] (for by what he saw and heard that<\/em> righteous man, while living among them, felt his<\/em> righteous soul tormented day after day by their<\/em> lawless deeds),\u201d]\n\nAnd when you study Genesis 19:22 what you\u2019ll learn is the angel that came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, even to backslidden Lot, (are you a lot like Lot), we can backslide, can\u2019t we, in the Christian life. [Genesis 19:22, \u201cHurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.\" Therefore, the name of the town was called Zoar.\u201d]\u00a0 The destroying angel came and said \u201cI cannot,\u201d he didn\u2019t say I will not, \u201cI cannot\u201d Genesis 19:22, destroy Sodom until you are removed.\u00a0 God cannot bring the tribulation period upon the earth until all His blood bought people are removed.\n\nBeyond that the promise of the rapture is mentioned in Paul\u2019s letters to the Corinthians church.\u00a0 Now do we know anything about the Corinthians church?\u00a0 Some have called 1 Corinthians 1 Californians because of the backslidden nature of that church.\u00a0 And yet what does Paul say when \u00a0\u00a0he talks about the rapture to that church?\u00a0 1 Corinthians 15:51, \u201cwe will all be changed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 15:51, \u201cBehold, I tell you a mystery;] we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; [for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 He never says well, you\u2019d better be living right or you\u2019re going to be left behind.\n\nBeyond that if the Lord were to rapture some people and leave others behind what would that do to Christ\u2019s body?\u00a0 It would divide it, something that can\u2019t happen.\u00a0 And beyond that it would subject certain believers to God\u2019s wrath.\u00a0 You see, the carnal folks (according to this theory) that are left behind will go into the wrath of God and the wrath of God is there to get them straightened out.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The problem with that is we are told, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that we are exempted from the wrath of God.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 1:10, \u201cand to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.\u201d]\n\nPartial rapturism when you think about it makes the Bema Seat Judgment of rewards unneeded.\u00a0 You see, following the rapture of the church we will stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ and we will either be given rewards or deprived of rewards; our salvation is not an issue at that point, based on how we allowed the Lord to express Himself through us during our life in Christ.\n\nNow think about this for a minute; if only the pure Christians living right are raptured and then the point of the tribulation period is to straighten out all of the impure Christians and they, according to this theory get raptured to heaven one by one as they get straightened out in their daily life, then there would be no point really in the Bema Seat Judgment.\u00a0 There would be no deprivation of reward for a Christian that\u2019s not living holy because at that point everyone will be living holy.\n\nBeyond this partial rapturists are very, very biased.\u00a0 Many of them will teach this theory that the holy Christians are taken, the unholy Christians are left behind and everybody I\u2019ve ever encountered that teaches this theory assumes that they are the ones that are going to be taken.\u00a0 And somehow it\u2019s the rest of us that are going to be left behind.\u00a0 And if I had some time to go into this theory, partial rapturists misapply verses constantly apply verses constantly.\u00a0\u00a0 They take verses aimed at rewards and apply it to the rapture; they take verses aimed at Israel and apply it to the rapture.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s just sort of a synopsis, if you will, of partial rapturism and why we as saints here at Sugar Land Bible Church reject theory.\n\nNow if the theory is to be discarded then what in the world do we do with verse 10 or Revelation 3, which says, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, [to test those who dwell on the earth.]\u201d\u00a0 It reads, does it not, like there\u2019s a condition that has to be met in the life of the child of God, other than faith alone in Christ alone, in order to participate in the rapture.\u00a0 And because the verse reads this way it has always bothered me, for a number of years, as to how to interpret this particular verse.\u00a0 But, fortunately, through the Chafer Theological Seminary Journal I came upon the writings of John Niemela, a Greek scholar, and let me share his findings with you and see if this doesn\u2019t fit better with our theology.\n\nNiemela, in his journal article, The Interpretation of Revelation 3:10: You Have Kept My Word<\/em>, CTS Journal; As summarized by Dennis Rokser, A Golden Nugget in Revelation 3:10<\/em>, Grace for the Race, no. 29. makes some important points.\u00a0 He says here are some things that are not part of the original Greek manuscripts: chapter divisions, verse divisions, punctuation marks like periods or commas or exclamation points.\u00a0 And we say well how did that stuff get in there, why do we have chapter divisions, verses divisions, periods, exclamation points.\u00a0 Those are added later by copyists of the original manuscripts but they were never part of the original manuscripts.\u00a0 And so what happens is most English translations separate the two verses, verses 9 and 10, with a period.\u00a0 In other words, the way it reads in most English translations, including the New American Standard Bible which is the version I use, you have a statement made by Christ about people coming, and we covered it last week, that will one day bow, the enemies of Philadelphia will bow before the feet of the Philadelphians.\u00a0 And then in your English version probably what it has is a period and then it begins verse 10 with a capital letter, Because, and it makes it look like the Because is a condition to participate in what follows in verse 10, the rapture.\n\nAnd John Niemela\u2019s point is simply this: those punctuation marks, commas and exclamation points and chapter divisions and verse divisions, those really are not part of the original text.\u00a0 But most people think they are and thus it becomes a cause in the minds of many people for participating in the rapture.\u00a0 John Niemela in his article makes the very simple point that the period is placed in the wrong place.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to place the period somewhere you don\u2019t place it at the end of verse 9, you should place it in the middle of verse 10 so the passage would read as follows: \u201cSee, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and they will know that I have loved you,\u201d the sentence continues, \u201cbecause you have kept My enduring word.\u201d\u00a0 And then what follows is an unconditional promise, \u201cI will also keep you from the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole earth.\u201d\n\nIn other words, what he\u2019s saying is the condition becomes a cause, not for participating in the rapture but a cause for their enemies to bow down at their feet as described in the prior verse.\u00a0 In other words, your enemies are going to come down and bow at your feet one day because you have been obedient to Me, end of idea.\u00a0 Then the idea starts afresh and he begins to talk about the unconditional promise of the rapture of the church.\u00a0 That way Revelation 3:10, the second half of the verse, becomes an additional unconditional promise of the rapture, a promise that God unconditionally gives to the child of God regardless of daily life or daily performance.