7th in the series. Starts here.

An examination of Revelation 3:10 shows it is not referring to a Pre-Trib Rapture

Pre-Tribulationists like to point to Revelation 3:10 as evidence of the Church being raptured before the Tribulation starts. One tension I have with that is this: as believers, we are already kept from God’s wrath through the finished work of Christ on the Cross. We are not destined for wrath as followers of Christ [1Th 5:9]. He has told us this in many places and this is actually His intent upon saving us [Romans 5:8-9]. He saves us from Himself. The rapture, therefore, has no bearing on our standing before God and is not a vehicle for our Salvation from His wrath.

I believe Revelation 3:10 is not referencing the Rapture, but the actual hour of Christ’s Return.

In The Thessalonians and the Thief, I showed you that Scripture suggests Christ’s Return and the Rapture of the Saints will take place near the end of the Tribulation between the 6th and 7th bowl judgments. I’ll present additional evidence here. First, let’s read the verse in question.

‘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.

[Revelation 3:10 NASB]

Consider this: when one is tested, choices and decisions must be made. I believe this understanding is entirely relevant to interpreting this passage.

The Valley of Decision. The final battle will be fought at Armageddon, a valley sixty miles north of Jerusalem [Revelation 16:16]. It is also called the Plain of Megiddo [Zechariah 12:11]. Many battles have been fought there. From a military standpoint, it is a superbly strategic section of land. It is also referred to in the Book of Joel as the Valley of Decision. Let’s map out that passage in context.

Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

[Joel 3:11-15 NASB] see also Isaiah 63:1-6, Lamentations 1:15, Zechariah 12:3

It is here that the Antichrist will gather the nations to fight against our Lord. The winepress of God’s wrath will be trodden by our returning Lord and it is these nations that will fill it [Revelation 14:18-21, 19:15]. Though our Lord’s victory will be sweet, it will not be pleasant.

Perhaps this valley gets its name from the decision in Joel 2:32? This verse is in the context of our Lord’s Return and the final battle.

“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

[Joel 2:32 NASB]

The decision before the world has always been God or Satan [Genesis 3:1, Joshua 24:15; Matthew 12:30]. Let’s examine this decision a little further with some additional Scripture. A decision is given in the form of a warning to those who may be considering receiving the mark of the beast. They will be subject to God’s wrath just as Babylon will.

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

[Revelation 14:9-10 NASB]

A decision is also given here. God calls His people out of Babylon.

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;

[Revelation 18:4 NASB]

God calls His people out to protect them from her plagues. This is not just a physical call to move to avoid destruction but also a spiritual call to Himself to avoid her sins since Babylon the Great is the false world religious system. God is calling those whom He foreknew out of her because He is about to destroy her permanently.

A test is given here:

“It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

[Zechariah 13:8-9 NASB]

The decision in Joel is in the vicinity of the last battle. The decisions in Revelation are in the vicinity of the destruction of Babylon. The decision about the mark occurs just after it is announced that Babylon is fallen [Revelation 14:8]. The decision to come out of the false religious system is right before Babylon receives her plagues. I submit that these verses are speaking of the same time. We will explore that below.

The hour of Babylon’s destruction. There are three references to hours in end-time prophecy. I’ve shown you at the beginning that it’s not the Rapture that saves us from God’s wrath, but the finished work of Christ on the Cross. However, let us continue to define the hour of testing.

If you accept that the hour in Revelation 3:10 is referring to a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, then you have to agree that the 2 additional references to hours have different meanings. Of the 2 remaining, one refers to the hour of Christ’s Return and the other refers to the destruction of Babylon. Let’s look at Babylon first. It is God that judges Babylon, but we read that the 10 kings in power with the Antichrist will give their allegiance to him to accomplish God’s will.

“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.

[Revelation 17:12-17 NASB]

Interestingly, they have received authority as kings for one hour. They have given their power and one-hour authority to the beast. Their kingdoms will be given to the beast until the Words of God are fulfilled. Wouldn’t this mean that all this action takes place in an hour from the destruction of Babylon?

Here are more passages about Babylon’s destruction happening in one hour.

standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.‘

[Rev 18:10 NASB]

for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!‘ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,

[Rev 18:17 NASB]

“And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!‘

[Rev 18:19 NASB]

The 10 kings of the earth give over their power to the Antichrist for one hour with the sole purpose of waging war with the Lamb or Christ. I believe this to be a literal hour because of the numeric qualifier, the word “one” before hour. It is unreasonable to conclusively say that the destruction will last for exactly one hour. Rather, when taken in context, I believe it is emphasizing the swift severity of the destruction within an hour’s period of time.

Remembering Babylon. We have just seen that the hour of Babylon’s destruction is the same hour that the 10 kings rule together with the Antichrist. Next, let’s plug this into the timeline of Revelation 16.

