The Hour of Temptation

[Stranger]

I realize we are to wait upon the Lord. The rest is confused by man’s many different interpretations(divisions). If you(or your denomination) are right, then we will be raptured out. If you are wrong and we are not, it is better to be prepared for anything. The only way to be prepared is the be ‘in Christ’ that sure foundation. Giving people a possible false idea that God will snatch them out instead of them going through great tribulation; seems to hinder them from having to ask the really hard question: “how secure is my faith”. You can say what the verses mean to you over and over, that doesn’t make you right. We are to look for His return.

James 1:2-4
[2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this , that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Many could argue that He is already here and what we wait on, is for the manifestation of His body.

In (Rev. 3:10) God is promising some that they will be kept from the hour of temptation. Thus it is not a 'false idea' as you say.

During the flood of Noah's day, you had the same thing. Enoch was translated and saved from the flood. Noah and his family were saved going through the flood. During the Tribulation the Church will be translated and saved from the Tribulation. Israel on the other hand will be saved going through the Tribulation.

It is not a false idea.

Stranger

 

[VictoryinJesus]

No need to get too scientific, the scripture is plain and simple.

Jesus will not be anywhere on this earth, he's gonna return in the sky glorius as the lightning.

The lesson to be learned is, Jesus will not be in a physical body on earth.

Matthew 24:23-27KJV
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Ok then, your reference Matthew. “For as the lighting cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Didn’t this happen at Pentecost?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

Enoch was translated and saved from the flood.

Yes, translated into the Kingdom of God and saved from judgement. Salvation. To be ‘hidden in Christ’.

 

[Truth7t7]

Ok then, your reference Matthew. “For as the lighting cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Didn’t this happen at Pentecost?

In The Love Of Jesus, A Little Humor.

 

[Truth7t7]

Ok then, your reference Matthew. “For as the lighting cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Didn’t this happen at Pentecost?

No the second coming of Jesus Christ Is A Future Event.

Matthew 24:27-51KJV
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Stranger]

Isaiah 26:20-21 Sees the future return of Jesus Christ and punishment of the earth, and you claim the protection seen in verse 20 applies to Ethnic National Israel Alone?

Isaiah 26:20-21KJV
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Your claim of "Two Peoples Of God" giving respect to Jews based upon Ethnic/National status is sin as James 2:9-10 states, "God Is no respector of person"

Romans 2:11KJV
For there is no respect of persons with God.

James 2:9-10KJV
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Israel is one being addressed in (Is. 26). Yes it applies to Israel. It speaks to a restored and repentant Israel as well as judgements upon the Gentiles and unbelieving Israelites.

No, there are more than two groups as I have already said. Failure to see these distinctions in the Scripture is why such generalzations must be made. It is why spiritualizing a text must occur to make sense. You have to make it say something else.

Your use of (Rom. 2:11) is incorrect. Don't feel bad. I hear it all the time. Applying a verse to Israel when it is speaking to Israel, is not God being a respecter of persons. Nor am I guilty of being a respecter of persons when a passage is speaking to Gentiles and I say it is speaking to Gentiles. It is a silly argument you give.

Stranger

 

[Stranger]

Yes, translated into the Kingdom of God and saved from judgement. Salvation. To be ‘hidden in Christ’.

Well, if Enoch is translated to miss the flood, and Noah is saved through the flood, then being kept from the hour of temptation or Tribulation is not a false idea.

Stranger

 

[Truth7t7]

Israel is one being addressed in (Is. 26). Yes it applies to Israel. It speaks to a restored and repentant Israel as well as judgements upon the Gentiles and unbelieving Israelites.

No, there are more than two groups as I have already said. Failure to see these distinctions in the Scripture is why such generalzations must be made. It is why spiritualizing a text must occur to make sense. You have to make it say something else.

Your use of (Rom. 2:11) is incorrect. Don't feel bad. I hear it all the time. Applying a verse to Israel when it is speaking to Israel, is not God being a respecter of persons. Nor am I guilty of being a respecter of persons when a passage is speaking to Gentiles and I say it is speaking to Gentiles. It is a silly argument you give.

Stranger

"GOD IS NOT A RESPECTOR OF PERSONS"

Israel As A People Of God, And The Church As A People Of God, Is Falsely Teaching "Two Peoples Of God" A False Zionist Teaching, And Giving Respect Of Person Based Upon Ethnic/National Origin.

Your claim of "Two Peoples Of God" giving respect to Jews based upon Ethnic/National status is sin as James 2:9-10 states, "God Is no respector of person"

Romans 2:11KJV
For there is no respect of persons with God.

James 2:9-10KJV
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

There is no pre-trib rapture found in scripture, this is not a truth.