\n\nYou see, your daily life and daily performance as a Christian is going to be evaluated at the Bema Seat Judgment; the rewards that we will receive or not receive are very much conditioned.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not true with your participation in the rapture.\u00a0 The rapture is coming and if you are \u201cin Christ\u201d whether Paul says asleep or awake, you\u2019re going in the rapture; you might even go kicking and screaming but you\u2019re going nonetheless.\n\nNow why does John Niemela think this way?\u00a0 He thinks this way because he says this:\u00a0 It is rare to begin a sentence in Greek with the word \u201cbecause,\u201d it\u2019s the Greek word hoti <\/em>and he says instead hoti<\/em>, because, when causal in function usually follows a promise rather than something that precedes a promise.\u00a0 So the condition is not for participating in the rapture, the condition is whether the enemies of the church in Philadelphia will bow down before that church, because they\u2019ve kept their condition of obedience that will become a reality.\u00a0 Then he starts a brand-new idea about the unconditional nature of the rapture.\n\nSo, John Niemela writes, \u201cThus Greek sentences rarely begin a sentence with the phrase \u201cbecause you have\u201d when explaining the cause or reason for something as Greek and English texts of Revelation 3:10 unfortunately do today.\u00a0 Instead the \u201cbecause\u201d phraseology consistently follows later in the sentence.\u201d\u00a0 And so you say well, the NASB doesn\u2019t do it this way, the NKV doesn\u2019t do it this way, are there any English translations out there that do follow what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 In fact, there is a translation that does that, it\u2019s called the McDonald\u2019s Idiomatic Translation an English Translation, MIT for short, and notice what they do here.\u00a0 \u201cThe sentence reads as follows: \u2018I will put at your disposal those from the synagogue of Satan who all themselves Jews but are lying.\u00a0 See, I will make them bow down before Your feet and they will know that I have loved you.\u201d\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 We have a condition that\u2019s been met, \u201cbecause you have kept My enduring Word.\u201d\n\nAnd then what should follow is a period meaning end of idea and then Jesus, out of His goodness reminds the church of Philadelphia of a promise that they have that is not conditioned on human performance at all, the rapture.\u00a0 The fresh idea starts right there in the middle of verse 10, which says, \u201cI will also keep you from the hour or trial that is to come upon the whole earth.\u201d\u00a0 And I discovered John Niemela\u2019s writing on this I couldn\u2019t tell you how excited I was, I\u2019m probably more excited about it than you are, and that\u2019s why you guys are sort of victims and guinea pigs to some of the insights I find.\u00a0 But it resolves something for me that has always bothered me.\u00a0 I knew that the rapture was something that was unconditional in nature but it looked like verse 10 provided a condition when in reality John Niemela is saying there is no such condition for the rapture.\u00a0 The condition is for what precedes, not for what follows.\u00a0 And if Dr. John Niemela is right and if the MIT translation is correct then probably the very last verse that a partial rapturist could ever use is demolished.\u00a0 The rapture, participation in it, is by divine grace.\n\nThat\u2019s kind of a heavy way to start for the first 15 minutes on a Sunday morning, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 No jokes, not poetry just get right into the Greek grammar.\n\nBut let\u2019s take a look here at the second part of verse 10 and let\u2019s see if we can explain this: it\u2019s an unconditional promise as we\u2019ve said. What exactly is being promised?\u00a0 What does Jesus say to the little struggling church at Philadelphia.\u00a0 He says, \u201cI will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is to come upon the whole world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10] What is this talking about?\u00a0 And as you probably know there\u2019s a big debate on this.\u00a0 Is this talking about being sustained through the tribulation period?\u00a0 Many people argue that.\u00a0 Or is this talking about not being protected or sustained through the tribulation period but kept out of that time period entirely?\u00a0 That\u2019s the debate, that\u2019s why I\u2019ve entitled this message \u201cKept from the Hour,\u201d not Kept Through the Hour, \u201cKept From the Hour.\u201d\u00a0 As you probably know there are many debates about the rapture of the church, when does the rapture take place relative to the tribulation period.\u00a0 In fact there\u2019s so much acrimony on this you feel like you\u2019re in the tribulation period itself trying to navigate your way through all these debates.\n\nBut at the top of the screen we hold to what we think is the correct view, pretribulationalism, we will not see any part of that hour.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll be removed before that time period really starts.\u00a0 But beneath it, and here it is in graphic form, you have mid tribulationalists, people that believe that we\u2019re going to be here for the first half of the tribulation period; post tribulationalism, people that believe we\u2019re going to be here for the whole tribulation period.\u00a0 And if all of this wasn\u2019t complicated enough along comes another view in the 1990, pre-wrath rapturism (they call themselves) which I think is a very misnamed title because pre-tribulationalism is pre-wrath. We think the wrath of God is the whole tribulation but they say no, it\u2019s the final 25% of it.\u00a0 So therefore, the church will be here for roughly 75% of the tribulation period, \u201ccomfort one another with these words.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\nAnd you know, the rapture question, the rapture discussion may be something completely new to\u00a0 you but what I\u2019d like to convince\u00a0 you of by God\u2019s grace is I want you to leave here with certainty, belief, conviction, that Revelation 3:10 along with a plethora of other verses is talking about the view at the top of the screen that I had earlier, pretribulationalism, we are going to be kept out of this time period entirely. \u00a0Why do I think that?\u00a0 This is going to be a fast Bible study, right?\u00a0 NO, because there\u2019s eleven questions we have to ask and answer.\u00a0 So, let\u2019s see if we can look into this a little bit more carefully.\n\nThe first reason why I think we will not be here for any part of this tribulation period is this: if God were to communicate that we were going to be sustained through the tribulation period, protected through the tribulation period, there were other obvious ways for Him to get across this point.\n\nRenald Showers puts it this way, a pretribulationalist.\u00a0 He says, \u201cThe idea of the saints being shielded from the testing while living within or through this time period also would have been expressed more clearly through the use of another preposition, either en<\/em>, (meaning in), or dia (<\/em>meaning through),\u201d two words by the way that aren\u2019t found in Revelation 3:10, \u201c[thus I will keep you in or through the time period of testing] rather than\u201d what the Lord uses, what John records, to describe this, the Greek preposition \u201cek<\/em>,\u201d which we\u2019ll make reference to in a minute. It wouldn\u2019t say ek<\/em>, which means out of, it would have a completely different preposition \u201cin\u201d or \u201cthrough\u201d but Revelation 3:10 doesn\u2019t say that.