A reference to Babylon’s destruction shows up during the 7th bowl of God’s Wrath placing it at the end of the Tribulation, seemingly, right before or during the final battle against the Antichrist.

The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

[Revelation 16:19 NASB]

The great city in this passage is Jerusalem. God remembers Babylon for her iniquity [Rev 18:5]. That means He’s about to judge her. We’ve learned previously that Scripture suggests the Rapture will take place between the 6th and 7th bowls. Let’s put this in context. We’ll begin with the pouring out of the 6th bowl.

Revelation 16:12-21 NASB [12] The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. [13] And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; [14] for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

The 6th bowl is poured out. The Antichrist gathers his armies to do battle against Christ.

[15] (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)

Christ announces His Return. The Saints are raptured (see Looking to Christ on His Return).

[16] And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

The Antichrist’s armies are assembled at Armageddon.

[17] Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” [18] And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. [19] The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

The 7th bowl is poured out. Jerusalem is attacked but not totally destroyed [Zechariah 14:4, Psalm 125:1-2, Micah 4:7]. God judges Babylon for her iniquity by using the 10 kings and the Antichrist to destroy her.

[20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, *came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague *was extremely severe.

The end comes with destruction and a hailstorm. Turn over a few pages to Revelation 19:11 and the action continues with the most triumphant and glorious entrance of any warlord ever recorded! Jesus Christ, the Omnipotent Battle Lord, returns with His own and supernaturally thrashes the Antichrist, his armies and his minions with authority! By this, we can see that the hour of the 10 kings’ destruction of Babylon [Revelation 19:1-10] is when Christ returns between the Rapture [Revelation 16:15] and the final battle [19:11-21].

The hour of Christ’s Return. During the Olivet Discourse, Christ says this of His Return.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

[Matthew 24:36 NASB]

Let’s look at the passage and go through the events to establish a contextual timeline.

Matthew 24:29-36 NASB “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

After the Tribulation, darkness and destruction will come [Joel 2:31, 3:15, Zechariah 14:6].

[30] “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.

Christ returns. The tribes that are mourning are the nations gathered for battle [Isaiah 63:1-6, Lamentations 1:15, Joel 3:11-15, Zechariah 12:3, Revelation 16:12-16].

[31] “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

The Saints are raptured [Revelation 16:15].

[32] “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; [33] so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. [34] “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. [35] “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Christ gives us the Parable of the Fig Tree and other warnings.

[36] “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

The day of Christ’s Return is a literal day. Above, in Matthew 24:36, Christ is talking about the Day of the Lord and the hour of His Return. Zechariah 14:6-7 defines it as a literal day by the phrase “at evening time”.

In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.

[Zechariah 14:6-7 NASB]

Even based upon the Olivet Discourse alone, Christ is defining the hour as being within the day. It is much the same as this:

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

[Genesis 1:14 NASB]

In this passage, seasons, days and years are all mentioned together. A day is defined within the context of a season, which is defined within the context of a year. If a day doesn’t mean a day, neither does a year mean a year. Likewise, Christ is not being redundant by referring to the moment of His Return as both a day and an hour. If an hour doesn’t mean an hour, neither does a day mean a day. They would simply both mean a general period of time. Here it is again, even clearer.

“Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

[Matthew 25:13 NASB]

It seems apparent He is speaking of a literal hour. Perhaps we can think of it this way: on the day of His Return, in the hour of His Return.

TH!NK: If we want to verbally express a longer period of time in conversation, we say “in that day” rather than “in that hour”. If the hour of testing is referring to events in the Valley of Decision, as I’ve presented above, how then can the hour of testing be longer than the Day of the Lord let alone the seven-year Tribulation? Think about this. Say to yourself “The day has come”. Now say to yourself “the hour has come.” Which phrase creates more urgency in your mind and why? Which word would you use to convey a shorter period of time? The hour of testing/trial is not referring to the seven-year Tribulation.

The hour in Revelation 3:10 in context. As outlined above, Christ lays out the timeline of end events for us in the Olivet Discourse. He told us everything in advance [Mat 24:25, Mark 13:23] and He defines the hour of His Return as a literal hour within the Day of His Return. Christ’s first mentioning of the hour of His Return in the Book of Revelation is in chapter 3, verse 3. With it, He also includes the analogy of the thief (we’ve covered the use of this analogy in Looking to Christ on His Return). A good question to ask is this: does the hour in verse 3 relate to the hour of testing in verse 10, and, if it does, how? Here are the 2 verses.

To the Church in Sardis:

‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

[Revelation 3:3 NASB]

To the church in Philadelphia:

‘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.

[Revelation 3:10 NASB]

Christ is speaking to 2 different churches but the subject is the same because He is the subject.

