THE HOUR OF TESTING

“Because 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 upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10

This post is for all you prewrathers out there. (Pretribbers welcome too!)

Revelation 3:10 speaks of an hour of testing but just what exactly is this hour of testing? Is it the great tribulation or the day of the Lord? I’ve been leaning towards the day of the Lord because of who this verse says this test is aimed at - “those who dwell upon the earth”.

“Those who dwell upon the earth” is used nine times in Revelation. The first time is right here in Revelation 3:10. If we were to only read this verse could we determine if this phrase is referring only to unbelievers? My answer is no. There are eight other times in Revelation where this phrase is also used. The next time is in 6:10 where the fifth seal martyrs ask God how long He’s going to hold off on avenging their blood on those who dwell on the earth. Is it referring to unbelievers in this verse? Obviously. The third and fourth time used is in 11:10. This is the verse where those who dwell on the earth are having a party and passing around “Happy Dead Prophet’s Day” gifts to each other. Unbelievers here? Yes. The fifth time used is in 13:8. All who dwell on the earth will worship him – the beast. Quite obviously unbelievers here. The sixth time used is just four verses later. The second beast makes those who dwell on the earth worship the first beast. Unbelievers here? Absolutely. The seventh and eighth time used is in 13:14. The second beast deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs he performs and he also tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast who had the wound and came back to life. Unbelievers here? Of course. The final time this phrase is used is in 17:8. This is an obvious reference to unbelievers because it says “those who dwell on the earth…whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” So, is it referring to unbelievers in Rev. 3:10? You’ll find what I believe to be the answer before you are finished reading this post.

I also viewed “will keep you from the hour of testing” as removal from the earth. Let’s go back to that hour of testing. Is it the great tribulation or the day of the Lord? I have a prewrath email friend with whom I’ve been discussing this verse. She is a true student of the Word and loves to teach what she’s learned. She’s a gold mine of information and is extremely gifted in the art of logic. She is patient with my questions. I even ask her questions to which she’s already given me the answer. With me it doesn’t always stick the first time. Argh!

If the hour of testing is the day of the Lord then “will keep you from the hour of testing” would mean removal from the earth. We first discussed, or, she asked me rather, “How do you see the day of the Lord as a test? Doesn’t it seem like the great tribulation is much more test-like?” She doesn’t see God’s wrath as a testing of any sort but as God’s judgment. It’s a punishment for the unbeliever’s evil and rebellious ways, for aligning with Satan. She had a point there. She reminded me that one hundred pound hail stones being hurled to the earth sounds much more like God’s wrath than a test! So how would the great tribulation be considered a test? My email friend pointed out that those on the earth, all over the earth – believers and unbelievers alike, are forced to answer the question, “Who do you serve, God or Satan?” It’s a one question test of alliance. Antichrist is giving the test and says, if you serve God then your life is required of you. So, this hour of testing, though proctored by Satan is not only a test of unbelievers but of believers alike. (That fancy word “proctored” is my email friend’s, not mine. If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll see she used it quite appropriately.) She then pointed out that the faithful ones at Philadelphia are prepared for the test. They do what God warned them to do. He “keeps” them, or guards them within the sphere of danger from the consequences of aligning with God (death).

If you go through and read all the messages to the seven churches you will see that Jesus charges/warns each church to be overcomers, even the Philadelphian church. I asked my email friend, “What do you make of the Philadelphian church also being given a message about overcoming if they are given a promise to be guarded within the sphere of danger?” This was her reply, “Well, remember it says in 3:11 – hold fast... I think it is going to be a very hard time but overcoming is going to be “easier” for those who are prepared. I hope this is not wishful thinking. In the end, we are all called to overcome the adversity, overcome the tribulation, overcome the testing...how do we do that? By obediently studying the Word, looking for His signs, preparing for the worst as we see the fig leaves unfolding...and then holding fast to what we know is TRUTH during that trying time.”

If you think about it, isn’t it illogical to say the Lord is charging us or warning us to overcome His wrath when He’s promised all overcomers that we are not destined for it? (1 Th. 5:9) It makes complete sense to me however that the Lord charges, warns, and lays out what the rewards will be for those who are overcomers because the church is going to face the great tribulation. A clincher for me was contained in the message to the church at Thyatira. Jesus says, “And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. When is the end or end of the age? The day of the Lord! The time to be an overcomer is during the great tribulation.

For now, I'm in the “great tribulation” camp as far as the answer to the question of what is the hour of testing. I’m sure Revelation 3:10 will continue to be a matter for discussion among prewrathers. One thing all prewrathers agree upon is that the church will go through the great tribulation. I’m also sure this is a verse that will continue to be debated between those in pretrib, posttrib, and prewrath.

Here’s one final bit of logic my prewrath friend posed to me. “The pretrib view believes this is a promise of rapture right before the tribulation and my question to them would be, will God only rapture the faithful believers, or as the churches imply, one out of every seven? That would be hard to justify. No, I think this is a promise of protection during the tribulation because of the faithfulness of the church, watching for the signs and preparing ahead of time.”

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

How hard are you listening, studying, and preparing?