\u00a0 So, you might be able to interpret Revelation 3 verse 10 as you\u2019re going into the tribulation period, but there are a lot easier ways to communicate that had that been the Holy Spirit\u2019s intention.\n\nQuestion number two, will God actually protect believers during the tribulation period?\u00a0 In other words, if Revelation 3:10 means that God will protect believers in the tribulation period then quite frankly He does a terrible job of it because as we progress through the Book of Revelation what do we see over and over again of the believers that come to Christ in that time period?\u00a0 We see rampant martyrdom!\u00a0 A lot of people look at this as it\u2019s going to be sort of like it was in the days of Moses in Goshen, where the plagues came upon the land of Egypt but God\u2019s people protected in the land of Goshen were supernaturally protected.\u00a0 A lot of people envision it like it\u2019s going to happen in Exodus 9:6, \u201cSo the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died.\u201d\u00a0 So, they say look, we\u2019re going to be in it but we\u2019re going to be protected from the judgments.\n\nAnd there are quite frankly a couple of examples where that does happen, Revelation 9:4 you\u2019ll see God\u2019s people shielded from a certain judgment.\u00a0 [Revelation 9:4, \u201cThey were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.\u201d]\u00a0 Revelation 16:2, God\u2019s people are shielded from a certain judgment.\u00a0 [Revelation 16:2, \u201cSo the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.\u201d]\u00a0 But let me tell you something, that is not what the Book of Revelation by and large is talking about.\n\nIn fact, Revelation 6:9-11 talks about massive martyrdoms and it talks about the martyrs under the altar crying out to God for justice.\u00a0 What happened to the divine protection of them during the tribulation period?\u00a0 [Revelation 6:9-11, \u201cWhen the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; [10] and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, \u201cHow long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?\u201d [11] And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of<\/em> their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.\u201d]\n\nIn fact, John sees in Revelation 7:13-14 a group of martyrs that\u2019s so large they can\u2019t even be numbered.\u00a0 [Revelation 7:13-14, \u201cThen one of the elders answered, saying to me, \u201cThese who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?\u201d [14]I said to him, \u201cMy lord, you know.\u201d And he said to me, \u201cThese are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.\u201d]\u00a0 Revelation 13:10 says, \u201cIf anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here it\u2019s calling for the perseverance and the faith of the saints.\u201d\u00a0 The saints are being killed over and over again in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll see the same thing in Revelation 13:15, Revelation 20:4. [Revelation 13:15, And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 20:4, \u201cThen I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.\u201d]\n\nI mean, if the idea is God is protecting His people through the tribulation period, not only is that a very weird way of communicating that but God Himself really isn\u2019t doing much of a job.\n\nAnd beyond that, how in the world do you interpret the promises of comfort.\u00a0 Every time the rapture is introduced, I think it\u2019s introduced for the first time in the Upper Room, John 14:1, Jesus just starts to describe the rapture and what does he say? \u201cDo not let your heart be troubled\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Does that statement really make any sense if you\u2019re going to go into the tribulation period and be martyred\u2026 oh by the way guys, you\u2019re going to go through the tribulation period, a lot of you are going to be killed but don\u2019t let your heart be troubled, comfort one another with these words.\u00a0 How is that exactly the blessed hope of the church?\n\nThere\u2019s a third question that has to be asked and answered to come to some king of certainty on this subject of the rapture based on Revelation 3:10.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.\u201d]\u00a0 What in the world does it mean when it says Jesus is going to keep you (Philadelphia) from the hour of trial?\u00a0 Notice what Christ says, \u201cBecause you have kept My word I will also keep you,\u201d now that\u2019s the Greek preposition ek<\/em>, \u201cfrom the hour of testing which is to come upon the whole world.\u00a0 There is a great battle over that preposition ek<\/em>.\n\nCharles Ryrie writes this: \u201c<\/em>Posttribulationists say that \u2018from\u2019 (ek<\/em>) refers to protection of the church within the Tribulation. Pretribulationalists\u201d that would be us, \u201cunderstand it to mean preservation by being absent from the time of tribulation. One is internal protection (while living through the Tribulation); the other is external protection (being in heaven during that time). Which meaning does \u2018from\u2019 or (ek<\/em>) support? The answer is either, if the preposition is considered alone. But for the record, let it be said that ek<\/em> does denote a position outside something, something without. The pretribulationist understanding of ek<\/em> is supported by a number of verses that have nothing to do with the rapture and therefore do not beg the question.\u201d\u00a0 [Charles C. Ryrie, What You Should Know About the Rapture, Current Christian Issues (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 114-15]\n\nLet me show you a few other verses on this.\u00a0 Remember Matthew 7:5, \u201cYou hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the preposition ek<\/em>, it means removal.\u00a0 It can certainly mean that in many, many contexts. \u00a0\u00a0And what I want you to see in Revelation 3:10 is there\u2019s three things: number one, keep, that\u2019s the verb t\u0113re\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 Number two, ek<\/em>, that\u2019s the preposition from.\u00a0 And number three, \u201cthe hour of testing.\u201d\n\nSo, let\u2019s see if we can find that same three-fold combination elsewhere in the Bible.\u00a0 In fact, it occurs quite frequently.\u00a0 Notice Acts 15:29, \u201cthat you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep\u201d not that\u2019s our same verb t\u0113re\u014d<\/em>, this one is diat\u0113re\u014d<\/em> which just adds a little intensification but it\u2019s the same verb.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026if you keep yourselves free\u201d that\u2019s out of, \u201csuch things you will do well.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that ek<\/em> and diat\u0113re\u014d<\/em> are used together in a combination communicating get away from these things sacrificed to idols.\u00a0 He\u2019s not saying enjoy these things 75% of the time.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying get away from them completely.\u00a0 That same combination is found in Revelation 3:10 relative to the hour of trial that\u2019s soon coming upon the whole earth.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour<\/em> which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.\u201d]\n\nOr how about this one, John 12:27, this one\u2019s interesting because John is writing, just like the Book of Revelation, Jesus is speaking just like our passage in the Book of Revelation and it talks also about an hour of divine wrath, the time period when the Son of God paid the full penalty for our sins and the same combination shows up.