That great day of God Almighty - Part 6: The hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world.

The New Testament makes several references to an “hour”, which is related to the Lord's return, such as in the following passages.

#1) Rev 3:3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

#2) Rev 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.”

#3) Rev 11:13 “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

#4) Rev 14:7 “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

#5) Rev 17:12 “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.”

#6) Rev 18:10 “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying , Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.”

#7) Rev 18:17 “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought."

#8) Rev 18:19 “And they cast dust on their heads, and cried , weeping and wailing , saying , Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.”

I began by first looking at Rev 3:3; “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

The “hour” in Rev 3:3, is the hour of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Last Day and it will also be the day in which the Rapture will occur, as we read in Mathew chapter 24.

Matthew 24: 40-44 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 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. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

I next looked at Rev 3:10; “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation[G3986], which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

The word that was translated as “hour” here is the Greek noun “Hora”[G5610]. It means hour, such as the third hour found in Matt 20:3, or the ninth hour found in Matt 20:5. I have heard people teach that this word could represent "years", but it does mean "hour".  Rev 3:10 is telling us that there will come an “hour” in which all the people that are living in the world will be “tempted” by “temptation”. The Greek word that was translated as the word “temptation” in Rev 3:10 is the Greek noun “Peirasmos”[G3986]. It is almost always translated as the word “temptation” as in the following 2 verses. (Note that G3986 is the noun form and G3985 is the verb form).

James 1: 2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations[G3986]; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

James 1:12-14 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation[G3986]; for when he is fulfilled, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted[G3985], I am tempted[G3985] of God; for God cannot be evil, neither tempteth[G3985] He any man; But every man is tempted[G3985], when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed ”

Rev 3:10 is telling us there will come a time of testing, the “hour of temptation”, in which all who dwell upon the earth will be “tried” or "tested". Rev 3:10 “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try[G3985] them that dwell upon the earth.”  The Greek verb Peirazo” [G3985] can aslo mean the "trying", or "proving", or even "examining" of one’s faith, such as in the following passages.

Matthew 4:1 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[G3985] of the devil.

John 6:5-6 “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat ? And this he said to prove[G3986] him; for he himself knew what he would do.”

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine[G3985] yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

Now that we understand that the Greek verb “Peirazo”[G3985] can be used to convey an action that God does to "test", or "prove", or "examine" our faith, then we can also better understand this “hour of temptation" that will occur on the Last Day. It is an "hour" in which the faith of every person that has ever been conceived in the world will be "tried" or "tested". But then does the phrase "I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation" mean that the true believers will not be tried or tested? The Greek word that was translated as the word "keep" in Rev 3:10 is the Greek verb "Tereo"[G5083]. This is the same word that is used in the phrase "to keep God's commandments" and it is also used to express how God "keeps" His elect, as we read in the following passages.

Jude 1:1 "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved[G5083] in Jesus Christ, and called."

1Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved [G5083] blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

John 17:11 "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep[G5083] through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."

John 17:12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept[G5083] them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept , and none of them is lost , but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."

John 17:15 "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep[G5083] them from the evil."

The hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world is an integral part of the Apocalypse of the Last Day, which is the “revealing” of the “revelation”, the "Apokalypto [G601]” of the "Apokalypsis [G602]”. 1Thessalonians 5:23 tells us that God will "keep" our " whole spirit and soul and body" on the Last Day..

1 Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved [G5083] blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
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In the next part of this study I would like to study the following verses.

Rev 14:7 “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

Rev 18:10 “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.”

Rev 18:17 “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.“

Rev 18:19 “And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.”

That great day of God Almighty – Part 5: And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.

It has been widely taught that at the end of the world (also known as the Last Day, Judgment Day, the Second Coming, and the day of the Lord), the heavens, or the cosmos as we know it, will also pass away. There are many passages in Scripture that teach about the departing of the heavens as well as the creation of new heavens and a new earth, as in the following.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

We can know that the passing away of the heavens will occur on the same day as the return of Christ because of what we read in 2 peter 3.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

We can also know that the passing away of the heavens and the earth will occur just before God judges the unsaved from what we read in Rev 20.

