Among the great doctrines of the Bible is the fact of Christ’s coming for His church. He promised this before He went to the cross in John 14:1-3 when He said, “I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:3). This was a reference to heaven because He stated, “In My Father’s house are many dwellings and He goes to prepare a place for us” (John 14:2). This is reiterated and given more detail by Paul. He says, “Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:51-52). He further says, “We will be caught up” (1 Thess. 4:17), which is where we derive the name of the event as the rapture of the church. This is a real event promised by God. Some have referred this to the second coming of Christ which is also promised. But a careful study will show the rapture and the second coming as two separate events. At the second coming, our Lord remains on the earth to establish His kingdom. The question often discussed is when in the revealed future will the rapture or removal of the church take place? Christ tells us that no one can know this date, but we are given its timing in relation to other promised events that will close out the history of this fallen world. Another of the promised events leading to the second coming of Christ is called the tribulation.  It is a period of seven years in which God has determined to bring His severe wrath to the earth in a degree never seen before. This time of tribulation on the earth is also promised by Christ Himself (Matt. 24:21), and repeatedly carries the title of “the day of the Lord” in the Old Testament. 

As we live in the last days, how should we consider the timing of the church’s removal? There are several strong reasons from Scripture to conclude that the church will be removed before the time of tribulation. One of the strong reasons is another promise Christ Himself made to the church at Philadelphia. He evaluated and made promises to seven different churches in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3. The church at Philadelphia (Rev. 3: 7-13) represents Christ’s true, faithful, church. He had only praise for them, and with His praise He gave a powerful promise of rescue.

The Lord’s promise to this church is, “‘Because you have kept My word of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of the testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who live on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). The description of keeping this church from what is described does not match literal history or any past event of the no longer existing church at Philadelphia. Instead, we are confident the Philadelphia church was serving as a timeless type of Christ’s true church. It is a promise to all church age people who are faithful just as those who were in Philadelphia. This promise of keeping them from this time of testing is so worded that it can only refer to the Day of the Lord or the time of the tribulation.

Here are specific features of this wording analyzed in its literal Greek language. The word for “from” means out of, or removal. It cannot refer to preserving them in the situation, but instead, they are rescued from the situation. The phrase, “those who live on the earth,” is a repeated phrase in the book of Revelation that always refers to unsaved persons (See Rev. 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8; 13:14; 17:2). He says this time of testing is, “about to come,” which is a phrase meaning in the future. He further says it involves, “the whole world,” not just a test locally for the saints at Philadelphia. The phrase, “the hour of testing,” simply means a period of time. We know from Daniel 9:25-27 and other passages the time frame of the tribulation is seven years. We further know that Christ intended the writing of Revelation to be taken chronologically (Rev. 1:19), and that when we arrive at Revelation chapter 4 and 5, the church is seen in heaven. Furthermore, the church is not mentioned again on the earth from Revelation chapter 6 to19, which are chapters describing the time of tribulation in great detail. The point is that this promise of rescue by Christ cannot be explained without seeing it as the same event of which Paul elaborates for the church in the last days. It has been revealed and promised to us that God will spare His true church from the time of the tribulation.

This is a most valuable and encouraging promise. The Philadelphia Church is synonymous with our Lord’s faithful elect or His true church leading up to the time of tribulation. This rescue is a wonderful promise. Even if we die before the rapture, we will still be part of it. Beloved, we are someday going to be instantly with the Lord in glorified bodies. It could occur anytime. This is called by Paul our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). This is a hope that is sure and real because it comes from our Lord. The world is waxing worse continually, and some among us are languishing under heavy burdens, but I have good news! The worst trouble this world will ever encounter is still ahead, but if we are in Christ we will not be part of it. Our Lord is gracious to spare His own from the day of the Lord or tribulation.  We instead, will ever be with the Lord. He says at the close of discussing this in 1 Thessalonians 4, “Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” This is His truth and His promise! Keep looking to Christ and let us rejoice with hopeful hearts as we worship Him this weekend.