\u00a0 John 12:27, \u201cNow My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, \u2018Father, save\u201d sozo<\/em> very similar to t\u0113re\u014d<\/em>. \u201csave me from\u201d ek<\/em>, \u201csave me from what? \u201cthis hour.\u201d The time of your wrath and of course that\u2019s a prayer request the Lord never answered because as we know Jesus bore the wrath of a holy God the Father in our place. But you notice what Jesus is praying here through this same three-fold combination.\u00a0 He\u2019s not saying I want to go through half of the crucifixion, or three quarters of the crucifixion.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying in My humanity I want to be kept out of it completely.\n\nNow that\u2019s the same three old combination of ek<\/em>, a similar verb and a time of wrath that\u2019s employed in Revelation 3:10. [Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.\u201d]\u00a0 Jesus is not telling us we\u2019re going through part of it, half of it, three-quarters of it, all of it, He\u2019s saying you\u2019re going to be out of it completely.\n\nOr how about this combination, Colossians 1:13,\u201d For He rescued\u201d very similar to keep, \u201cHe rescued us from\u201d ek,<\/em> \u201crescued us from\u201d what? \u201cthe domain of darkness.\u201d\u00a0 When you placed your personal faith in Christ your whole position changed, you were taken out of the domain of darkness.\u00a0 As a Christian you\u2019re not 75% saved; you\u2019re completely out of the domain of darkness.\u00a0 That same combination is used in Revelation 3:10.\n\nHow about this combination.\u00a0 Now if you\u2019re dealing with midtribulationists, posttribulationalists, they\u2019re going to take you to John 17:15 at some point.\u00a0 What does John 17:15 say?\u00a0 \u201cI do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep\u201d that\u2019s our same verb, \u201cthem from\u201d or ek<\/em>, the same preposition, \u201cfrom the evil one.\u201d\u00a0 Now non-pretribulationalists come along and they\u2019ll quote John 17:15 and they\u2019ll say look, there it is, the same combination, t\u0113re\u014d<\/em>, plus ek<\/em>, and here Jesus is saying you\u2019re going to stay in the world.\n\nIn fact, John Piper, who is a big denier if you will, of the doctrine of pretribulationalism uses this verse to support his view.\u00a0 He made this statement when the Nicolas Cage movie came out featuring Left Behind pretribulationalism, he was trying to debunk it before it got out of the gate.\u00a0 This is an interview that he gave. \u00a0John Piper believes that the main scripture which some believers support the pretribulational rapture viewpoint, Revelation 3:10, our passage, does not necessarily mean that believers are taken away from the earth, however it could mean that God will keep or protect His people from evil during the tribulational period.\n\nNotice here he is citing Revelation 17:15. So you have to look at Revelation 17:15 carefully.\u00a0 What are we being kept out of in John 17:15. [John 17:15, \u201cI do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.\u201d] \u00a0What are we being kept out of?\u00a0 What\u2019s the promise?\u00a0 To be kept out of the domain of the evil one.\u00a0 That\u2019s the promise.\u00a0 Would you say that when you got saved you are completely kept out of the domain of darkness in terms of your position? Does God sort of leave you 75% in Satan\u2019s kingdom?\u00a0 He may leave us on the earth to do His will but as far as our position is concerned we are 100% changed.\n\nWe are 100% removed from the influence of Satan and into the kingdom of His beloved Son.\u00a0 That\u2019s why 1 John 5:18 says, \u201cWe know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.\u201d\u00a0 Did you know that as a child of God Satan himself doesn\u2019t even have the ability to wage war on your soul without divine permission? Ask Job about that sometime when you get to heaven, when God lowered the hedge of protection.\n\nWhy would 1 John 5:18 say this?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s saying we are 100% changed; 100% kept out of Satan\u2019s domain even though we remain physically upon the earth.\u00a0 And so, when John Piper uses John 17:15 to argue for postribulationalism I don\u2019t think he\u2019s understanding the verse.\u00a0 That verse, which is the same combination of ek<\/em> and t\u0113re\u014d<\/em> means we are kept out of that time period entirely. So, what is the meaning of \u201ckeep you from,\u201d that\u2019s the debate, when you track down the same preposition with the same or similar verb what you\u2019ll see over and over in God\u2019s Word is it\u2019s a promise not to be sustained through something but to be kept out of it entirely.\n\nWell, what exactly are we going to be kept out of?\u00a0 This takes us to number four.\u00a0 What is the meaning of \u201cthe hour.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 3:10, Jesus says, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, [that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.]\u201d\u00a0 Now the Greek word for \u201chour\u201d here is \u00f3ra<\/em>, and in John\u2019s writing an hour does not refer to a literal 60 minutes.\u00a0 The way John uses the word typically is it\u2019s referring to an age, an extended period of time.\u00a0 For example, we already saw earlier Jesus in John12:27 saying, \u201cFather, keep Me from this hour,\u201d He\u2019s not talking about 60 minutes; what He\u2019s talking about is the ordeal of experiencing the wrath of God during the crucifixion.\n\nAnd you\u2019ll notice that what Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia is you\u2019re going to be kept out of, not just the hour or a hour but the hour. Do you see the definite article there in front hour?\u00a0 So John and Christ must be referring to something very well known in biblical history.\u00a0 \u201cThe hour\u201d obviously refers to something that\u2019s very concrete in the minds of the Bible believing Christian.\u00a0 And the only explanation we would have for \u201cthe hour\u201d is the tribulation period itself because the tribulation period has been well defined, has it not, in the pages of the Old Testament.\u00a0 Daniel 12:1 says, \u201cAnd there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; [and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.\u201d]\n\nJesus spoke openly about this time period in Matthew 24:15-22.\u00a0 Because He uses \u201chour,\u201d an extended age and the definite article in front of the word \u201chour\u201d He\u2019s referring to something already well defined which is the tribulation period.\n\nNow I want you to watch this very carefully because the argument that is being made today is that this hour the wrath of God doesn\u2019t start until later.\u00a0 Midtribulationalists say the wrath of God doesn\u2019t start until the second half; three-quarters rapturist say the wrath of God doesn\u2019t start until the final 25%.\u00a0 We believe that the whole thing is the wrath of God and I\u2019ll be showing you very carefully as we move through the Book of Revelation why that is so.\n\nSo, a lot of people are out there saying you\u2019d better hunker down, you\u2019d better get some ammo (and by the way, having a gun is not a bad thing to have). \u00a0I believe in preparing like that in my home because we live in a fallen world.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t do it because of my eschatological position.\u00a0 I don\u2019t do it because I think I\u2019m going to eyeball it with the antichrist one day.