FBC Daily Devotions

Last Sunday, I spoke on Revelation 3:7-13 which included these words from Christ referring to the church at Philadelphia and by extension to all churches throughout history (Rev. 3:13):

¹⁰‘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 on the earth. ¹¹‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

From this passage (and others), there is coming a period of testing or tribulation that will come upon the whole world, to everyone dwelling on the earth. The promise Jesus gives here is that those who are His will be kept either from that time (i.e. “removed”) or kept through that time (i.e. “protected”). Either interpretation from a Greek standpoint are workable, though, in my opinion, some arguments are stronger than others. For our purposes here, I won’t argue the Greek because there are far too many of us who don’t understand Greek well enough (or at all) to recognize a good argument if it hit us in the face. My purpose here is to provide reasonable biblical support for why I believe we (God’s children) will not go through the tribulation period, but instead will be kept out of it by being raptured prior to this period.

Reasons for a Pretribulational Rapture:

1. Rev. 3:10 – I have already noted that perhaps the most natural understanding of this verse is to be kept out of this period of tribulation. Remember, this is a word of encouragement to the church. To be told they would be protected through a time much worse than the one they were currently experience would not be much of an encouragement. Jesus is saying in this message to the church that because of their faithfulness to persevere, He would reward them. What kind of reward would it be for them to go through the tribulation period protected? He would in effect would have to be saying, “Because of your current perseverance, I am going to give you even more to persevere. You think it’s bad now, just wait till you see what’s coming. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you during that time.” That is not so much an encouragement as it is a heads up. No, I believe a more natural understanding of this verse is that because of their current perseverance, Jesus will reward them by removing them before this period of tribulation begins.
2. Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-14 – if the church will be protected within this period of tribulation, then how does one explain the multitude of saints that are martyred during this period? If the church is present in this time, clearly some aren’t protected. Conversely, if the church is kept out of this time, those being martyred are saints who turned to Christ during this period of tribulation for whom the promise did not apply.
3. It is true that Jesus promises protection from the devil (i.e. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.” – John 17:15). But in John’s gospel, protection is from the devil; in Revelation, protection is from a period of time – the hour of testing.
4. Jesus follows up His promise of protection with the words, “I am coming quickly.” (v. 11) That is to say He is coming without warning. His return is imminent, and certainly that was the expectation of the New Testament writers (cf. Luke 12:40; James 5:7-9; 1Cor. 15:51; 1Thes. 4:17; 5:2; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Col 3:4; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet 5:4). Therefore, if the rapture of the church didn’t occur until after the tribulation period, it would mean Christ’s return wouldn’t be imminent at all (since the timing of the tribulation period in the revelation is very specific among other things). Only a pretribulational rapture could account for Christ’s imminent return.