Mike Bickle addresses questions about Revelation 3:10, emphasizing its promise to the Church of Philadelphia and its implications for believers today. He argues that the verse speaks to being kept from the evil one rather than a pre-tribulation rapture, drawing parallels with John 17:15 where Jesus prays for protection from evil. Bickle explains that the promise was specific to the faithful in Philadelphia and not a blanket statement for all believers, thus challenging common interpretations of the rapture. He also discusses the nature of the beast in Revelation, clarifying that the beast refers to the antichrist, distinct from the devil. The sermon encourages a deeper understanding of scripture and the victorious role of the church in the end times.

My name is Jody, and I wanted to know if you could address the commonly abused pre-trib verse, Revelation 3.10. Do you want me to read it, or do you want me to read it? Brrr. Go ahead. Since you have kept my commands and dare patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. And what's your question? Well, what do you think about that verse? What do you think it means? I think for the Church of Philadelphia, it meant they were spared a great hour of persecution that came on the Roman Empire. So I think that's what it meant. To them, because he was talking to—I'm just making up the number—10,000 believers that lived in that city. I don't know how many there were, but he wasn't talking to millions. He was actually giving them a promise. If you keep faithful like they were, I am going to spare you in the Psalm 91 sense, where there's trouble everywhere, because that was the most dedicated church in Asia, was Philadelphia, the Revelation 3.10 group. So that's what it means. Okay, then, what does that verse mean to us? To keep us from—that's the key phrase. The whole argument is—now what translation do you have? NIV. NIV. How's it say in NIV? To keep from? Um, to keep you from the hour of trial. Okay, the key word is from, because some will say it's to keep you in. From and in means—it's the whole argument is from or in, because in John 15—no, John 17.15. Can you remember that? Because this is a really key verse. Okay, somebody give her John 17.15. Now, I mean, just give it to you. Here's what Jesus prays. He says, I pray, Father, Father, you would keep them from the evil one. I am not saying that you would take them out of the world, but you would keep them from the evil one. That's the exact terminology of Jesus in John 17.15. So now here's Jesus again, talking to John again. John wrote those phrases once when Jesus gave them, and he says, I will keep you from. So is it keeping them from physical danger or keeping them from, I mean, like persecution, or is it keeping them from falling away because the devil, the evil one, has come and done something to them? And so I think it's talking about keeping them from the power of the evil one, that John 17.15 is what he's talking about. Does that make sense? And the reason I don't think that's the rapture, because he gave that promise to 10,000 people in one city, and none of them were raptured. That means either Jesus is a liar, or all 10,000 of them backslid, because he didn't keep them out of the world in that sense, if that means the rapture. Because if that means the rapture, it had to happen to the people he gave it to. I don't think it's possible it means the rapture, and that is the best rapture verse in the whole Bible. But it couldn't possibly mean that, because again, Jesus either was not honest to those 10,000, or they all backslid. He said, I would have raptured you, but you all backslid. And so I don't think it means that. I think it means John 17.15, I will keep you from the evil one. And Jesus went on to say, I did not mean take you out of the world. He actually added that phrase. Did you actually really follow that? Kind of. I will go back and look at those verses. Okay. Hey, I'm Jared. I'm struggling with the question. I've been trying to get it, so I could ask it clearly. I've only been here three months about the Gentile church, preaching the gospel of the Jew, and then Jesus coming, that whole concept. And at the same time, I was studying marriage, and got led to something in Genesis, and I wanted to know if maybe it was a proof text that you had for this concept. Did that make sense? Sure. Okay. So I was led to the Genesis 18, about the, I will make him a helper comparable to him. Are you familiar with that? Genesis 2.18. Yeah. Yeah. 2.18. Did I say that? Okay. It's good enough. Yeah. Well, so that helper word is ezer in Hebrew, which is a masculine noun. So it got me into this studying Genesis through that context. And I was wondering, are you familiar with that? Is that something? Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Gosh, I'm so nervous. I'm doing my best right here. Okay. So I'm going to just say a few things, and then you tell me, because I want to know if I'm on the right track, if this is a proof text maybe that you are familiar with. But, because I'm starting to believe that too. Okay. So God makes man, fills him with breath of life in his nostrils, puts him in the garden to eat, and then that's where he gives him the law with the tree. And then he says right after that, he says, I will make him a helper. And it's this masculine noun word. And then it goes into 21. It says, and then the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, which like makes me feel like the partial hardening thing. And then it says, he takes a rib out, he closes up the flesh in its place. And then it says, then the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into a woman. And he brought her into the, her to the man. And Adam said, now this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. And then it talks about the, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And I feel like this is possibly talking, maybe male is Jew and Gentile is the woman, or I mean, and the rib being taken out of and that whole weird concept of marriage. Is this question even making sense right now? It's making sense. Okay. Uh, is that something? Oh, so my question is, is this like a, I, is this sound like a proof text? Am I off? Am I getting? I