\u00a0 And so much of the body of Christ is living on the edge because they\u2019re in improper doctrine and they think they\u2019re going to see the antichrist face to face so I\u2019ve got to get the copper bullets and all of these things that they sell on the internet.\n\nAnd by the way, there are people out there, I\u2019ll give you one name, Alex Jones in his\u2026 I don\u2019t want to call it a ministry, it\u2019s his platform, called Infowars.com I think it is, it\u2019s all about one world conspiracies, and a lot of it, I listen to him and I think well he\u2019s right in a lot of this stuff because there is coming a one world government on planet earth, but if\u00a0 you listen to him long enough, which I don\u2019t really recommend you do, [laughter] he\u2019ll start bashing the pretribulational rapture, attacking it over and over again.\u00a0 And you have to ask yourself, why does he keep attacking the pretribulational rapture over and over again.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the answer.\u00a0 He sells survival gear!\u00a0 [Laughter] So pretribulationalism would damage his sales; see that?\u00a0 It\u2019s about as simple as that.\n\nBut what is being spoken of here by Jesus.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pretend that the wrath of God doesn\u2019t start until the final 25% or the final 50%. Did you catch the statement that Jesus made here?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t promise us we\u2019re going to be kept from the wrath; He promises us that we\u2019re going to be kept out of the time when that wrath is poured out.\u00a0 The promise is you\u2019re going to be here for most of it but not the wrath; the promise is you\u2019re exempted, and that\u2019s why I entitled this sermon \u201cKept from the Hour, from the whole hour of this time period.\n\nCharles Ryrie puts it this way:\u00a0 However, the promise of Revelation 3:10 not only guarantees being kept from the trials of the Tribulation period but being kept from the time<\/u> period of the Tribulation. The promise is not, I will keep you from the trials. It is I will keep you from the hour<\/u> of the trials... But how clear and plain is the promise. \u2018I\u2026will keep you from the hour<\/u> of testing.\u2019 Not just from any persecution, but from the coming time<\/u> that will affect the whole earth. (The only way to escape worldwide trouble is not to be on the earth.)\u201d\u00a0 Charles Ryrie says the only way to escape worldwide trouble is not to be on the earth.\u00a0 \u201cAnd not just from the events, but from the time<\/u>. And the only way to escape the time<\/u> when the events take place is not to be in a place where time<\/u> ticks on.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s why we can\u2019t be on the earth during this time because there\u2019s time on the earth.\u00a0 We have clocks and watches, we have to be transferred into a place that\u2019s timeless, i.e. heaven.\u201d\u00a0 He says, \u201cThe only place that meets those qualifications is heaven.\u00a0 <\/em>[Charles C. Ryrie, What You Should Know About the Rapture, Current Christian Issues (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 116-17.]\n\nAnd you say well, wait a minute pastor, I\u2019ve been listening to your teachings on Israel and the kingdom and you keep talking about how the nation of Israel is going to go through this time period.\u00a0 In fact, here\u2019s Jeremiah 30:7, now this is what\u2019s called the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and it uses the same words, relatively the same words that we find in Revelation 3:10, \u201cJeremiah 30:7 (LXX) \u201cAlas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob\u2019s distress <\/u>\u201c (Gen. 32:8; 35:10), by the way, who is Jacob in the Bible?\u00a0 Israel.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cBut he will be saved<\/u> [<\/u>s\u014dz\u014d<\/em>] <\/u>from [<\/u>apo<\/em>]<\/u> it.\u201d\u00a0 Now here it\u2019s not ek<\/em> but it\u2019s apo,<\/em> a very similar preposition; s\u014dz\u014d<\/em> and apo<\/em>, sounds like computer company, doesn\u2019t it?\n\nAnd people say well, you\u2019re telling us that the church is going to be removed from this time period but now you\u2019re telling me that nearly the same construction that\u2019s used in Jeremiah 30:7 that Israel is going into this time period.\u00a0 And the answer to that is you have to understand the distinction between Israel and the church.\u00a0 If you do not keep Israel and the church separate, as separate programs of God\u00a0\u00a0 you\u2019re going to be confused about this until your dying day.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s program is to go into this time period in unbelief so that a remnant can be brought to faith.\u00a0 In fact Zechariah 13:8-9 is very clear that it\u2019s a third of the nation that will be part of that remnant.\n\n[Zechariah 13:8-9, \u201c\u201cIt will come about in all the land,\u201d declares the LORD, \u2018hat two parts in it will be cut off and<\/em> perish; But the third will be left in it.\u00a0 [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.\u00a0 They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, \u2018They are My people,\u2019 and they will say, \u2018The LORD is my God.\u2019\u201d]\n\nSo, they\u2019re going from unbelief to belief through the mechanism of the tribulation period.\u00a0 But let me ask you something: can you be a Christian and not be in faith? Impossible!\u00a0 It\u2019s possible to go to church and not be saved but what I\u2019m talking about here is being a believer in Christ, you\u2019ve already been identified to the body of Christ, you cannot even be in that position unless you\u2019ve already believed.\u00a0 So, there is no agenda to take the church from unbelief to belief through the mechanism of the tribulation period.\u00a0 But there is that mechanism in place for the nation of Israel.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the day the church is in faith so you\u2019re not a part of the church.\u00a0 Today within the nation of Israel, it\u2019s an unbelieving nation.\u00a0 Keep Israel and the church separate because they are on different designed programs and to mix the two is to mix apples and oranges.\n\nThis takes us to a fifth question, what is the meaning of \u201cthe whole world,\u201d this time of distress that\u2019s coming upon \u201cthe whole world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Notice again Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole\u201d adjective in Greek holos<\/em> \u201cworld,\u201d the noun for world is oikoum\u00e9n\u0113.\u201d <\/em>Now there\u2019s a big debate about that word oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> because sometimes when the word oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> is used in the New Testament it\u2019s not speaking of the whole world; it\u2019s speaking of a smaller group within the world.\n\nFor example, it\u2019s used that way in Luke 2:1 concerning the census that went out at the birth of Christ around that time period.\u00a0 It says in Luke 2:1 over \u201cthe inhabited earth.\u201d\u00a0 [Luke 2:1, \u201cNow in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.\u201d] It\u2019s not talking about everybody on planet earth, it\u2019s talking about a group within planet earth, a small subset, a smaller group.\n\nHowever, that\u2019s not the only use of oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em>; oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> can be used to describe the whole globe.\u00a0 For example, this is what Satan offered Jesus on a silver platter.\u00a0 Luke 4:5, oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> was used.