Rev 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

There is no question from reading Rev 20:11-13 that the judgment of the unsaved will occur after the passing away of the heavens and the earth. Because this passage tells us these “dead” are “standing before God”, we can know that they are experiencing a conscious existence after the passing away of the earth and the heavens.

And in the books of Isaiah and Revelation we find the following passages.

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

Isaiah 65:17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.

In the following passages, there are several links that connect the passages to each other.

Isaiah 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Rev 6: 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.

Matt 24:29 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.
   
In the 3 passages above, the links that are made go as follows:

Link #1 - The passing away of the heavens is described as a scroll that is being rolled up together.

Link #2 – The removal of the stars from heaven is described as stars that fall down (to the earth) just as figs that fall from a tree (to the earth) when the tree is shaken by a mighty wind.

Link #3 – The stars fall from heaven because of a shaking that is taking place.

As we read further into the passage of Rev 6, it continues to describe this scenario, and I will verses to show it in its context.

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able to stand?

This scenario is also described in the books of Isaiah and Joel.

Isaiah 2:19-21 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Joel 2:10-11 The earth shall quakebefore them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joel 3:14-16 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

I used to believe for 25 years that the scenario of Rev 6:12-17 was describing events that would occur before the Rapture, but now I am fully convinced that all the passages that I have quoted above are describing the scenario that will take place after the Rapture and the resurrection of the dead, and that this is also where and when the battle of Armageddon will take place, as we read in the following passage.

Rev 16:15-16 Behold , I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The place called Armageddon is where the judgment upon the unsaved will take place. It is where they will be seen standing before God while the books are being opened, and they are judged "out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." And it will take place after the passing away of the heavens.

Rev 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

That great day of God Almighty – Part 4: Behold, I come quickly. 

The Parousia

In the book of Revelation, we read 6 times that the Lord will “come quickly”.

1. Rev 2:5 I will come unto thee quickly.
2. Rev 2:16 I will come unto thee quickly.
3. Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly.
4. Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly.
5. Rev 22:12 Behold, I come quickly.
6. Rev 22:20 Surely, I come quickly.
  
In Matthew chapter 24 the Lord Jesus describes that His coming will be “as lightning”.

Matt 24:27 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.
 
Because we know that a visible flash of lightning travels at the speed of light, we can deduct from reading Matthew 24:27 that the Lord’s coming will occur at the speed of light. The Greek word that was translated as the word “coming” Matt 24:27 is the Greek noun “Parousia” (Strong’s 3952).  The word “Parousia” is used 16 times in the New Testament when speaking of the return of Christ. In Corinthians 15:52, we are also given a time clue in regard to the Parousia; that it will occur “in the twinkling of an eye”. This time clue harmonizes with Matt 24:27 in regard to the Parousia occurring at the speed of light. We know that light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, or 700 million miles in per hour. We also know that our planet Earth has a circumference of 24,901 miles, therefore, we can know that light can travel around the world 7.49 times in one second, and if you divide one second by 7.5 times you get .133 seconds. Therefore, we can say that if the Parousia were to start at one end of our planet, it could travel around the world in .133 seconds, which is about one tenth of a second.

Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Both passages of Matt 24:27 and Corinth 15:52 describing the Parousia as occurring in a fraction of a second harmonizes with the 6 instances found in the book of Revelation telling us the Lord will “come quickly.”  With that said, the next question is, “Will the world experience some type of warning sign that the Parousia is about to occur?”  As I searched the Bible for an answer to this, I compiled a list of 4 scenarios regarding the Rapture and Last Day.
  
#1.  Luke 17:34-36 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
  
#2. Matthew 24:38-39 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage , until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

#3. Luke 17:28-30 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

#4. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

In scenario #1 we see that two people are in bed, two people are working, and two people are in the field when the Rapture occurs, and no advance warning is indicated in that scenario. In scenarios 2 and 3 we see that the world is going on "business as usual" until the Last Day and no advance warning is indicated there. In scenario #4 we are told that Christ comes as "a thief in the night" when people are proclaiming "peace and safety", and no advanced warning is indicated there as well. When a thief comes to rob someone in the middle of the night, the plan is always that noone should be aware that the thief is coming to rob them, and the thief will come in as "quietly" as possible so as not to bring attention to himself. In other words, the thief is never going to give you an advanced warning that he is going to come to rob you. The scenario of the thief coming at night as well as the other 3 scenarios listed above do not mention any type of advanced warning signal prior to the Parousia. On the contrary, these scenarios give us a picture that everything will be continuing “business as usual” while the world is proclaiming "peace and safety" until Christ comes suddenly as a thief in the night. 2 Peter 3 also tells us that the coming of Christ as a thief in the night is also the day in which the heavens, or the cosmos, will be destroyed by fire.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
   