think you, I think you could be onto something, but most, uh, theologians in the world don't know if you are. Okay. All right. No, I actually, it sounds like I'm saying you're wrong, but I mean, in God's mind, there couldn't, there are so many levels. I mean, he writes poetry on 10 levels. I mean, why couldn't he be thinking of Jew and Gentile time and eternity at eight levels? You, we don't know that he is and you can't prove he is. So in that sense, if you said, I have an opinion, it might be, that's cool. But if you said, I know that's what it means, then people would have a real basis to say, no, you're an error. But to say, who are you to tell me that God in his poetic 10 level, you know, cause he plays 10 dimensional chess and he writes in 10 levels made up number 10. Some guys said really 10. I don't know. I'm making that up. It's a figure of speech. And so sure he could be, I mean, why, why couldn't, I mean, what would limit God from having those meetings, but we don't know in the Bible. That's what it means. I, the reason why I want to ask, just cause if you had foresight, I was kind of thrown out there. Maybe you already had some opinions. So, so maybe I'm just on a weird bunny. No, I think it's fun to think on, but you just got to go soft with it. You know, I'm German toy. Uh, I'm not visitor. I can't, where are you from? Uh, Korea. I moved to Kansas city to be a hopper. Oh, we like it. I, I, I like, I love you. Uh, my speaker so much. Yeah. And I hopper. I hope. Yeah. Uh, this is good. I know. Uh, your millennialism is, uh, apostolic and, uh, prophetic millennialism. Okay. And is there any special reason for you to name like that? Yes. I use apostolic. I call apostolic pre-millennialism. That's just a phrase because we wanted to put a term on the whole unit of, I mean, the whole body of thinking because pre-millennialism is not strong enough because pre-millennial is good, but a lot of folks are pre-millennial, but they're pre-trib and they don't see the church in victory. So I wanted to see that. I believe the church will be in victory. So I'm using the apostolic word to mean like the book of Acts church. So it's a book of Acts church pre-millennial. That's what it means. My second question is, uh, uh, among, uh, millennialism kingdom, uh, millennial, uh, kingdom, uh, doctrines, there are historical millennialism and, uh, uh, historical pre-millennialism and dispensational historical millennialism and all millennialism and the post-millennialism. Right. Among them, uh, which one, uh, uh, do you like? We are historic pre-millennial, but with a victorious church. The problem with historic pre-millennial, that means the church didn't leave the historic pre-millennial is the most well-known view for two most, uh, held view for 2000 years in church history. Historic. That's why they call it because the most of the, of the church has believed that for most of the time historical pre-millennial only in 1830 that the group come and say, we're raptured out of here. And so that's a brand new concept is the rapture. So historic pre-millennial is where I'm at, but the problem with it, many historic pre-millennial, they don't have a victorious church. They have the church backing away into a cave holding on. I see the church going forward and power signs and wonders, prayer prophecy. So I just put the word instead of historic pre-millennial, I call it apostolic pre-millennial instead of historic, but it is historic, but with a victorious church. Did you make sense? Yes. Thanks so much. I love you. Hi, my name is Emily. And I was wondering who you thought the 24 elders are. I think they're, they're a people humans, but Oh, I wouldn't have a clue who they are. I mean, as terms of the names, but I think they're humans versus angels. Is that what you're asking? Are you asking me like, is it Elijah? And are you actually, no, I think it's humans versus angels. Last one. Is this it? Hi, I'm Elizabeth. Um, I always heard that the beast was the devil. And then in revelation 20 verse 10, it says, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. So that means that the devil isn't the beast. No, the devil is not the beast. So who is the beast? The antichrist. So sure. So wait, okay. Okay. I'll give it to you at three. The dragon is the devil. Every time the dragon and the devil is the same. The beast 36 times is the antichrist. He's always called the beast in the book of revelation. He's never called anything besides the beast. And then the false prophet, however, one time, one time only the false prophets called this is his term, another beast. And you think, ah, which beast is which 36 times the beast is the antichrist one time in the whole, in the whole paragraph about the false prophets. So it's crystal clear. It's the false prophets talking about he's called another beast. So you would say, John, why did you confuse it? Why didn't you just keep three names? Dragon, beast, false prophet. But with you, John, it's dragon, beast, false prophet, another beast. Like he threw that extra little title on the false prophet. Why? Because he wants us to know that the false prophet, though he will appear to be a lamb. It says he'll come like a lamb. He'll, he will, uh, his, uh, his demeanor will be gentle and soft and he will be kind and compassionate. But John says, just know this. He's called the false prophet like six times, seven times in a row. He goes, just know this. He's as cruel as the other guy is. He's as much a beast as the antichrist. Don't be tricked. So that's the reason why once he gets the name, another beast. So we know he's as evil as the antichrist. So the dragon is who I'm quizzing you. Okay. Number two, the beast is the antichrist. Okay. The false prophet is who? Another beast. Right. You got it. Thank you. Okay. Let's have our worship team come up. Worship team. Oh, Corey. Okay. Let's all stand. And if you are staying, certainly we want you to, I'm going to ask you not to talk in here because this is a prayer room until midnight. This is the prayer room. So if you slip out, that's certainly that's, uh, we understand that, but go ahead. If you just talk back there so we can just kick right into the, uh, uh, the worship set and move on from there. Okay.