Rev 3:10 Is it the Rapture & relevant today?

[Ed Silvia]

Hello brothers & sisters in Christ Jesus,

I'm new here & making my first post. Does anybody here think this verse is relevant today? Who are these Angels of the 7 Churches? Are they Angels or men with a message?

Rev 3:10 - 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.

Did this great temptation already come & go? Pls let me know. Tks

Tks
Ed

 

[morata rapia]

"those who dwell on the earth" sounds like unbelievers....earth is their home. For the believer, heaven is their home, not earth.

Those who have already persevered are to be kept from, or out of. The word translated 'from' can also be 'out'. Believers have already been tested, they have kept the faith.

Jesus says, "because you have" kept. Not "if you keep".

We also know from 2Thess 2:10 that God will send deception to those who did not love the truth, later in Revelation we see how those that have rejected the truth have willingly received the deception in that they believe the AC is God. The hour of testing has proven them to have rejected the Truth.

I would say that this particular hour of testing has not come upon the earth yet. This hour is for those who are unbelievers.

I believe the testing to begin by being a spiritual test...a person will have to choose.



But that does not mean that professing Christians, those who profess to have chosen Christ will not also be tested prior to this "hour" spoken of in Revelation 3:10.

I would say that you can see the wind of deception blowing through Christiandom as never before and embraced by many main stream professing Christians. T

:mho:

 

[mattfivefour]

Throughout the history of the Church, the word "angels" as mentioned first in Revelation 1:9 and then repeated at the beginning of each message to each church is understood to refer to the pastors of the seven churches. The Greek word is ἄγγελος (angelos) and properly means "messenger" or "intermediary". In fact the word "intermediary" is its most common use in ancient literature and correspondence written during Bible times. It was often used by both Jews and Christians to refer to heavenly messengers, but not exclusively so. It also refers to anyone with a message and also to guardians and overseers. This is its meaning here. That this is so is evident that in each case the one receiving the message was responsible for the members of the particular church. Thus they were being given a message to transmit to their people. Angels do not need to be given an earthly message via John since they get their instructions directly from the mouth of God, as can be seen elsewhere in the Bible, including in Revelation.

The seven churches are representative of the characteristics of the professing Church in its progression (or, perhaps, regression) during the Church age. Ephesus was the church that lost its first love; Smyrna the church that remained faithful and true; Pergamos was the church that compromised Thyatira the corrupted church; Sardis the dead church; Philadelphia was the faithful church, the church that was true in fulfilling its mission, persevering in the faith, and to which Jesus made the promise to keep it from the hour of trial (ie: in this context, the Great Tribulation; and the Laodicean Church is the lukewarm church and because it is lukewarm Christ can do nothing with it: if it were cold He could call it to repentance, but they think they have everything and are in need of nothing, even though they are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked."

Thus the Church at Ephesus represents the post-apostolic Church, during the first 200 years or so, that gradually lost its first love. Smyrna represents the remnant that remained true. Pergamos represents the Church three hundred years after Christ when it was seduced by friendship with the Roman Empire, culminating under Constantine when there was a complete blending of Christian worship with Mithraic worship, even to the robes, the titles, the buildings, and the rituals. This compromise led to corruption (Thyatira) and then to a dead church (Sardis) ... representing the Roman Catholic church from it earliest beginnings in the third and fourth centuries after Christ ... until this very day. The Philadelphian Church had its roots in the Great Reformation and reached its peak during the Great Awakenings and the revivals of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It is still with us today in those faithful, gospel preaching, Bible-believing churches around the world. And the Laodicean, lukewarm, church developed out of the Reformation by those that denied the power of the Holy Spirit and the living relationship between God and each one whom He saves. Rather than devoting their lives to His service, its members keep God in their back pocket, trotting Him out when they want something. They think they are rich and have everything, but they are poor and needy. This church is prominent today in the charismaniac and emergent churches around the world ... and in those denominational churches that go through the motions each Sunday, perhaps are involved in social action, but have no power, no Spirit in their midst.

So the messages to the churches, while no doubt relevant to their local conditions at the time, were also intended to be a prophetic picture of the Church throughout history. And how accurate that picture has been! And what a great warning to all of us to consider what Church we belong to! Once these messages were delivered, then we hear no more of the Church in Revelation It disappears completely from the scene for the rest of the Book ... until we see it descending as the Holy City, the Bride of Christ. Why does it disappear? Clearly, based on other scriptures, it has been removed by God in the Rapture.

I pray this helps.

 

[Ed Silvia]

Tks Morata,

I agree with you in that I don't think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone just yet.

Tks Mattfivefour,
You covered a lot of ground. You kind of put the angel of the church at Philadelphia as in the past but also with us now. Do you think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone already?

Tks again
Ed

 

[Any Minute]

Hello brothers & sisters in Christ Jesus,

I'm new here & making my first post. Does anybody here think this verse is relevant today? Who are these Angels of the 7 Churches? Are they Angels or men with a message?

