In Revelation we find the following promise:

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. [KJV]

This is a wonderful promise of God for the time of tribulation that the rest of the book of Revelation reveals to us, His people. But what exactly does this promise mean? And how does one become entitled to this promise? Let us use scripture to determine the answer to these questions.

To start our quest for answers, let us first define what temptation is. This word "temptation" is the Greek word "Peirasmos". It is used 21 times in the bible and is sometimes translated as "try". It means: an experiment, attempt, trial, proving. This definition should be readily apparent, but let's use the scriptures themselves to define the meaning,  and more importantly the contextual use, of this word. From the KJV:

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Hebrews 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

The context of how the Apostles used this word "Peirasmos" is quite telling:

• We should expect to be confronted with temptation.
• We are admonished to persevere through it.
• God will provide the strength to deliver us through our temptation.
• We will be rewarded with the crown of life for enduring temptation.
• It is not God who actually tempts us.
• There are those who will fall away when they are confronted with temptation.

We can also see from the contextual use of this word that we are not prevented or removed from experiencing the temptation, but rather God gives us the strength to live through temptation. Isn't the context of Rev 3:10 very similar? Let us break down Rev 3:10 further to see if this is so. The promise of Rev 3:10 to "keep thee from" the hour of temptation is clearly conditional upon keeping His Word of patience. "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience." Furthermore, a proper understanding of this phrase "keep thee from" is needed.

Remember, since we are not reading the Greek original, we must always be cognizant of proper interpretation into English. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says that when the verb "keep" [Greek: tereo - which literally means "to keep an eye upon"] is used with the preposition "from" [Greek: ek - literally "out of" implying "emergence from within an object"], the resulting phrase means: "by guarding, to cause one to escape in safety out of." That is to say, to keep an eye upon, by guarding, to cause one to emerge in safety from within the object. The object must be present in the same sentence. In Rev 3:10, that object is the hour of temptation. "I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation." In other words, God will keep an eye upon us, by guarding us, so that we may safely emerge from within the temptation. No other conclusion can be made from this verse without twisting the meaning of what was originally written in Greek. Isn't this the exact same context we have seen regarding temptation as in the scriptures above?

To prove this is exactly what Rev 3:10 means, this exact Greek phrase is used elsewhere in scripture, and it's the ONLY other time it is used.

John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest KEEP "tereo" them FROM "ek" the evil. [KJV]

I am sure you will agree John 17:15 means to keep safely from evil, not to be removed from this world and from it's evil. It is the same context as we have seen in the scriptures concerning temptation. In John chapter 17, Yeshua considered His disciples as having come out of the world. He did not mean physical removal, nor did He mean they were never a part of this world. Rather, He meant they had emerged from the world system, being called out unto Christ. Yeshua also said that they have kept God's word:

John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. [KJV]

In response to keeping God's Word, Yeshua prayed in verses 15 that the Father would "keep them from" [keep an eye upon, by guarding, so that they may safely emerge from] evil. As a matter of fact, He specifically prayed that they should NOT be taken out of this world. Moreover, both books, John and Revelation, were written by the same Apostle, John, and are both Yeshua's Word. Yeshua's Word is the same yesterday, today and forever.

In both of these scriptures there is a condition to receive this promise. It is to keep His Word. If and only if we keep His Word will we receive the promise to by likewise kept, by guarding, so that we may emerge safely from temptation; not being removed beforehand, but rather helped though it. The harmony of scripture is undeniable and amazing!

Since we also know that God cannot be the source of temptation, we can come to only one conclusion; the temptation in this promise in Revelation is of Satan. It is the deception, trials and sins of the tribulation period. It is the false Christ's that will come claiming his name. It is the persecution of the Beast. Many will fall away into apostasy. We are warned of these things many, many times throughout scripture. Take heed of all these warnings. God has revealed the events of the times that are now upon us beforehand. Keep His Word and He will keep you from the hour of temptation!

For the edification of the Doves,

Chris, AKA Prophbuff