\u00a0 Satan, Revelation 12:9 is deceiving the whole world, oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> is used again. Acts 17:31 talks about the final judgment of the whole world, oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em>.\n\n[Luke 4:5, \u201cAnd he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 12:9, \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.\u201d\u00a0 Acts 17:31, \u201cbecause He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.\u201d]\n\nSo, if oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> means the known world in some contexts but the entire world in other contexts, which definition should we insert here in Revelation 3:10?\u00a0 If you don\u2019t learn anything else in this church learn these words: context is king.\u00a0 The three rules of real estate are location, location, location.\u00a0 The three rules of Bible study are context, context, context.\u00a0 Words typically have multiple meanings.\u00a0 Take the word \u201capple\u201d as an example I could be talking about a piece of fruit, I could be talking about a computer, I could be talking about New York City, I could be talking about the pupil of one\u2019s eye.\u00a0 Which definition do I insert when I\u2019m reading something?\u00a0 The context will tell me.\n\nAnd what is the context of Revelation 3:10?\u00a0 Revelation 3:10 is followed by Revelation 4, do you agree with me on that?\u00a0 And Revelation 5 and Revelation 6 and what happens in Revelation 6?\u00a0 The wrath of God is poured out, not on Rome, not on Las Vegas, not on Los Angeles, not on San Francisco, but the whole world.\u00a0 Oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em> means here the whole world.\u00a0 And beyond that, did you catch the adjective in front of oikoum\u00e9n\u0113<\/em>?\u00a0 It\u2019s holos<\/em>, \u201cthe whole world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 So, what is meant by \u201cthe whole world?\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s the answer: the whole world is meant. \u00a0And that\u2019s why you come to Sugar Land Bible Church, to get these cutting-edge insights.\u00a0 It\u2019s the seal judgments and the bowl judgments and the trumpet judgments, which as we will be studying them as we move through this series, cover the whole earth.\n\nSixth question, what does it mean when it talks about testing or to test?\u00a0 Notice again Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing,\u201d peirasimos<\/em>, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test (same root now, now it\u2019s a verb) peiraso<\/em>, those who dwell on the whole earth.\u00a0 What does it mean \u201cto test\u201d?\u00a0 Now there are two definitions for test.\u00a0 Here are a couple; it means to demonstrate the quality of something rather than to purify its content.\u00a0 God is demonstrating who people are rather than purifying them.\u00a0 It also means a test for the purpose of exposing someone\u2019s true character, typically with a negative intent to demonstrate a failure.\u00a0 That\u2019s the definition of test.\u00a0 God is setting up the earth dwellers for failure to expose what\u2019s happening in their hearts.\n\nNow when this same verb was used earlier in the Book of Revelation that\u2019s exactly what it meant when the church at Ephesus put to the test, same word, those who claimed to be apostles and found them to be liars.\u00a0 They were being tested to expose who they are.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 And this is why this side of eternity God does not test us in that way.\u00a0 He brings trials into our lives to make us better, not to expose us as failures.\u00a0 James 1:13-14, we see the same verb.\u00a0 James 1:13, \u201cLet no one say when he is tempted, \u2018I am being tempted by God\u2019; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.\u00a0 [14] But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.\u201d\u00a0 This word \u201ctest\u201d means to be exposed as a failure.\u00a0 This is what Satan does to us but it\u2019s not what God does to the child of God.\u00a0 But let me tell you something, He is going to do that for the unbelievers in the tribulation period itself.\n\nRenald Showers says, \u201cChrist was declaring that the purpose of the future period of testing will be for God to test \u2018them that dwell on the earth\u2019 to demonstrate or expose the kind of people they are.\u201d\u00a0 [Renald Showers, Maranatha Our Lord, Come! <\/em>(Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel, 1995), 215.]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You see, when you understand this word \u201ctest\u201d you start to understand why we can\u2019t be here, because God doesn\u2019t treat us this way.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t set us up for failure.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t set us up to expose the failing reality that we are and that\u2019s what God is doing in the tribulation period for the earth dwellers.\n\nAnd you say well, who are the earth-dwellers?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad you asked, number 7, who are the earth-dwellers?\u00a0 The test is coming for those who dwell on the earth; there is the Greek expression \u201cdwells upon the earth.\u201d\u00a0 Every time you study earth dwellers in the Book of Revelation it always refers to unbelievers.\u00a0 The test is not coming for the Christian, the test is not coming for the church, the test is coming for the earth dwellers or the unbelievers.\n\nRevelation 13:8 uses the same expression earth dwellers.\u00a0 And it also says of them that their name is not written in the Book of Life, they\u2019re obviously unbelievers.\u00a0 [Revelation 13:8, \u201cAll who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.\u201d]\u00a0 The same thing in Revelation 17:8.\u00a0 [Revelation 17:8, \u201c\"The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.\u201d]\n\nThomas Ice writes, \u201cThis phrase \u2018earth dwellers\u2019 is used eleven times in nine verses in Revelation.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10 2xs; 13:8, 12, 14 2xs; 14:6; 17:8] As you examine each individual use you will see that all refer to a special class of stubborn sinners who are set in their rebellion against the God of heaven. You will also find that the phrase is only <\/em>used to refer to those during the tribulation period. Therefore, since the future hour spoken of in Revelation 3:10 is set in contrast with the present set of believers in the church age, and the future \u2018earth dwellers\u2019 will be active during the time period in which believers are said to be kept from, it is clear that John speaks of the time or hour of the tribulation. This is why 3:10 is a clear promise that Christ will keep believers from the time of the seven-year tribulation.\u201d\n\nWhy is that?\u00a0 Because the whole thing is designed to expose the true nature of unbelievers.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with your trials and your future as a member of God\u2019s church.\u00a0 This is why we have to be kept from this whole hour entirely.\u00a0 If God were to insert us into this time period it would violate His purpose for which the hour comes. See that?\n\nNow you say well, gee, Pastor, you\u2019re teaching escapism.\u00a0 Let\u2019s think about that for a minute.\u00a0 Is escapism the worst thing in the world?\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019m in favor or escapism, I have no real problem with that.\u00a0 In fact, when I trusted in Christ, you know why I became a Christian when I heard the gospel?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to go to hell.