(Revelation 3:10) “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance (steadfastness), I also will keep you from (In) the hour of testing (temptation), that hour which is about to come upon the whole world (the inhabited world), to test (tempt) those who dwell on the earth.”
Introduction:
Does this verse of scripture promise that we as believers in Messiah will be spared from the time of Tribulation in the end times or does it teach us something very different? Those in the pre-tribulation rapture camp use this verse as their main “proof” text for the rapture of the faithful Body of Messiah before the tribulation period and the revelation of the man of sin (the Antichrist) and his beast empire. However, we need to look at what the text is actually teaching us in its context and in light of its co-texts.
This verse in Revelation 3:10 is part of the letter written to a specific assembly (church) but with an application to all of the assemblies (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22), which were suffering under the heel of the Roman Empire (Revelation 1:9). While the Messiah our Lord Jesus addressed differing issues related to each individual assembly, the letters combined were speaking to the whole Body of Messiah, not only in the time of John, but also to the Body of Messiah collectively living in the end times.
The number seven in Biblical numerology always speaks of a finished and complete work that God does. For example in seven days God created the heavens, the earth and man. Each day was unique and different but collectively part of the whole of creation. So when we see seven assemblies we can also apply the same numerology of seven to the Body of Messiah as a whole, not only in the first century, but also to the Body of Messiah at the end of this present age or the end-times. Let’s now look firstly at our text.
Revelation 3:10
(Revelation 3:10) “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance (steadfastness), I also will keep you from the hour of testing (temptation), that hour which is about to come upon the whole world (the inhabited world), to test (tempt) those who dwell on the earth.”
In this text we are told to keep the word of the Messiah’s perseverance. He was in this world and had to persevere or remain steadfast in His mission that was to bring redemption and salvation to the whole world assigned to Him by God His Father in heaven. As the author of Hebrews writes; “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:7-9).
In Revelation 3:10 the LORD is telling us that as followers of the Messiah our Lord Jesus we are to be keeping the word of His perseverance, and that if we keep doing this, then He will keep us from (or in) the hour of testing or temptation. The one who keeps God’s word is kept by God, especially in tribulation, being times of testing, trials, temptations, and more so in times of persecution.
The words; “to keep” do not mean exemption from tribulation but preservation and perseverance when going through tribulation. The same two words are used, when in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus was praying for His disciples in that they would not be taken out of the world, “but kept” from the evil one”, the implication being that they would be kept spiritually while they were still in this world (John 17:15). There was no escape clause. As we know none of them were kept from persecution or martyrdom for that matter except for the Apostle John who suffered greatly during the time of severe persecution.
The whole idea of being kept from, or out of the time of tribulation sits well with the comfort and prosperity of the Church in the western democracies, those countries historically associated with Judeo-Christianity, especially in the United States. This is why the Left Behind franchise of books and movies was so popular. The idea of a pre-tribulation rapture was never taught before the 19th century. Scripture tells us that there is only One Second Coming of Messiah.
A “fire escape” mentality from experiencing the time of tribulation in this world is not found in scripture. For the most part of Church history since the first century the faithful Body of Messiah has been persecuted. The lack of persecution and the material prosperity of the western democracies have been due to the revivals primarily of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries under men like John Wesley, George Whitfield and General Booth of the Salvation Army and others as well.
However, things are rapidly changing today as we see Islam infiltrating the western democracies and the western governments increasingly embracing socialism. Added to this, we see government legislation being formatted against Biblical Christianity in the western democracies, not to mention the gathering political storm hanging over the nation of Israel. The idea of a pre-tribulation rapture is just not Biblically sound. The rapture and resurrection will happen but not before the revealing of the man of sin and the time of tribulation commences.
Go to those brothers and sisters being persecuted and even butchered by demonically controlled Jihadists today because they are persevering in their faith in the Lord Jesus and in His word and try telling them that they will be kept from the hour of great tribulation. They are already in great tribulation and horrific and terrible atrocities are being perpetrated on them every day in Islamic countries, in North Korea, in China, in Africa and in Russia. What could the Antichrist’s beast empire do worse that what is already being done to faithful New Covenant believers in Messiah? The persecution can only spread and it will spread on a global scale during the regime of the man of sin, the Antichrist, before the Messiah returns (Revelation 13:5-7).
