Revelation 3.10 (and Luke 21.36)

A. Revelation 3.10 “The hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world” - This is the Great Tribulation. This verse tells us that a certain class of people may escape the Great Tribulation, even those who keep the word of the patience of Christ. Instantly it tears apart the arguments of the second school of interpretation [post-trib only] as well as those of the first [pre-trib only]. Although Philadelphia represents the true church in the dispensation of Grace, it is nonetheless only one of the seven local churches in Asia at that time. Thus it shows that only a relatively small number of people (one seventh) may be raptured before the Tribulation. Furthermore, pre-tribulation rapture is not based purely on our being born again as children of God, but is dependent on one other condition, which is, our keeping the word of the patience of Christ. Do all believers today keep the word of the patience of Christ? Obviously not. It is therefore evident that not the whole body of believers will be raptured before the Tribulation. The second school contends, however, that this passage of Scripture does not refer to pre-tribulation rapture, for it speaks of keeping - that God will “keep” them safely through the Great Tribulation: just as, for example, when an entire house is caught on fire, one room may be left untouched; or for example, when the land of Egypt came under the plague, the land of Goshen where the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt went unscathed (see Ex. 9.26, 10.23 ) . Such an explanation is erroneous because (1) the “keeping” in view here is not a keeping through but a keeping from. In the Greek text, after the word “keep” in this verse there is the word ek which means “out of’ (as in the word ekklesia which means “the called out ones”). Here, therefore, ek signifies a being kept out of the Tribulation. And (2) “Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial” (3.10a) - As we have seen, the trial which is to come upon the whole world is the Great Tribulation; but notice that it is not a keeping from the trial but a keeping from the hour of the trial, In order to be kept out of the hour of trial, we must leave the world. There are only two ways for God to keep us out: death and rapture. And hence part of the living will be raptured before the Tribulation.

B. Luke 21.36 also proves that not the entire church but only a part of it will be raptured before the Tribulation. The accounts of Luke 21 and Matthew 24 are quite alike, except that Matthew stresses more the coming of Christ and the Tribulation while Luke focuses more on the destruction of Jerusalem and the Tribulation. Hence there is the famous question asked in Matthew (24.3), and there are also more parables recorded in Matthew’s account than in Luke’s. In 70 A.D. Jerusalem experienced a terrible destruction, and at the end she will experience a great tribulation. The record in Luke can be outlined as follows: 21.8-9 - the things before the end; 10-19 - believers will suffer; 20-28 - how Jerusalem will be destroyed (verse 28 seems to suggest that the saints will all pass through the Tribulation); 29-33 - a parable guaranteeing the certainty of these things to come; and 34-36 - Were it not for this passage, it might be inferred that the whole body of believers would surely be raptured after the Tribulation: yet verse 34 has a change in tone from the preceding verses, verse 35 shows that the things mentioned earlier concern the whole inhabited world, and verse 36 presents the condition for escaping the Great Tribulation - which is to watch and pray. How are believers to escape all these coming things and to stand before the Son of man? Naturally by being raptured. Death is not a blessing: we do not pray and expect death. The condition here for rapture is to watch and pray. Hence here, not all the regenerated may be raptured. Pray always. What to pray for? Pray that we may escape all these things which shall come to pass. “That ye may prevail” (or, “ye may be accounted worthy” AV), It is not a question of grace, but rather a matter of worthiness. How about worthiness? God cannot receive you to the place where you have no desire to go. Some people may consider heaven as too tasteless a place in which to live as may be indicated by these words: “Lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life” (v.34), If a balloon is tied, it cannot ascend. In sum, Luke 21.36 shatters the arguments of both the first and second schools of interpretation. The second school may still raise other arguments, such as (1) that rapture is not dependent on conduct - yet in reply it should be asked whether anyone thinks a carnal believer lying on a bed of fornication will be raptured? Or (2) that the phrase “all these things” does not refer to the Great Tribulation but to the surfeiting, drunkenness, and cares of this life cited in verse 34. In reply, it should be noted that verse 36 reads, “all these things that shall come to pass - whereas “surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life” pertain to the things which are present now. And therefore, “watch ye” means to not be deceived by such activities.

Historicalists such as preterists, partial preterists, amillennialists and post-millennialists try to rationalize these verses (Luke 21.36 and Rev. 3.10) away by claiming they are referring to the here and now in the present experience of the believer, and not speaking about the Great Tribulation. This obviously is not viable as already shown above.

What they do is allegorize inordinately and do so by forsaking context by keying in on a word like "keep" to mean watch over, similar to John 17.15, without consideration for the "ek" ("from") promise to escape the hour itself in Rev. 3.10 with absolute certainty if the condition is met. If John 17.15 speaks of "ek" meaning "out of" the world, then so is it true for Rev. 3.10. Whereas John 17.15 speaks of to keep (tereo) from the evil one, and "not that though should take them out of the world", Rev. 3.10 uses tereo also to keep, but not from the evil one, or the trial specifically, but the "hour" of trial itself "which will come upon the whole world". Also be observant noticing that John 17.15 says to take out of the world, whereas Rev. 3.10 to keep out of the world in which the hour of trial takes place, upon the whole world. How odd it would be say "take out of the hour of trial" - this would imply they were already in the Great Tribulation. You can see why the word "keep" is used in Rev. 3.10 and not "take", for it is to "keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world". It is coming. It is not going to happen a bunch of times. It is one-time.

This trial has not come upon the whole word yet today, for it will be unlike anything before and anything to come after (Jesus speaks about this...find the verse He spoke that explicitly states this; plus, observe Rev. 9.16,18 where there has not been an army of 200,000,000 in the middle east yet, nor has 1/3 of the people of the earth died in a holocaust).

When God makes a promise He does not mean by death. This is no hope. Christians are all saved, so we are not called to watch to be saved, because we are already born-again. The reason to watch therefore is for another reason. It is because of rewards (5 wise virgins enter the marriage feast) and being accounted worthy as Luke 21.36 stipulates. If you watch, you shall receive reward to reign with Christ. If you are ready, you shall be received at first rapture to escape these things which shall come to pass upon the whole world. That promise can only be made absolutely to bypass the time of the hour itself for keeping the patient word of Christ. Otherwise, no means yes, and yes means no. Promise is not a promise to be protected from the hour of trial by being martyred, which most surely will come to many Christians who watch in the Tribulation. It is a lie to claim a promise by God is not a promise at all before the Tribulation starts by claiming it is a protection from trial without actual protection (fantasy protection allegorized and spiritualized does not satisfy God's heart); and God does not lie, but the god of historicalism does lie. Satan is the author of confusion in historicalisms.

I tell you the truth.

Praise the Lord!