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that escapism?\u00a0 But people misinterpret what we\u2019re saying and they\u2019re saying that in this life it\u2019s easy.\u00a0 No, it\u2019s not!\u00a0 Because in this life we are candidates for trials, the wrath of man, the wrath of Satan, the wrath of the world system.\u00a0 We are candidates for trials, lower case key, but let me tell you something, according to Revelation 3:10 you are exempt from Trial, capital T.\u00a0 You are a candidate for tribulations, lower case key, but you are exempt from THE tribulation, capital T.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s God\u2019s divine program for the church.\n\nIn fact, as bad as your life might be right now this is the worst it could possibly get for you; that\u2019s why Revelation 3:10, which we talked about earlier, the first part of the verse, says, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of my perseverance I will keep you from the hour of testing.\u201d\u00a0 Why does it insert those together?\u00a0 We talked about how some abuse these verses but a possible explanation is Christ is saying you\u2019ve already gone through your trials.\u00a0 You\u2019ve already gone through your tribulations.\u00a0 You\u2019ve already gone through your tests.\u00a0 So because it has already been run on the church there\u2019s no need to insert the church into this time period.\n\nRenald Showers again puts it this way:\u00a0 \u201cChrist based His promise on the fact that the church saints had already passed their test. In light of that, it appears that because they had already passed their test, Christ promised that He would not put them into the period that...will have the purpose of testing a very different group of people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Renald Showers, Maranatha Our Lord, Come! <\/em>(Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel, 1995), 212.]\u00a0 Remember that, the tribulation period is a test to expose as failures a very different group of people, not the child of God, which raises another question.\n\nNumber 8, what is the meaning of \u201cabout to come\u201d?\u00a0 Revelation 3:10 talks about this hour of testing that\u2019s coming upon the whole world and it says there it\u2019s \u201cabout to come.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.\u201d]\u00a0 It\u2019s the Greek verb mello<\/em>, meaning about to.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same verb used in 1 Peter 5:1 concerning the glory of God which we will share in which is about to be revealed. \u00a0[1 Peter 5:1, \u201cTherefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.\u201d]\u00a0 What is it revealing here?\u00a0 Imminency!\u00a0 This could happen at any moment.\u00a0 This time of testing that\u2019s coming upon the whole world could happen in the next split second.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he means by \u201cabout to come,\u201d any moment.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a dark storm cloud hovering over planet earth, ready to emit its rain over the planet at any moment.\n\nThat\u2019s what Jesus is talking about here when He\u2019s talking about this hour of testing that is about to come.\u00a0 Which raises another very interesting question, how will Christ keep His promise to the church?\u00a0\u00a0 Number nine, how will Jesus Christ keep His promise to His church to be kept out of not just tribulation of these times but the hour of the tribulation period that is coming eminently upon the earth?\u00a0 How in the world is Christ going to make good on His promise?\u00a0 What are the means or the mechanism that Jesus will use to fulfill His promise of keeping us free from an hour of trial that\u2019s about to eminently explode on planet earth?\u00a0 How\u2019s He going to do that.\u00a0 And I\u2019m glad you asked, because the answer is what?\u00a0 The rapture, because verse 10 is followed by verse 11.\u00a0 And He starts to explain the concept of the rapture in verse 11, \u201cI am coming\u201d what? \u201cquickly; hold fast to what you have so no one will take your crown.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how He\u2019s going to do it.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to come for us prior to, snatch us out of the earth, rapture, verse 11, thereby fulfilling His promise, verse 10.\u00a0 Now people look at verse 11 and they say well how do you know that\u2019s talking about the future?\u00a0 Because it talks about judgment, the judgment of what?\u00a0 Rewards, so that no one will take your what?\u00a0 Crown, which is a judgment that happens in heaven immediately following the rapture.\n\nThis judgment of rewards is always connected to the imminent return of Christ.\u00a0 You see that in\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 Corinthians 4:5, judgment will come when the Lord comes.\u00a0 He will bring to light the things hidden in darkness.\u00a0 2 Timothy 4:8 talks about a crown of righteousness that Paul will receive on that day; which day?\u00a0 The day of His appearing, which is the rapture.\u00a0 You know, it\u2019s very interesting to me that about this time of year people start putting up Christmas stuff in the department stores.\u00a0 Did you know they\u2019re already doing that?\u00a0 And as the months progress you see more and more Christmas things being put up, Santa Claus, Christmas tree lights, Christmas displays, and you say you know what. Christmas is coming.\u00a0 But since we\u2019re seeing these signs in September you say well wait a minute, Halloween is coming even faster, because that occurs in October, and after Halloween we\u2019ll say Thanksgiving is coming even faster because that occurs in November, and Christmas occurs in December.\u00a0 You see that?\n\nWhen you see the world being pushed in the direction that it\u2019s being pushed in, like the desire of the Jews to rebuild their temple.\u00a0 Through the discovery of a couple of weeks ago the red heifer, a genetically pure animal whose ashes must be used to purify the temple.\u00a0 Jim McGowan and myself did a whole Pastor\u2019s Point of View on this on Friday.\u00a0 They\u2019re not sure but they think they\u2019ve got the genetically pure red heifer, which is a sign for the tribulation temple.\u00a0 See that.\n\nAnd by the way, you think that Donald Trump\u2019s movement of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is just some kind of random occurrence?\u00a0 How do you build your temple in a city that is being legally disputed by the international community?\u00a0 The nation of Israel has had Jerusalem since 1967, but nobody will recognize it.\u00a0 Trump says, whether Trump understands this or not I don\u2019t know, but God looks down at Trump and says we\u2019ll use Him to fix this problem, we\u2019ll move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; now Jerusalem is legally recognized and therefore it\u2019s much easier to build your what in a legally recognized city?\u00a0 A temple!\n\nAnd by the way, the Trump embassy move happened exactly fifty years after the nation of Israel regained Jerusalem in the Six Day War.\u00a0 Now doesn\u2019t your Bible say something about fifty years?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t there something in Leviticus 25 about the year of jubilee, the release of debts.\u00a0\u00a0 You think these things are accidents?\u00a0 You think the recent genetic discovery of the red heifer, which happens to coincide with all these things, is just happening sporadically?\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like\u2026 I took statistics in college, I wasn\u2019t very good at it, we called it sadistics, [laughter] but no one has ever accused me of being a mathematical genius, I\u2019ll tell you that much, but it\u2019s sort of like how many times in\u00a0 your life can you be struck by lightning?