John
the apostle saw the vision of Jesus in chapter one of “Revelation”,
and he began to write to the “seven
churches in Asia”. He
started with the church located in “Ephesus”,
then the “church
of Smyrna”,
the “church
in Pergamos”,
the “church
in Thyatira”,
“the
church in
Sardis”
and
“the
church in Philadelphia” where
He told them, “Behold,
I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews,
and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship
before your feet, and to know that I have loved you”,
and
in chapter three and verse ten of Revelation, Jesus told them how He
will
“keep” the
“church
of Philadelphia”
“from
the hour of temptation” where
we read:
Because
you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the
hour of temptation,
which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The
verse reads, “Because
you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the
hour of temptation, ...”
John
began with the word, “Because”
which means “since” “you
have kept”
or “the church in Philadelphia has held, owned and possessed”
“the
word” or
“the speech, decree, mandate and order” “of
my patience”
which refers to “pertaining to Jesus' steadfastness, constancy and
endurance”, “I
also”
or “Jesus even so and indeed” “will
keep you”
which means “shall attend to carefully, take care of, guard and
observe the church in Philadelphia” “from
the hour” or
“out of and away from the certain definite time or season fixed”
“of
temptation”
which means “pertaining to the experimental, trial and proving”.
Jesus promised to “guard” the “church
in Philadelphia”
from the “time of trial and proving” because they were “faithful”
in Jesus' “steadfastness and endurance”.
The
verse goes on to say, “... which
shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the
earth.” John
added the words, “”which
shall come upon”
which means “that will be about, on the point of and intended for”
“all
the world”
or “the whole and complete inhabited earth”, “to
try them”
or “to test and prove the people” “that
dwell”
which means “who live, inhabit and settle”
“upon the earth”
or “on the arable land, ground, territory and country”. Jesus
declared there to be a “time of trial” for everyone who lives
upon the
“earth”.
When
we consider John's words in this verse, we see Jesus' promise to the
“church in Philadelphia” to keep them from the “time of
tribulation” that was destined to be upon the earth. This
“escape” or “keeping” from the “trial and proving time”
is open to everyone who receives Jesus Christ as their personal
“Savior and Lord”. Though it is certain the entire earth shall
undergo a “tribulation” period, those who know Jesus shall
be “kept” from it. Let all who read these words know and
understand that today is the day of salvation, and God desires to
“save” every person who will “believe in His Son Jesus”.
Next
time
we see John share how Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia,
“behold,
I come quickly”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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