He says to remember what we have received and keep it. What have we received? He tells us in verse 8 it is His Word, the Gospel [John 12:48, James 1:21]. He then tells us, in the letter to the other church, because we have kept His Word, He will keep us from the hour of testing.

He tells one church to keep His Word. If they don’t, he will come like thief in an unknown hour. He tells the other that if they do, they will be kept from the hour of testing. Christ clarifies the hour in verse 3 as the hour of testing in verse 10. Right after that, in verse 11, He says “I am coming quickly…”.

The hour and the thief are fast friends.

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

[Luke 12:39 NASB]

Filling in the hours. Let’s fit all of the references to hours into the Tribulation timeline and see what happens. Here are the prophetic references to hours.

• The hour of Christ’s Return [Mat 24:35; 44, 25:13, Mark 13:32, Luke 12:40, Rev 3:3]
• The hour of testing [Revelation 3:10]
• The hour of the destruction of Babylon [Revelation 14:7-8, 17:12, 18:10; 17; 19]

Let’s take a wider view of the action in Revelation chapter 16. Verse references without a book name are from Revelation. Cross-references in other books are identified by name.

• The 6th bowl is poured out [16:12]
• The kings of the East cross the Euphrates [16:12]
• The Antichrist sends word to his armies [16:13-14]
• This time is called the Great Day of God, the Almighty [16:14]
• Christ announces His Return [16:15]
  • The day and hour of His Return [Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32]
  • The hour of testing [3:10, 14:7]
• Christ is descending through the clouds [Matthew 24:30, Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16, 1 Thessalonians 4:17]
• The Saints are raptured [16:15]
• The Antichrist’s armies are assembled at Armageddon [16:16]
• The 7th bowl is poured out [16:17]
• Lightning, thunder [16:18]
• A great earthquake [16:18]
• Jerusalem split into three (war) [16:19]
• Christ’s feet touch the Mt. Of Olives [Zechariah 14:4]
• Cities of the nations fall [16:19]
• Babylon is remembered before God – eternally destroyed [16:19, 18]
• Babylon falls in one hour [14:7-8, 17:12, 18:10; 17; 19]
• Islands and mountains are destroyed [16:20]
• Hailstones [16:21]

Zero hour. I’ve stated above that the action near the end of the 7th bowl resumes in chapter 19 verse 11. Chapters 17, 18 and some of 19 answer some questions, offer more detail and describe some of the specifics of spiritual warfare and the Tribulation including the destruction of Babylon. Verse 21 says the 10 kings give their allegiance to the Antichrist for one hour. The Antichrist gathers the 10 kings and their armies. Christ returns in 16:15 during the time the Antichrist is gathering his kings and armies. Revelation 18:5 says God remembers Babylon’s iniquity meaning He is intending to exact judgment on her.

I submit to you this is all the same hour.

There is one more reference to Babylon being destroyed in an hour.

and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” [8] And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

[Rev 14:7-8 NASB]

We know from above that the kings of the earth, together with the Antichrist, destroy Babylon [Revelation 17:12-17]. Right before this, God calls His people out of Babylon so they will escape.

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;

[Revelation 18:4 NASB]

Christ is calling His people out of Babylon before it is destroyed [Jeremiah 5:8-15]. These people could be the remnant He promised to save, since the Saints have already been raptured, as well as the survivors of the nations who went to war against Him [Zechariah 14:16]. In a sense, He is also keeping these people from the hour of testing as well. We know that nations will enter into the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

Conclusion. I’ve shown you Scripture that points to all the prophetic references of an hour as happening at the same time. I’ve shown how an hour is just that, an hour. One can look at a clock and know that an hour is not seven years. Neither is the seven-year Tribulation the hour of testing. Even if you were to speak generally and say “in that day”, you would be expressing a longer period of time than by saying “in that hour”. How then can the “hour of testing” be longer than the “Day of the Lord” let alone the seven-year Tribulation?

• The hour of testing takes place in the Valley of Decision (Armageddon)
• Christ says He will return at a literal hour within a literal day
• His return takes place at Armageddon
• How can the hour of testing be longer than the day of Christ’s return let alone the 7-year Tribulation?

Christ does, indeed, keep His Saints from God’s wrath and the hour of testing by way of Salvation, not a Pre-Trib Rapture.

Bible prophecy is a vast subject of research. There are Lord-loving, Bible-believing Christians who would say that I’m wrong about the timing of the Rapture but the real conclusion that we can all agree on is this: Jesus Christ is coming back to the earth and He’s coming as King of kings, Lord of Lords and Warrior of warriors. So, have you made your decision? Don’t take up arms against Him in your Valley of Decision and be caught in His Wrath. He is willing and able to lead you through that valley [Psalm 23].

© P2ALM 2011