If you put the truth in that way, there is no Trinity found in scripture either, but the topic is found in scripture.

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Many read this above as pertaining to the fall of Satan, but it is not when that same dragon is the accuser of our brethren; the believers in Jesus Christ.

Verse 10 would apply to the firstfruit of the resurrection; the receiving of the purchased redemption; as the door will be shut when there will be a celebration in Heaven at the Marriage Supper thus no accuser of our brethren is allowed.

Verse 12 testify to the new citizens of Heaven when the accuser has been cast down while announcing woe to those remaining on the earth having great wrath because Satan knows he has a short time left before the Lord returns at the end of the great tribulation to reign as King of kings.

 

[Truth7t7]

If you put the truth in that way, there is no Trinity found in scripture either, but the topic is found in scripture.

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Many read this above as pertaining to the fall of Satan, but it is not when that same dragon is the accuser of our brethren; the believers in Jesus Christ.

Verse 10 would apply to the firstfruit of the resurrection; the receiving of the purchased redemption; as the door will be shut when there will be a celebration in Heaven at the Marriage Supper thus no accuser of our brethren is allowed.

Verse 12 testify to the new citizens of Heaven when the accuser has been cast down while announcing woe to those remaining on the earth having great wrath because Satan knows he has a short time left before the Lord returns at the end of the great tribulation to reign as King of kings.

Not one word presented even hints at a Pre-Trib rapture.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

Not one word presented even hints at a Pre-Trib rapture.

I can't help you, brother. It is by His wisdom that I can see the truth plainly in His words. I can pray for you, but that's it.

 

[Truth7t7]

I can't help you, brother. It is by His wisdom that I can see the truth plainly in His words. I can pray for you, but that's it.

In Love

Thanks for the prayers, but they won't help in finding a Pre-Trib rapture, thats not in the scripture, a false teaching propagated by John N. Darby 1830's and C.I. Scofield 1909 reference bible.

 

[VictoryinJesus]

Well, if Enoch is translated to miss the flood, and Noah is saved through the flood, then being kept from the hour of temptation or Tribulation is not a false idea.

Stranger

Why must we be raptured out to be delivered from evil? Colossians 3:3
[3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

In Love

Thanks for the prayers, but they won't help in finding a Pre-Trib rapture, thats not in the scripture, a false teaching propagated by John N. Darby 1830's and C.I. Scofield 1909 reference bible.

If you settle on what other people say to you about the topic, do know that is not the same thing as conferring with Him at that throne of grace.

Just because the Church later on develop the Trinity doctrine, it does not mean that there is no Triune God.

The same for why Jesus is warning believers to be ready or else find themselves with the unbelievers as in left behind. Luke 12:40-49

I know how easy it is for people to be flippant about scripture in saying that it does not say that, but what I find lacking in your replies is your answer for what those references was really talking about. If you are not going to share to prove it is not talking about the rapture, then what kind of edification & reproof are you doing?

 

[Stranger]

"GOD IS NOT A RESPECTOR OF PERSONS"

Israel As A People Of God, And The Church As A People Of God, Is Falsely Teaching "Two Peoples Of God" A False Zionist Teaching, And Giving Respect Of Person Based Upon Ethnic/National Origin.

Your claim of "Two Peoples Of God" giving respect to Jews based upon Ethnic/National status is sin as James 2:9-10 states, "God Is no respector of person"

Romans 2:11KJV
For there is no respect of persons with God.

James 2:9-10KJV
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Again, God being no respecter of persons has nothing to do with God creating Israel and the Church. Jesus said in (John 4:22) that 'salvation is of the Jews'. So, according to you Jesus would be guilty of having respect as to persons. What now? Explain.

God pronounced blessing on Shem and Japheth yet no blessing to Ham and He cursed his descendants. (Gen. 9:20-29)

God loved Jacob but hated Esau. (Rom. 9:8-13)

Don't keep giving your pat answer. Answer these verses and how you fit your God is no respecter of persons in with them.

Stranger

 

[Truth7t7]

If you settle on what other people say to you about the topic, do know that is not the same thing as conferring with Him at that throne of grace.

Just because the Church later on develop the Trinity doctrine, it does not mean that there is no Triune God.

The same for why Jesus is warning believers to be ready or else find themselves with the unbelievers as in left behind. Luke 12:40-49

I know how easy it is for people to be flippant about scripture in saying that it does not say that, but what I find lacking in your replies is your answer for what those references was really talking about. If you are not going to share to prove it is not talking about the rapture, then what kind of edification & reproof are you doing?

You are aware your Left Behind Books And Films Are Classified As Sci-Fi?