We see clearly the endurance or perseverance enunciated by the Lord Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Mark that will characterise His followers at the end of this present age (Matthew 24:13) (Luke 21:17), which speak of faithful believers in Him enduring to the end. The apostle John understood this need for endurance when he wrote; “I John your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 1:9).
One thing we must always keep in mind is that the Messiah our Lord Jesus will be with us in the person of the Holy Spirit and will strengthen and empower us to patiently endure when the time comes to testify to the word of God and to hold fast to the testimony of Jesus (Luke 21:12-19) (1 Peter 4:12-19) (Revelation 12:17). Now let’s continue in Revelation 3:10. Who is being tested? The text tells us that it is “those who dwell on the earth.”
This hour of testing will be short but exceedingly intense and it will be God testing the inhabitants of the world, seeking to get them to repent. Specifically it will be “those dwelling on earth,” or “the earth dwellers.” In the book of Revelation we have two people groups. There are those “who dwell on the earth” and those “who dwell in heaven” or “heaven dwellers.” This has nothing to do with where they are physically located, yet we are told that both groups are on earth during the tribulation but they are spoken of differently.
Those who belong to this world, “the earth dwellers,” are all those who are at home in this world. They belong to this world and are slaves to the god of this world Satan. We are told in scripture that the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds (the thoughts, the affections and the will) of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
These are those whose lifestyles, plans, goals in life and ambitions are centred on their own success and around the things that satiate the fleshly appetites and desires for fame, fortune, possessions and success in everything that this present world has to offer. These are those who love this world and the things of this world and enslaved to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). We are also told in God’s Word that if anyone loves the world in this way that the love of God the Father does not dwell in them (1 John 2:15-16).
These are those living for this world and refusing to consider their eternal destiny who will end up in the lake of fire if they do not repent (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8). The hour of testing will be God’s final opportunity for men and women to repent of their sin and rebellion and believe in the Lord Jesus to save them before His wrath is poured out.
Those “dwelling on the earth” may at present be waltzing merrily down the yellow brick road of fame, fortune, success and pleasure and having things good in this world while laughing up their sleeve at faithful believers in Messiah, but at the end of that road of merrymakers meet someone far more sinister and deadly than the Wizard of Oz! Those who belong to this world and make the things of this world their main pursuit and goals in life do not have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. They have rejected the gospel!
If they continue to refuse to repent they will end up in the lake of fire forever and ever with no reprieve ever possible. As for the idea of annihilation it does not exist. (Isaiah 14:9-11) (Revelation 14:9-11). As the author of Hebrews writes; “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Now in contrast “those who dwell in heaven” are those whose citizenship is not in this world’s system but in the Kingdom of God of which they are a part. These faithful believers will inherit the kingdom when the Messiah our Lord Jesus returns to slay the man of sin, to destroy his beast empire, to remove Satan from human contact and to inaugurate the Messianic Millennial Kingdom on earth (Revelation 11:15-18) (Revelation 20:1-6).
Now the “heaven dwellers” are still on earth when the hour of trial, testing or temptation comes upon the whole world. The kingdom of God is now but not yet. The kingdom is already present in the faithful Body of Messiah corporately and in this sense it is already in the world. Having said this it is yet to be established on earth as a visible kingdom when the Messiah sits on David’s throne at Jerusalem ruling over the nations that have survived His Second Coming.
The Lord Jesus also spoke about this time which will be a time of great tribulation unequalled in the past and never to be equalled again in the future. The Messiah said; “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:21-22).
The prophet Daniel puts this period of time at the end of the age as well when he writes; “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people (Israel and her spiritual offspring, the faithful Body of Messiah), will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt (Revelation 12:1-2).
When this time comes Israel will be centre stage in world affairs and the elect saints still here on earth suffering terrible persecution on a global scale. For the sake of preserving the world from annihilating itself and for the sake of the elect saints God will cut those days short. The word “elect” or “chosen ones” is the standard word for all faithful believers in both Testaments.
The Messiah our Lord Jesus spoke about this rescue when He said; “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31).
Notice that this snatching away or upwards of His elect by His angels to meet Him in the air happens immediately after the tribulation of those days, not before the tribulation! They are gathered to Him “from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” These are the believers who have already died and are returning to receive their resurrected glorified immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
Mark writing about the one and the same event in his gospel said that the angels “will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven” (Mark 13:27). The elect are gathered from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Those being gathered from the farthest end of the earth are those who are still living physically on earth.
