The Key Pre-Tribulational Passage
The most important single passage dealing with the timing of the Rapture is
Revelation 3:10, "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from [out of] the hour of temptation [testing, trial], which shall come upon all the world, to try [test] them that dwell upon the earth."
The promise is made specifically to the first century church of Philadelphia in Asia, but students of prophecy recognize that this verse was given for Church Age believers of any age as an encouragement to remain loyal to the Lord in the midst of difficult times. Indeed, the first century believers that made up the assembly in Philadelphia never lived to see the time of trouble that this verse describes. "The hour of testing" spoken of by the Lord would not be fulfilled for some two thousand years, and yet the Lord was true to His promise to the Philadelphian believers even as He is true to this same promise with respect to Church Age believers living today.
There is coming a day when the entire world will be on trial. God will be the awesome Judge and all those who dwell on the earth will endure this time of terrible testing. Isaiah describes it as "a consumption [decisive destruction], even determined upon the whole earth"
(Isaiah 28:22). It will be a time of great testing for Israel, described by Jeremiah as "the time of Jacob's trouble"
(Jeremiah 30:6-7). The Lord Jesus described this time as a unique time of trouble which would be worldwide in scope: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be"
(Matthew 24:21). It will be a time that will involve the terrible plagues and judgments described graphically in Revelation chapters 6-16.
The Lord's promise is conditional: If you keep My Word, I will keep you from the hour of testing. Who are those who keep His Word? Who are those who keep His command? In
Revelation 12:17 and
14:12, we learn that it is the saints (true believers) who keep God's Word (God's commandments). The same is true of
John 8:51: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." The true believer, the one who has eternal life and who never sees death, is here described as the one who keeps His command, who keeps his Word.
Believers are not always obedient to the Word of their Master. Every believer, if honest, would recognize areas of his life where he has not been obedient to God's Word. However, as God views the life of the true believer in its totality, it is a life characterized by obedience. It is a life characterized by keeping His Word: "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments"
(1 John 2:3). The person whose life is characterized by disobedience is the person who does not truly know Christ in a saving way (see
1 John 2:4).
Our Lord's disciples were not always totally obedient to their Master. Peter, for example, seriously denied His Lord and later was rebuked by Paul for not walking uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel of grace
(Galatians 2:11-14). And yet, when the Lord Jesus viewed the lives of the disciples, including Peter, He made this amazing statement, "they have kept Thy Word"
(John 17:6). Though they had their faults and were at times guilty of disobedience, yet their lives in general were characterized by obedience.
Thus in
Revelation 3:10, those who have kept His Word are those who are saints, that is, true believers. It does not refer to a group of "obedient believers" in contrast to other believers who are not obedient. If this were the case, then only the "obedient believers" would be "kept from the hour" and removed from the earth, resulting in a partial rapture. But there is no such thing as a partial rapture. The Rapture includes all living believers without exception.
Notice that the Lord promised believers in
Revelation 3:10 that they would be kept, not just from the TESTING which would severely test the earth dwellers, but that they would be kept from the HOUR of testing. They would not only be kept from the testing, but they would be kept from the TIME of testing. "I also will keep thee from the hour [TIME] of temptation [testing], which shall come upon all the world, to try [test] them that dwell upon the earth." The only way to be kept from the HOUR of testing is to be removed from the earth before that "hour" commences.
The Second World War was a time of trial and trouble for much of the world. Suppose you lived on earth prior to this great war, and you were given this promise: "You will be kept from the trial of World War II." This means that you would not face any of the bullets or bombs or battles of the war. Perhaps you would be located in a part of the world not directly involved in the conflict. You could still be in the world, but protected from the war. But suppose you were given this promise: "You will be kept from the TIME of World War II." For this to be fulfilled you could not be on earth during the entire period of years from 1941 to 1945. To be exempt from the time is to be absent at the time when the event takes place.
The expression "kept from" is very important. It does not mean "preservation through" or "preservation in" but it means "exemption from." The Post-Tribulation view and the Pre-Wrath view both see the believer staying on the earth during the Tribulation period. "Preservation through" would fit their view because they understand that God will preserve the Church through the Tribulation or through most of the Tribulation. "Exemption from" best fits the Pre-Tribulation view because the Church is not on the earth at all during the Tribulation and thus the Church is exempt from the trials and troubles associated with that time. The term "kept from" best fits the idea of "exemption from."
Literally this phrase means "to be kept out of" [Greek, ek]. Its meaning is similar to how we use these terms in English. To be kept out of jail means that the person will not be behind bars. To be kept out of the swimming pool means that the person is exempt from getting wet. To be kept out of the army means that the person was not allowed in the army, and thus he was exempt from serving in the army. If a basketball player was kept out of the entire ball game, it means that he did not get to play at all. He did not see any action. If a sign on a person's property said, "KEEP OUT!" then this means that the person did not want you on his property at all. He did not want your presence there at all. Moses was kept out of the promised land, which means that he did not enter Palestine at all. To be KEPT OUT OF "the hour of trial" that will come upon all the world means that the person will not enter that time at all. He will be exempt from that time. He will not be present on earth during that time.
The phrase "kept out of" is used by the Apostle John in one other place. It is found in
John 17:15, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from [out of] the evil [one]." The Lord's will for His believers of this present Age is not to be removed from this world, but to be His witnesses in the world. We are in the world but not of the world. The key issue in this verse involves the believer's relationship to the realm of Satan, the evil one. As saved people, are we still IN the realm of Satan, or have we been delivered out of that realm? Does God keep us out of the realm and power of the evil one or are we still in it?
The answer is found in
Colossians 1:13-- "Who hath delivered us from [out of] the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." We once were in the realm of the power of darkness, but we have been delivered out of that realm when we were saved.
The Apostle John sets forth this truth in
1 John 5:18, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." In harmony with our Lord's prayer in John 17:15, believers are kept from or out of the wicked one so that he (Satan) does not touch them at all! He no longer has any kind of a hold on us. We have been removed totally from his kingdom and from his realm. We now belong to the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us! Yes, we are in the world, but we are kept OUT OF the evil one! As far as having Satan for our ruler, we are totally exempt!
Another passage written by the Apostle John is significant in understanding
Revelation 3:10. It is found in
John 12:27, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from [out of] this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." Although the verb "to keep" is not used in this verse, it is similar to Revelation 3:10 in that the preposition "out of" [Greek, ek] is used as well as the word "hour." It is clear that our Lord prayed for exemption from the hour when He would bear the sins of the world and be separated from God His Father: "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me…"
(Luke 22:42). But the Lord Jesus must follow the path of obedience to His Father's will: "But for this cause came I unto this hour.…nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done."
(John 12:27; Luke 22:42). The Lord Jesus did not want to drink the cup of the wrath of God. He prayed that He might be exempt from that hour; but most of all He wanted to obey His heavenly Father regardless of the cost.
CONCLUSION: In
Revelation 3:10 the Lord promised His Church Age believers that they would be exempt from the hour of trial or trouble that would come upon all the world. He did not promise to keep us through this time or to keep us in this time, but He promised to keep us out of this time. He will keep us out of this time by removing us from the earth prior to Daniel's 70th week. This great event is described in
John 14:1-3 and
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and in several other passages.
From my studies Christ/Messiah has already been here 2 times, and in reality, has Never left, as Christ/Messiah IS the ONE left in charge to execute Our Father's Will of Salvation 
