We are in the Hour of Trial

COVID-19 and Revelation 3:10

I was in my kitchen looking at a text message that came to me about COVID-19 in Illinois around Feb 2020. Someone sent me a message that the virus was in Illinois and was starting to spread. I didn't even see the article or click on the link but the headline was there and I glanced at it: "COVID-19 DETECTED IN ILLINOIS." Immediately when I looked at it Revelation 3:10 came to my mind. It was perfectly clear and was from the Holy Spirit. I knew His prompting and I was also very familiar with the verse, having studied it in depth a few years earlier. That verse reads as follows; "Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I will keep you from the hour of trial, the hour which is about to come upon the earth to test those who dwell on the earth." At first glance the verse seems to say: God will protect His followers, who persevere in His word, during the final period of testing of the world. This time of difficulty will come to try those who oppose God. I will explain how I got to that summary below, but another important question arises: What do you do when God 'gives you a verse?' Do you take and run with it or do you prayerfully find out everything you can about it? There may be times when the latter is what is needed, and in this case, it was.

What Do You Do When God 'Gives You a Verse?'

When I 'get a verse' I study it inside and out. This is what Daniel did to find out how specific Scripture applies to his time. In Daniel 9:2-3, it reads: "...I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes (NASB)." Daniel was trying to determine the completion of a prophetic word related to the 70-year exile of the people of Israel. How did it relate to his day? Was it going to be completed and the people restored to their land since the time of exile was up? Or, would it not apply to them but speak to something that signified future deliverance? For our verse, I believe it required further study and prayer. So, let's see what we can know about the verse.

Zooming in on 'the Hour of Trial'

Looking at the particular terminology of Revelation 3:10 we find the following:

"Those who dwell on the earth" in Revelation always refers to the earth-dwellers, those who are tied to the earth. They are not citizens of heaven like believers are. In the rest of the book, this exact term refers to the rejectors of God (17:8), those who pledge allegiance to the ungodly world system (13:8; 17:8) and who rejoice when God's prophets are killed (11:10). They receive the mark of the beast and are contrasted with the "saints,' "prophets" and "servants" of God who are marked by God with an invisible mark of God's ownership and allegiance. According to Joseph Trafton, when this phrase is understood in connection with the words "the whole world," "it is clear that neither “the whole world” nor “those who dwell upon the earth” are merely neutral expressions intended to encompass the entire mass of humanity. Rather, both signify humanity in opposition to God."*

The "hour of trial" is likely that period of difficult testing which precedes the return of Jesus (more on this later). It is an "hour" because it is a short period of time. An hour was the shortest period of time in First Century usage. The word for "trial" can mean one of two things, (1) a time of testing to reveal if something is genuine or not, as in the purifying of precious metals, (2) it can also mean "trying," as in the experience of trials in a punitive fashion. Consistent with the rest of Revelation is the idea that before the coming of Jesus Christ to earth there will be various cataclysmic events poured out on the earth. The earth-dwellers, or those who oppose God and His people, will be the primary targets of these trials. The trials should produce repentance but in most instances the world continues in their sin (9:16-22).

The words "about to" in Revelation often refer to impending events. In several key texts it indicates events right before the second coming of Jesus. "Kept from" relates to God's protection of His people when He pours out His judgments. Believers are not the target of these strikes. It likely refers to specific trials experienced on earth during that period of time including the subsequent final judgment. This is not a promise that faithful witnesses of Jesus will be exempt from all persecution, calamities and martyrdom. In fact, other text in Revelation predict that very thing. Revelation 11:7 says, "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them (NIV)."

A careful study would indicate the following: "Christians will be spiritually shielded from any threats to their faith by the coming world test which will culminate in the return of Jesus." Now what if I told you we were in that right now?

Further Confirmation that We are in the Hour of Trial

After the initial indication by the Holy Spirit and study, I was praying for several weeks for confirmation regarding this Revelation 3:10 insight. I had questions. Was this just revealing that faithful Christians are the objects of God's protection? Did this prompting highlight the spiritual side of God's preservation without referring to a specific time period talked about in the Bible? Or, was this a specific word about us being in the hour of trial? After two more weeks of prayer regarding this insight, I had no further answer. Then one evening I found myself browsing through the news and I found myself reading an article about the financial woes of the USPS (U.S. Post Office). I was just scanning through the article (see link here) when a senator was asked how dire the financial situation of the USPS was due to COVID-19. The senator in the article said "we need to start thinking in those apocalyptic terms"..."we are about to face the apocalypse. " He was referring to the financial apocalypse the post office was facing but when I read it the Holy Spirit indicated to me that this was the answer to prayer I had been asking for. We were in the hour of trial. We are living in the "about to." Not only was this confirmed after reading those words but a friend of the family's was over and had shared that God had put strongly on her heart that I was praying about something and God had already answered me and I didn't need to keep asking Him. This kind of report is seen in the New Testament. Acts 11:28 says, "One of them [the prophets], named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius" (NIV). God sometimes shows the church what's ahead so they can prepare. For this situation, God was bringing to light that we are in the hour of trial.

What Do We Do Now?

The word apocalypse in Revelation actually means "unveiling, uncovering." It is not a doomsday term for Hollywood disaster movies. In the context of the book it means the uncovering of Jesus as the King over all things. For the faithful this unveiling is a good thing. For the unbelieving this is the worst case scenario. In light of this, what are God's people to do? Four things come to mind: (1) Persevere in our faithful obedience to Jesus. This could mean being faithful will be more challenging but the reward is great. Wherever God has you, serve Him with all your heart. (2) Trust that Jesus will protect your eternal inheritance during this difficult time. Isn't that the promise of Revelation 3:10, that He will keep you from the hour of trial which ends in the return of Jesus? Whether the protection is physical or eternal or both, rest knowing He is able to preserve you. (3) Check your joy meter and make sure the hope and expectation of seeing Jesus is exciting to you. The return of Jesus is the best prospect for the believer. It is our blessed hope and we long for it to come. When that day commences there will no longer be testing, trials and suffering. (4) The church should do what they were doing in Acts 8:4, "everywhere they went they preached the good news about Jesus." It was always on their lips and in the context of Acts it was what they proclaimed the gospel even when they were persecuted. Family and friends need to hear the good news and they need to know it is urgent. "In sackcloth" we proclaim a message of repentance to the world like the two prophets did in Revelation 11, calling the world to escape God's judgment.

There is no timeline but there is a map forward according to Jesus in verses 11-12: "Behold, I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (NIV). These are sobering times, but not as sobering as eternity without Jesus."

*Trafton, Joseph L. Reading Revelation: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Rev. ed. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2005. Print. Reading the New Testament Series.

I shared this story in March 2020 in a sermon at church...(see https://newlifesermons.com/index.php?iid=12868).