This cannot be strictly applied only to Israel as it describes the rapture and resurrection of all true believers of all the ages, those who were dwelling in heaven as the spirits of men and women made perfect, and those dwelling on earth still in their physical bodies that are snatched up to together with them to meet the Lord Jesus at His coming again.
As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).
It is interesting to note that the words “to meet” has the idea of an important dignitary coming towards a city and the people of the city going out to meet him, gathering around him, and accompanying Him back to the city. So it will be when the Messiah our Lord Jesus returns. The rapture and resurrection will happen, the kingdoms of this world will completely crumble and the Messianic reign on earth will commence of which we will be a part (Daniel 2:32-35, 44-45) (Daniel 7:9-14, 21-22, 26-27).
As Jude writes; “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).
Now if we turn to Revelation 6:9-10 we see that this group of those “heaven dwellers” whose hope and aspirations are centred in the Kingdom of God and the things pertaining to the kingdom, are also being tested, not because they are unfaithful, but being persecuted for their testimony to the word and to the Messiah our Lord Jesus, and who are being kept in and though this time of tribulation. Let’s now look at our second text…
Revelation 6:9-11
(Revelation 6:9-11) “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”
Clearly those “heaven dwellers,” being faithful believers that we see described, are being persecuted and put to death, are crying out for the LORD to avenge their blood which had been shed by those “dwelling on earth.” Now we know that vengeance belongs to the LORD. When we hear the word “vengeance,” or “to avenge,” or this phrase “avenge our blood” in the Greek text in Revelation 6:10 it relates to the concept of seeking justice for a wrongful death.
We see this exemplified in Psalm 34 where we read; “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).
The cry of the martyrs for the LORD to avenge their blood signifies a call for God to take action against those who have committed injustice and shed innocent blood. What is God’s purpose of vengeance? It’s not about retribution or “God getting even,” but about God acting with vengeance in order to bring about righteousness.
Righteousness in Hebrew poetry is usually parallel to glory. When God brings about vengeance it means that He is going to bring about a change. Through this just vengeance He is going to bring about a kingdom of righteousness where His glory is going to be manifested on earth and in the entire body of His resurrected glorified saints upon His return to earth (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
Also notice in Revelation 6:10 the martyrs “cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” When blood is being shed it is speaking about death and who are the ones doing the killing? They are “those who dwell on earth.” They are putting faithful believers to death. They are shedding the blood of “those who dwell in heaven.” If we have repented and invited the Lord Jesus to be our Saviour and lord and availed ourselves of His redeeming blood by faith, then we are already “heaven dwellers” spiritually speaking even though we are still living in our physical bodies down here on earth.
As Rabbi Paul writes; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with the Messiah (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Messiah Jesus” (Ephesians 2:3-6). If we have been born again by the Holy Spirit then Heaven is already in our minds and hearts and we are looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Messiah, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).
For the faithful believer, whose mind and heart is fixed on eternal heavenly things and the spiritual realities of them in the unseen spiritual realm that are part of God’s kingdom, are far greater and eternal realities than the temporary things that are visibly seen in this world especially in times of tribulation. As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
If anyone had times of tribulation it was Paul. He describes them in detail in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. However, he saw his afflictions as light and momentary compared to the eternal weight of God’s glory awaiting him in that unseen spiritual realm in heaven.
Now through that time of a righteous and just judgement and retribution or vengeance that is coming upon the “earth dwellers” at the end of this present age God will bring about His righteous purposes displaying His righteousness and justice to those killing His people. We are not speaking about the tribulation but about the wrath of God which begins with the seven trumpets being sounded and ends with the seven bowls of His wrath being poured out with no reprieve.
This is what God is going to place upon the whole world, all of it with no exceptions. His wrath, His judgements, and these are what we should be expecting to come upon those whose hands are saturated with the blood of the martyrs for Jesus. The martyrs crying out to have their deaths avenged are all given a white robe reminding them of their right standing with God and to wait until their fellow believers on earth are also to be martyred (Revelation 6:11).
