Revelation 3:10 is used by some adherence to the pre-tribulation position as evidence that the Church will be raptured prior to The Tribulation.1Those who hold to the pre-tribulation position believe that The Tribulation involves the entirety of Daniels seventieth week which opens with the antichrist making a covenant with Israel (Dan 9:27 ). It says, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” It is supposed that Jesus is promising The Church, the Body of Christ, that they not be subject to the troubles and distresses of the Tribulation. But this event is to take place at some point in the future. It must be remembered that Revelation 3:10 was written to the church at Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7). This church existed in history at some time around 90-95 AD. We are reading Revelation 3:10, nearly 2000 years after it was written to the people at Philadelphia. Did Jesus mean to say that in 2000 yrs these people would be kept “from the hour of temptation?”
And what about Revelation 2:10? Are we to apply this to The Church, Body of Christ today? There, and at that period in history, the Church in Smyrna is told to not fear tribulation (2:9). This presupposes that they will experience tribulation. And they were! Some of them were being cast into prison. They were to endure the suffering and remain faithful to Christ, even “unto death.” God was allowing the the church in Smyrna to suffer as a test (“ye may be tried”) of their faithfulness. Dr. Thomas Constable, commenting on this verse says, “John penned this letter to commend its recipients for their endurance of persecution and poverty for the sake of Jesus Christ. He also did so to exhort them to be fearless and faithful even to death. Whereas the Ephesian church needed to return to past conditions, this one needed to persevere in what was characteristic of it in the present.”2The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Dr. Constable’s Bible Study Notes). Revelation 2:8-11. (Electronic Version) In the present. That is in their lifetimes, not 2000 yrs. later.
But let’s suppose
This view hinges upon the phrase “keep thee from.” This is how the Greek, tēreō . . . ek is translated here in many translation. But Dr. Marvin R. Vincent points out that, “The preposition [ἐκ] implies, not a keeping from temptation, but a keeping in temptation, as the result of which they shall be delivered out of its power.3Word Studies in the New Testament (M. R. Vincent) by Marvin R. Vincent, D.D. Revelation 3:10. (Electronic Version) Albert Barnes agrees: “This does not mean that they would be actually kept from calamity of all kinds, but that they would be kept from the temptation of apostasy in calamity. He would give them grace to bear up under trials with a Christian spirit, and in such a manner that their salvation should not be endangered.”4Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Revelation 3:10. (Electronic Version) Commentator, Dr. Brian Tabb, points out that, “The purpose of this ‘hour’ is ‘to test the inhabitants of earth’ (NIV).”
He goes on to say that, “Interpreters debate whether ‘keep from’ means remove from the trial or preserve through the trial. The nearest parallel is John 17:15 [as M. R. Vincent points out], where Christ asks God not to take his people out of (ek) the world but to keep them from (tēreō . . . ek) Satan. Thus, Christ promises to protect his people from spiritual harm, not remove them from suffering [emphasis mine]. This time of testing serves to prove believers’ faith and commitment to Christ (cf. 7:14; 1Pet 1:6–7), while further hardening unbelievers who follow the beast and oppose God’s people (13:8, 12).”5Revelation A COMMENTARY BY Brian Tabb. 3:8–10. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/revelation
The God’s Word (GW) translation conveys the proper meaning: “Because you have obeyed my command to endure, I will keep you safe during the time of testing which is coming to the whole world to test those living on earth.”6 GOD’S WORD to the Nations Bible Society. Rev. 3:10. (Electronic Version) Dr. Vincent asks us to compare John 17:15. Chapter 17 of John is referred to as, “The High Priestly Prayer.” The Life Application Study Bible (LASB) says that in this chapter, “Jesus prayed for his disciples, including those of us who follow him today. He prayed that God would keep his chosen believers safe from Satan’s power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through his truth.” And in Joh 17:15, Jesus prays: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” ( KJV) Albert Barnes writes: “Though they were going into trials and persecutions, yet Jesus did not pray that they might be removed soon from them. It was better that they should endure them, and thus spread abroad the knowledge of his name. It would be easy for God to remove his people at once to heaven, but it is better for them to remain, and show the power of religion in supporting the soul in the midst of trial, and to spread his gospel among men.”7Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. John 17:15 (Electronic Version)
According to Paul D. Feinberg, “there is no mention of any signs or events that precede the rapture of the church in any of the rapture passages. The point seems to be that the believer prior to this event is to look, not for some sign, but the Lord from heaven.”8Feinberg, “The Case for the Pretribulation Rapture Position,” in Three Views on the Rapture, 80.
“The phrase ‘day of the Lord’ is consistently used in the New Testament to refer to the day of judgment which occurs a the second coming…”9Brian Schwertley. Is the Pretribulation Rapture Biblical by Brian M. Schwertley. http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/Is_The_Pretribulation_Rapture_Biblical.shtml
http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/Is_The_Pretribulation_Rapture_Biblical.shtml
One pre-trib author says about the rapture: “The Bible teaches it is imminent—it could occur at any moment.” Then he says, “Just to illustrate, Daniel 9 clearly reveals that the Antichrist will desecrate the temple, thus indicating that the temple has to be rebuilt. I visited Israel recently, and I can attest to the fact that there is no temple there!” I guess that the rapture is only imminent once the temple has been rebuilt. Mr. Stephen Davey then says, “The tribulation is a period of time described in the Bible that will be marked by great suffering and persecution for believers” (emphasis mine). I thought believers would be exempted from “great suffering and persecution” of The Tribulation. In fact, Mr. Davey says just that: “According to Scripture, the rapture of the church will be the first event in the sequence. This means that before the tribulation can begin, the church must first be taken out of the world. We don’t know when the rapture will occur, but the Bible is clear that the rapture will be the first event in the sequence, and that believers will be taken out of the world before the tribulation begins.”10When Does the Tribulation Begin? by Stephen Davey. https://www.wisdomonline.org/blog/when-does-the-tribulation-begin
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