We continue looking at the Rapture. Revelation 3: 10 reads: "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." The promise to keep the church from the hour of temptation is a reference to the Rapture. Christ’s description—an event still to come in the future that for a short time will severely test the entireworld—must refer to the time of tribulation, the 7-year period before Christ’s earthly kingdom is consummated, featuring the unleashing of divine wrath in judgments expressed as seals, trumpets, and bowls. Thank God, we are to be removed from the world (see 1 Thess. 4:13–18), which is our comfort and hope. Such is the patient waiting of the church “… who through faith and patience inherit the promises." The church is not anticipating the Great Tribulation with all of its judgment, but rather it is looking for Him to come. “The hour of temptation” is definitely a reference to the Great Tribulation—it’s worldwide. This is one reason we need to evangelize the lost now. Time is running short. If you care about someone, you should show it. I still recall in 1974 sitting in the library at Old Dominion University studying a law case when my friend who had been witnessing to me burst into the library and looked at me and with a loud voice said, "If you die tonight, are you going to heaven or hell?" My friend didn't care about anyone else in the library, he only cared about my soul. Who do you care about?
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