There Is No Pre-Trib Rapture Of The Church To Heaven, Not One Scripture Supports This Claim.

In Love

 

[Stranger]

Why must we be raptured out to be delivered from evil? Colossians 3:3
[3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

We don't have to be. But Enoch was , wasn't he? It pleased God to do it. It won't get any complaints from me.

And, I believe God has said He will do it with the Church. Why? Because the Tribulation is for Israel and the unbelieving world. It is not for the Church. It is not just a persecution from a secular source. It is God coming in judgement against unbelieving Israel and the world. And the Church has no part in it.

Stranger

 

[Harvest 1874]

“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.” (NAU Rev 3:10)

What is the hour of temptation, and when specifically will it take place?

The general consensus is that it relates to the time of the great tribulation, and that the faithful church at the end of the age will somehow be spared from going through this tribulation, some like our Adventist friends believing the church will be raptured away prior to the outbreak of this trouble.

There are however other ways in which this can be interpreted, each has its merits.

One possibility presented is that it was to be a period of trial, which began in the time of Luther, and which was going to come upon both the true and the false church. This trial or testing would then have to do with the major question that came before all of the church at that time, which was whether to leave the mother church and join the Protestant Reformation, or to stick with the false church system. If this is the case, the Lord is saying here that he would keep the True Church safe, in that he would make sure that they made the right decision, and that they would decide in favor of the Reformation. Christ was using Luther and others to accomplish this work for him during the sixth stage of the church.

This is not to say that everyone that went with the Reformation was of the church, but we think that the largest number of the church would have decided to go with the greater freedom in the Reformation. The word of patience that they had kept was the truth, which had been revived in the previous church. This is a very likely interpretation, since the time of the next possibility (the great tribulation of the end of the age) is during the seventh stage of the church, and we would think that the sixth would not need to be saved after the time of their stage of the church had expired?

The term “whole world” that this trial was to come upon, would not necessarily be the world literally, but it would be the world that belonged to that system. Another scripture that shows this same thing is found in Rev 13:3, where it says that “the whole world” followed after the beast, and we know that could not be the whole world at that time, because the whole world did not belong to the Roman Empire. North and South America were not even discovered at the time of the Roman beast. For that reason, the term “world”, in Rev 13, would seem to represent only the known church-state religious world of that time, Christendom, the ten toes of the image. That world is whom the hour of trial of the Reformation would have come upon.”

Verse 10 reflects the idea of “the word of my patience.” (See Rom 15:4, 5) Throughout the Reformation, the saints were constantly facing the changes and challenges to their faith by the rapidly unfolding understanding of Scripture. The proliferation of leaders and denominations were a constant source of upheaval in their Christian walks. Somehow, these saints seemed to keep a spiritual equilibrium in the midst of it all. Jesus here promises that the “hour of temptation” (the great time of trouble approaching in the next stage of the church’s history) would, therefore, not be added to their burdens. The hour of temptation will not only involve the religious and philosophical controversies which the Philadelphia’s had to face, but also the upheaval of social, financial, and political stability. Its purpose to be is to “try THOSE THAT DWELL ON THE EARTH” -- those who have roots in this world’s order of things.

The Hour of Temptation IS NOT for the purpose of trying the saints! The harvest saints MUST endure (persevere) it; and they will overcome it if they have no roots in the earth. But it is NOT FOR THEM; it is for the world -- it is to soften the world by taking away its confidence in its own institutions and, thereby, to prepare it for the kingdom. (New Albany Notes on Revelation)

Another possibility is that this hour of temptation refers to the trial of each individual Christians, their own Gethsemane experience, when they like their Lord will be tested in all points, severely tested. That those who make up the body of Christ will be tested even as he was, along similar lines is attested by the scriptures.

“For we have not a high priest who is not able to be touched by the feelings of our feeble flesh; but we have one who has been tested in ALL points as WE OURSELVES ARE TESTED, but without sin.” Heb 4:15

Our Lord was not tempted with the depraved tastes and desires of a drunkard or dissolute person, nor with the besetments and frivolities of present day "society," nor with wealth, nor with the perplexing annoyances of a parent, nor in a thousand other ways that men and women are perplexed and annoyed; but he was tempted or tested in all points like as we, the consecrated, are tested. Thus: We as followers in his footsteps find three points from which our covenant of self-sacrifice is tested--the world, the flesh and the devil --and so did our Lord. Bear in mind it is the “new creature” who is being tested not the old man. Nor are we tested along the lines of perfection, that is impossible for us, but we can be perfect in intention, the Lord making up for where we fall short.

