3.  The Bible teaches us that the Church of Philadelphia will be kept from ever entering into the Great

Tribulation period.

If you'd like more

information on

this topic, you can

stop by New Hope for a Sunday Service, where we have available the sermon series entitled, "The Ratpure, the Church, and Israel" on both CD and DVD.

In the first 3 chapters of the book of Revelation, Jesus is giving warnings, encouragements, and promises to the seven Churches of Asia.  These are further understood to be Churches as seen through various stages and portions of the Church world from the first century until the rapture of the Church immediately prior to the 70th week of Daniel unfolding.

Although most of the Churches either find condemnation or stern warning of their need for repentance, one Church, Philadelphia is given a promise according to their faithfulness to the Lord:

"And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write, these things saith He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts, and no one opens.....           

.....Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which    shall come upon the whole world, to test those that dwell on the earth."

Some have misunderstood this to mean that the Lord is simply promising to keep the Church of              Philadelphia preserved as it goes through the Great Tribulation period.  Just by looking at the English translation of this passage we can see that this type of promise doesn't fit within the context of the warnings and promises that the Lord is giving here.  The entire Church world has always had His promise that as long as we remain faithful to Him, He will keep us, and we will find His ultimate reward in Heaven.  He further warns other Churches here that if they aren't ready, they will enter into the Great Tribulation period, something He is promising the Philadelphia Church it won't take part in.

As with many challenging passages in God's Word, we can take a look at the original languages and learn much concerning what God is saying.  There is something more being promised here, and it is clearly seen right here in God's Word.  This is where we can be thankful that the Lord helps us, if we are willing, to guard against putting our own thoughts and ideas above the clear teaching of the Word of God.  He has preserved His Word for us so we can study it and understand the meanings of what it is truly saying.  As we commit to a humble study of the original language in which this passage was written(Greek), we learn that the words "keep you from" clearly mean that the Church will not enter into, but will be 'kept from' ever entering the Great Tribulation.  The words are "tereo ek", and by studying their usage in the scriptures, we can see that the Bible confirms to us that this promise to Philadelphia cannot mean that it will go into the Great Tribulation and be brought out of it.  This passage in Revelation clearly means that the Philadelphia Church will not enter the Great Tribulation.  As great as this promise is, no Christian need feel guilty or superficial in holding fast to this truth as it is taught us in the Word of God.

By keeping the scriptures in their proper context and word usage, it is clearly seen that there is no question that the Philadelphia Church will be raptured prior to the unfolding events of the 70th week of Daniel, which include the anti-Christ's work on the earth, and the wrath of God being poured out through the Great Tribulation period.  The question that remains for each of us however is,  "Are we a part of that Church?" To ensure that you truly are a part of the faithful Philadelphia Church that will be kept from entering the Great Tribulation period, but will be raptured prior to it, I encourage you, if you aren't confident of your relationship with the Lord Jesus, that you repent of your sin, turn to the Lord Jesus, ask Him to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, and commit to follow after Him and learn His ways, putting Him first in your life.  The next step is to find a local assembly of Believers (a genuine gospel preaching and following Church), be baptized in water according to the Lord's command, and begin growing in a life of commitment to the Lord and fellowship with His people.

The Bible teaches us that it is:

"by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Now, before we get too comfortable and find ourselves spiritually 'asleep', remember the words of  James which say,

"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, you have faith and I have works.  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

Therefore, let each of us make sure that we have a genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, having true faith in Him, on full display to the world by our faithful works unto the Lord for HIs glory!