Rev 3:10 - 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.

Did this great temptation already come & go? Pls let me know. Tks

Tks
Ed

Hi Ed, Welcome to RF.

What do you believe that passage means?

IMO, No, it has not occured yet. As Mattfivefour posted in the last paragraph, the Church will be removed via the Rapture. I believe we will be kept completely from any part of that 'hour of temptation'.

 

[mattfivefour]

You kind of put the angel of the church at Philadelphia as in the past but also with us now. Do you think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone already?

Tks again
Ed

No. The hour of temptation is the Great Tribulation and it will not occur until the Church (the true Church—the Philadelphia church) is gone in the Rapture. And, yes, the Philadelphia church —as with the Laodicean and Thyatira/Sardis churches— exists even to this day.

 

[Ed Silvia]

Hi Ed, Welcome to RF.

What do you believe that passage means?

Honestly, May I Call you Any M? I think it means we, my brother or sister, are precisely at this point in salvation history just prior to the great temptation. Of the 7 churches this is the only one that even implies some type of rapture and Christ Jesus says "I come quickly" Keeping in mind it was written 2000 years ago its hard for me to believe it was received by its intended "Angel" at that time. More likely it was for a time prior and leading up to the great temptation if you get my drift.

Peace
Ed

 

[Any Minute]

Hi Ed,
Feel free to use my name, Daniel, if you wish (which hopefully answers the brother or sister question, lol).
I think I agree with you, we are most likely of the generation that will experience the pre-trib rapture.

I don’t see why it couldn’t have been received by its intended ‘angel’ (messenger). The promises made in Revelation 3:10,11,12 very much applied to them(that literal church), as well as all of us since its time of writing.

I see the words “I come quickly” in the same light as the words “must shortly take place” or “the time is near” (Revelation 1:1,3) These phrases along with others such as “…is at hand” (Matthew 4:17 for example, there are many others) is never a positive affirmation that the person or thing that is said to be at hand will immediately appear, but only the person or thing has the quality of imminency.
The return of Christ has been imminent since His ascension into Heaven. If the 70th week had begun in that time period, Jesus would have ‘kept them from that hour of trial’. So in short, I believe it did apply to them as well.

I asked the question because of your repeated question of “Do you think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone already? “
Unless you take an allegorical or preterist view of scripture, that hour of temptation hasn’t occurred yet.

 

[Ed Silvia]

Hi Ed,

I asked the question because of your repeated question of “Do you think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone already? “
Unless you take an allegorical or preterist view of scripture, that hour of temptation hasn't occurred yet.

Hi Daniel,

The verses meant for the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia seem to me as being self fulfilling in that the open door, is the message, from the Divine with assurance He will deal with the wolves in sheep clothing pretending to be true believers in no uncertain terms (they will know I love you) and protect the angel from the great imminent world wide temptation. The angel of the church needs to keep that which he has/had i.e. don't deny God/God's name and keep the word of His patients i.e. peps can truly repent right up till the last min. I agree with Morata in that it will be a spiritual test. With all the advances in technology & genetics it could be anything which denies our creator for the created. It brings true meaning to the one prayer taught to us by Our Lord Jesus. "Father, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"

Sorry to ramble,

Peace
Ed

 

[Any Minute]

Hi Ed,

“The angel of the church needs to keep that which he has/had i.e. don't deny God/God's name and keep the word of His patients”

Sorry but you’re losing me here, not quite sure what you mean. Are you saying the message to the church only applies to the ‘Angel’ or to all of us within the true Church?

As I’m sure you are aware, Revelation 3:10 is a highly debated passage of scripture amongst the different 'camps’. Depending on the method of interpretation you subscribe to, is how this verse is applied to your eschatology and overall theology.

“Do you think the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth has come & gone already? “

Forgive me if I’m reading into your posts but I wonder are you a pre-trib believer and looking for an apologetic or are you of a different eschatological position than this board?

There is much to glean in understanding and application in the letters to the 7 churches. Like I said above, this particular verse is used often to argue differing positions.

Here are a couple of links to articles discussing Revelation 3:10 and some of the often overlooked information we’re given.
http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Townsend-TheRaptureinRevelatio.pdf
Revelation 3:10 Commentary - A Testimony of Jesus Christ

 

[Ed Silvia]

Hi Daniel,

Hi Ed,

"Sorry but you’re losing me here, not quite sure what you mean. Are you saying the message to the church only applies to the ‘Angel’ or to all of us within the true Church?"

I believe the angel is a man with a relevant witness in the time prior to and leading up to the great temptation. "He that overcomes" & "I will make him a pillar" That isn't the church or the bride of Christ Jesus, its a man of the Church who will become a pillar in the Temple of God.

"Forgive me if I’m reading into your posts but I wonder are you a pre-trib believer and looking for an apologetic or are you of a different eschatological position than this board?"

I'm not hear to argue against the position of the board by any means. With whats coming we will need divine intervention and by the mercy of God I hope it does come pre-trib.

Peace,
Ed