\u00a0 Eventually you start seeing these things happen and you have to start seeing the hand of God in it.\u00a0 And if this world is being set up for the tribulation period and Christ made a promise to use in verse 10, then the rapture must be coming even faster.\n\nQuestion number ten, we\u2019ll do these fast.\u00a0 Is this a promise only for Philadelphia, because they say well, it just applies to Philadelphia?\u00a0 When you study the Thessalonian letters, I have the verses there on the screen, the letter to Romans, you\u2019ll see that the same promise is made to other churches.\u00a0 The exemption from divine wrath is made to the church as a whole.\u00a0 In fact, look down at verse 13, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church of Philadelphia.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:13, \u201cAnd to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 3:7 says, \u201cAnd to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this.\u201d]\n\nIt doesn\u2019t say that, the churches.\u00a0 This is a church wide promise.\u00a0 Which takes us to question number 11 and with this we\u2019re finished.\u00a0 Does this view, preacher\u2026 does this view, pastor, if you\u2019re correct in all of this does it harmonize with the rest of the Book of Revelation or is this just some theology you\u2019ve built from one verse.\u00a0 \u00a0Well, as you know by now, by studying with us through the Book of Revelation, the Book of Revelation has three parts to it: write down the things that you have seen, chapter 1; write down the things that are, the seven letters to the seven churches; and write down the things that will take place after these things, section 1 chapter 1, section 2 chapters 2 and 3, section 3, chapters 4-22.\u00a0 How many times does the word \u201cchurch\u201d appear in sections 1 and 2?\u00a0 Answer: 19 times.\n\nIs it not strange that once you get to the futuristic section of the book the word \u201cchurch\u201d doesn\u2019t appear on the earth a single time?\u00a0 Coincidence?\u00a0 NO, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s coincidental at all.\u00a0 I think what we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re building a theology that is consistent with the totality of God\u2019s revelation, because if I was interpreting verse 10 in a way that contradicted the rest of the Book of Revelation I think I\u2019d be in trouble.\u00a0 But you see, the interpretation that I\u2019m giving is completely consistent with the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 In fact, it says in those first three sections, \u201cTo him who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.\u201d\u00a0 Now when you go home today read Revelation 13:9 clause you\u2019ll find the same expression without the clause \u201cwhat the Spirit says to the churches.\u00a0 [Revelation 13:9, \u201cIf anyone has an ear, let him hear.\u201d]\u00a0 Why would that clause be used seven times in Revelation 2 and 3 but completely disappear in Revelation 13:9?\n\nAnd you know what, I don\u2019t know about you but when you start studying the Book of Revelation the things looks pretty Jewish to me: 144,000 Jews evangelizing the world; Revelation 11:2, two Jewish witnesses that look a lot like Moses and Elijah.\u00a0 Why does God have His hand back on Israel and not the church that He has used for the last 2,000 years.\u00a0 The answer is very simple, we\u2019re in the balcony seats; we are those seven golden lampstands that are the church, Revelation 1:20, in heaven when these things happen, Revelation 4:5.\u00a0 [Revelation 11:2, \u201cLeave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 1:20, \u201cAs for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.\u201d Revelation 4:5, \u201cOut from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;\u201d]\n\nBy the way, is anybody here harassed by Satan in your daily life?\u00a0 That\u2019s why you\u2019ve got to put on the full armor of God, Ephesians 6.\u00a0 Why is it that in Revelation 12 Satan is not bothering the church any more but he is pursuing the woman clothed with the sun and the moon and the twelve stars, which is a reference, Joseph\u2019s dream, Genesis 37:9-10, to Israel?\u00a0 Did Satan finally give up on bothering the church?\u00a0 [Genesis 37:9-10, \u201cNow he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, \u201cLo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.\u201d [10] He related it<\/em> to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, \u201cWhat is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?\u201d]\n\nHe\u2019s not bothering the church anymore because the church is in heaven, because we\u2019re to be at a place where time doesn\u2019t tick because we are exempted from the hour of trial that\u2019s coming upon the whole earth.\u00a0 Why am I a pretribulationalist?\u00a0 Because if God was going to say we\u2019re protected through this time period there are easier ways for Him to say it.\u00a0 And by the way, if He\u2019s going to protect us through it He does a lousy job of it.\u00a0 And by the way, that\u2019s the meaning of \u201ckeep you from\u201d and we\u2019re kept from what?\u00a0 The hour!\u00a0 The hour of what?\u00a0 The hour of trial that\u2019s coming upon the whole earth to test who?\u00a0 The earth dwellers who are always unbelievers.\u00a0 And it\u2019s going to happen, this time period, eminently which means the rapture is even more eminent.\u00a0 And this is not a promise just to Philadelphia, it\u2019s a promise to the church universal and it fits beautifully with the Book of Revelation.\n\nSo, when will the believing be leaving?\u00a0 I should have made that my title.\u00a0 [Laughter] We\u2019ll do that one maybe next week.\u00a0 When will the believing be leaving?\u00a0 Before this time period comes.\u00a0 The only real question is when the trumpet sounds are you going.\u00a0 And you say well I\u2019m not living holy enough or righteous enough to participate.\u00a0 Welcome to the club, none of us are.\n\nThis is something that God offers via grace, unmerited favor.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of the grace package that He offers for those who come under the conviction of His Spirit and trust in the promise of the gospel.\u00a0 The gospel is good news because Jesus did everything in our place, He died that horrific death, bore the wrath of a holy God in our place, rose from the dead claiming who He claimed to be and what He says is just trust Me!\u00a0 Stop trusting yourself, stop trusting your denomination, stop trusting your good works, stop trusting your New Year\u2019s resolutions, stop trusting ins what your parents did or your grandparents did, trust in Me!\u00a0 And the grace package, including participation in the rapture is available for you.\u00a0 If you want to get saved you can do it right now; it\u2019s not a matter of walking an aisle, joining a church, giving money, it\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord where the Spirit of God places you under conviction and you respond by way of faith, which means trust in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we are grateful for this teaching You\u2019ve given us from Your Word concerning what we have in You.\u00a0 I just pray, Father, that we will not fall into modern day confusion but we will embrace this promise for what it says and we will live it out this week.\u00a0 Maybe this week is the week You\u2019re going to come for us; may our lives be lived accordingly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t