Safe from the Hour of Trial

"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."

-- Revelation 3:10

The Book of Revelations opens with a series of messages God wishes John to deliver to the seven churches of Asia Minor. He tells the church of Philadelphia that because they have been so dedicated to following God's Word, they will be kept safe from the trials about to befall the whole world. There are two points to consider in this passage, and the messages to the seven churches. First is the number of churches. Thos who study numbers in the Bible have concluded that seven is the complete number, denoting completeness. When used, it refers to far more than just seven, but to all possible occurrances. In this case, God intends his message to go out to everyone, all His children, all the churches throughout the world, the entire body of Christ on earth. Each of the churches directly addressed has some specific flaw that God wishes to caution about, or some specific good characteristic that God wishes to praise. And isn't that true of all of us? We have our good points and our bad. God wants us to know what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong, encouraging the good points while discouraging the bad.

The second concern of this passage addresses the concept of the Rapture, when Christ returns to take all His people home. There has been some debate over the years as to whether the Rapture would occur before or after the great tribulation described in Revelation. The subject verse today appears to clearly indicate that those who closely follow the teachings of our Lord and Savior and hold onto the Word of God will be kept safe from the coming tribulation. This would indicate that the Rapture will occur before the Anti-Christ stands in the Temple and the seven years of tribulation begins. What a wonderful, joyous thought this is for those who follow Christ, who suffer through this life on earth, who battle Satan, who persevere.

Father, help us keep Your command, help us persevere in the face of adversity, help us to maintain our faith when darkness surrounds us. Thank You for Your promise to keep us safe from the great trials that will test the peoples of the earth. In Your holy name we pray, Amen.