How to be Rescued from the Tribulation

 

  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. Revelation 3:10

 

To me, this is one of the most important verses in Revelation. Jesus gives us directions for how to be raptured, how to be rescued from the coming Tribulation. How do we do this?

 

We keep the Word of His Patience. In other words, we patiently keep His Word. But what does that mean exactly? How does that translate to our every day lives? We all know what patience is, right?

 

From the Dictionary: the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. Quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: 

 

I don't know about you but the dealing with misfortune and pain without complaint hit me hard. Waiting for something I want so desperately to happen WITHOUT complaint hit me hard. I need to work on that. But what about Keeping His Word? What does that mean exactly? 

Some may say we must keep the 10 Commandments. Well, that's a good idea, but that's not how we are saved or rescued. 

Some may say that to keep His Word means only to believe in Jesus and then you're good to go. That's the other end of the spectrum. Hyper-gracism, which is also wrong because the word believe in the Greek means so much more than a mental acknowledgement, a mental assent. It means a commitment. But I've been over that before. 

Some may say it means to memorize God's Word and keep it in our hearts. Again, a great idea, but it's not enough.

Let's see what Jesus said about keeping His Word

In Matthew 22:37-40, a lawyer asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

So all the law and everything the prophets said can be summed up in these two commandments. Wow. Okay, we are getting somewhere. But what does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul and mind?

 

What does it mean to love anyone that way? What sort of actions would prove that kind of love? 

 

• Spending time with that person
• Enjoying every moment with that person
• Going out of your way to do things for that person
• Listening to and obeying that person 
• Reading that person's love letters over and over
• Basically following that person around like a love-sick puppy dog

 

Is that how you treat Jesus?

 

• Do you enjoy spending time with Him?
• Do you actually set aside special time with Him?
• Do you read the Bible? Do you love reading the Bible?
• Do you listen to the Lord and obey Him?
• Do you desire to please Him in everything you do?
• Do you take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him?

 

That's what it means to Love the Lord your God with all your heart. 

 

And to love your neighbor as yourself, well that's a little harder, in my opinion. But it basically means to humble yourself, put others needs ahead of your own, and think of the other person more than you think of yourself.  Something I work on every day.  

I believe that's what this verse in Revelation is talking about. Have we kept the Word of His Patience? Have we stayed on the narrow path, loving Him and following Him as best we can? Have we put Him first in our lives? And when the going got tough or the time lingered on, we did not give up. We kept on. We aren't perfect, far from it, but we are still walking in the light, no matter how narrow the way has become. 

If that's you, look up, for your Redemption draws nigh!