"Our Lord had no one to sympathize with him and succor and encourage him in the hour of his temptation: ‘Of the people there was none with him.’ With us, however, matters are different. Our Lord, as our great High Priest, by the merit of his own sacrifice for man’s sin, has ascended on high and has appeared as the Advocate of all those who are now being ‘called of God’ to faith in his blood, and to walk in his steps, and to be baptized into his death, to share in his sufferings and by and by to share with him glory, honor and immortality in ‘his resurrection’ (Phil 3:10). This great Advocate, having been tempted in all these lines, is able to succor us. Yet he waits for us to realize our needs and to apply for succor at the throne of grace, as intimated by Heb 2:18; 4:15."

"Are we not as the Lord’s people in this harvest time drawing close to the Gethsemane hour of the church? Are we not already in the hour of temptation to a considerable extent? Will not the last members of the body soon follow the head unto complete sacrifice? How ready are we for the ordeal? Are we asleep, or are we heeding the words of the apostle, They that sleep, sleep in the night, but we who are of the day should be awake, sober, putting on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand in this evil day, in the time of trial already upon us, and in the still severer trials which no doubt will be ours in the near future? Are we prepared for the time when there will possibly be a general scattering, as these ‘all forsook him and fled’? How courageous we will be in our hour of trial will probably depend much upon our following the Master’s example and securing first of all that positive conviction that we have the divine approval. Let us not, then, avoid the Gethsemane moment if it come to us in the Lord’s providence, but let us also with strong crying’s and tears look up to him who is able to save us out of death by the glorious first resurrection, and let us remember that we have an Advocate, we have a helper. The Lord is our angel who speaks to us the Father’s message, telling us that if we abide in his love all will be right in the end, and that he is able and willing to bring us off conquerors, yea, more than conquerors through his own merit." "He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"—Heb. 13:5.

 

[Harvest 1874]

Our last possibility combines aspects of both the first and the second that the hour of temptation relates more specifically to the great time of trouble approaching, (minus the rapture of course).

"From the day of Pentecost until the present time the Lord’s dear sheep have been beset by the same great adversary, and have had fiery trials, and have also had the protection of Him who was begotten of God, the Lord Jesus, who is keeping the faithful from the power of the adversary. But the Scriptures unanimously point us to the end of this age as a time for special trial and testing, not only upon the world but also upon the church, for ‘judgment must begin at the house of God.’

It is respecting this coming time that the Apostle forewarns the church, saying, ‘Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day.’ He implies that the evil day with which this age shall end will have the severest trials ever known to God’s people, and that they will have the greatest need ever known for the armor of truth and righteousness...

Our Lord’s on words on this matter make this abundantly clear, “For false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matt 24:24

The implication here is that EVERYONE except the very elect will be deceived in one way or another, no exceptions. The elect will not be deceived because they have not only built the foundation of their faith on a sure foundation, Christ Jesus, but likewise they have built their faith structure using the proper materials, i.e. gold, silver, and precious stones (the divine word and truths with a corresponding character), while others although building upon the same sure foundation have nevertheless built their faith structure out of wood, hay and straw (human traditions and errors with a corresponding unstable character), such will surely fall in the trial of the great day and will suffer great lost (the loss of the prize) nevertheless they shall be saved as through fire (severe trials, troubles and testing’s). 1 Cor 3:11-15

The same fact is referred to by our Lord in addressing the sixth phase of the church, the church of Philadelphia. He says, ‘Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation which is coming upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth’ (Rev. 3:10). The seventh stage of the church, the Laodicean, will come into that hour of temptation; and we believe that it is already upon us.

What we would have all see is that the time ahead of us must be very peculiarly a time of trial and testing; else it would not be so strikingly referred to in the Word of God. Nor do we wish to arouse the fears of the Lord’s people, to terrify. Our thought is rather to offer the consolation which will keep them in perfect peace; as it is written, ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.’ The Lord’s promises, exceeding great and precious, are enlarged before our minds at the same time, really in advance of the coming of the hour of temptation and trial, so that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished, thoroughly prepared.

"Our Lord’s words respecting the temptations and trials of the church assure us that this class shall have nothing to fear, that they will be kept, that it will not be possible for them to be tempted, for with every temptation the Lord will provide a way of escape. Let us remember in this connection the Apostle Paul’s words respecting our day and its trials, ‘God will send them strong delusions that they may believe a lie, because they did not have pleasure in the truth.’ (2 Thess 2:11) What we do desire is that each consecrated child of God may see the way of escape which God has provided and may use the same, and thus be in line with the Lord’s provision and amongst those shielded ones, the very elect - ‘called, chosen, faithful’ - Rev. 17:14.

Some thoughts to ponder.

 

[Helen]

@Harvest 1874 God posts