Could this really be the truth? Could it be that we will not get an advanced warning signal and that the Parousia and the destruction of the cosmos (the passing away of the heavens) will occur suddenly in a split second? That would be truly merciful of God to do this in order to spare the suffering of billions of innocent lifeforms that exist in the world. Our planet Earth contains billions of human babies and children as well as trillions of innocent animal lifeforms that would be spared much agony if the Parousia were to occur suddenly, in a split second. But what about that age old belief that we will see the Lord coming in the clouds of glory? In Matthew 24:30 we read:
  
Matt 24:30 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.
   
Let’s take another careful look at the sequence of events found in Matthew chapter 24:
   
Verse 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.

Verse 28 - For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
 
We can know for sure that the event described in verse 28 will occur immediately after the Parousia because this is also backed up by a passage found in Luke 17.

Luke 17:  34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
 
In Luke 17:37 the disciples ask the Lord Jesus where these people are being taken to and few people would argue that this passage is describing the Rapture of the true believers that will occur in the Parousia. We must not forget, that at the Parousia, not only will the true believers be Raptured, but the resurrection of the dead will also occur simultaneously. This is a doctrine that has been widely misunderstood by many Christians who teach about those being left behind. It is widely taught by many denominations that when the Rapture occurs, the unsaved will be left behind in their human existence, and it is also widely taught by Premillenniasts that the world will continue for another 1000 years after the Rapture occurs. However, the Lord Jesus has very clearly taught us in John 5 that there will be a resurrection of the dead on the Last Day, of both the saved and the unsaved, and that when it occurs it will produce 2 very different circumstances.

John 5: 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
    
We also see this separation described in Matthew 13.

Matt 13: 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
   
You can see from reading Matt 13:50 that the unsaved that are severed from the just are cast into hell where they experience a conscious existence there. The Lord Jesus clearly tells us in verse 50 that there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth there. The wailing describes the audible cries that will be heard and the gnashing of teeth is an expression that describe the great anger that will be displayed by the unsaved there. I truly believe that all the doctrines that teach that the unsaved will not be cast into a place of torment and punishment are doctrines that have been created in order to spare us from the horrible truth and reality of hell and that it is coming for billions of people on Judgment Day.

The Bible clearly teaches that at the Parousia, everyone will be translated into their celestials bodies. In 1 Corinthians we read about celestial bodies.

1 Corinth 15: 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
  
Then in Matthew verses 28 and 29 we read:

Verse 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.

Verse 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.  

I believe that verses 29 and 30 are speaking of events that will occur after the Rapture and resurrection of the dead, and I will be discussing this topic in Part 5 of this study, but for now, since the Lord has taught us that His coming will be as lightning, I would like to end this study with some interesting facts (both scientific and Biblical) concerning lightning.
     
#1 - A bolt of lightning can reach temperatures of 54,000 degrees °F in a split second.
 
#2 - Because the temperature of our Sun is only 10,000 °F and the temperature of lightning 54,000 °F, that makes lightning 5.4 times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

#3 – Lightning rapidly heats the air in its immediate vicinity to about 36,000 °F, which is 3.6 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

#4 – A large lightning bolt (as long as 5 miles in length), can contain 1,000,000,000 Volts of electricity. This is enough electricity to power a 100 Watt light bulb for 2 months.
      
#5 - The average peak power output of a single lightning stroke is about one trillion watts — one terawatt (1012 W), and the stroke lasts for about 30 millionths of a second (or 30 microseconds).
   
#6 – Thunder and lightning are often used in Scripture to describe God’s wrath against rebellious people.

#7 - Lighning is use in Scripture to describe God. Matt 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.  Rev 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
     
The Bible states in 2 Thessalonians that the unsaved will be destroyed with the brightness of God’s coming.
       
2 Thess 2:8 And then shall the transgressor be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.