While as faithful followers of the Messiah our Lord Jesus we will face tribulation in this world and enter the time of Great Tribulation we will never experience the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9). The Lord Jesus clearly told us that the persecution He experienced likewise we as His followers will experience the same in our lives (John 15:18-21). He took up His cross and we must do the same. As He Himself said; “And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
As the elect or chosen servants of God being “those who dwell in heaven,” having our hearts fixed on the coming kingdom, if we are still physically alive on earth when the time of tribulation starts we will enter it but be saved out of it at the end of it just before the wrath of God comes down (Matthew 24:21-22) (Revelation 7:14-17). The Apostle John saw faithful believers coming out of the time of great tribulation between the sixth and the seventh seal (Revelation 7:14). To come out of it you have to be in it. Now let’s go to our third text…
Revelation 8:13
(Revelation 8:13) “Then I looked, and I heard an angel flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
In Revelation chapter eight the trumpets begin to sound and the trumpets begin the wrath of God and it is the bowl judgements that we see in Revelation chapter 16 where the wrath of God is complete. When we look at the trumpets we find a number that appears over and over again. The number is “one third,” and when we see this number repeated it is not talking about God’s wrath in full strength, but a portion of God’s wrath, however, when we look at Revelation chapter 16 we see the seven bowls of God’s wrath being poured out fully and that without reprieve.
Now some are teaching that during this time of tribulation that there is going to be a great revival globally, however while people will be saved during the time of tribulation, we do not see a global revival in scripture. What normally is taught by those who believe this in an end-time global revival that it is going to be the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel who are all evangelists preaching the gospel. Nowhere do the scriptures teach that these are evangelists. It is conjecture.
Now going back to Revelation Chapter 8:13 we see an angel (not an eagle) saying in a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe” to “those who dwell on the earth” because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels. The word “Woe” biblically is “a call to change” and if there is no change the outcome will be disastrous to say the least!
Following this angel’s proclamation we see the blast of the fifth trumpet results in a demonic invasion of the earth with these demonic powers afflicting “the earth dwellers” (Revelation 9:1-12). The sixth trumpet blast results in WW3 which will see a third of mankind perish by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulphur. When you read the description of this war it very much describes nuclear exchanges See (Zechariah 14:12-13). Even after this global catastrophe the rest of mankind not killed refuse to repent of their demonic, rebellious, idolatrous and sinful pursuits (Revelation 9:13-21).
When the seventh trumpet is sounded loud voices in heaven cry out; “The Kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever.” The bowls of God’s wrath following the trumpets complete the time of His wrath. These trumpets and bowls show that there is no repentance. It shows that God is righteous and correct in pouring out His wrath upon a Messiah hating, Messiah rejecting world infested with demonic infiltration and earth dwellers with the blood of faithful believers on their hands. He is going to pour out His wrath upon; “those who dwell on the earth.” Immediately after these bowls of God’s wrath have been poured out the Messiah returns to earth. Lets’ now look at our fourth text…
Revelation 11:10
(Revelation 11:10) “And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”
The ones that “are dwelling on the earth” are the same group we have been looking at. The two godly witnesses spoken about speak the Word of God. It is interesting that the name “men” is not in the original text. These two hear from God and share His word with humanity.
See the article on this website titled “The Two Witnesses.”
After they have been prophesying and demonstrating God’s power through the working of the Holy Spirit they are martyred by “those who dwell upon the earth” and these “earth dwellers” are made to give gifts and to send them to one another because these two prophets or witnesses tormented them because they were speaking prophetic truth. “Earth dwellers” with their earthly mindset are not interested in prophecy. They are not interested in the purposes of God. They don’t want to hear the Word of God especially regarding the end-times.
This is a fast growing trend within wider Christendom today, especially among the hyper faith money preachers in the prosperity camp and the Kingdom Now Kingdom Dominion advocates, and many within the New Apostolic Reformation teaching a Christianised world at the end of this present age. Added to this, you also have the seeker friendly, seeker sensitive feel good churches preaching a diluted gospel message. Now let’s go to the next text…
(Revelation 12:11, 17)
(Revelation 12:11, 17) “And they overcame him (the dragon or Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death… So the dragon was enraged with the woman (Israel), and went off to make war with the rest of her children (offspring), who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (the faithful body of Messiah spiritually grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel).”
In Revelation chapter twelve we see a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. This description is tied directly to the dream Joseph had in the book of Genesis and it directly relates to the nation of Israel (Genesis 37:9-11). Joseph’s father Jacob had his name changed to Israel by God Himself after his wrestling match with the pre-incarnate Messiah (Genesis 32:24-30). God calls the Jewish people Israel, not Palestine!
Most of the reformers going all the way back to the 15th and 16th centuries saw the woman in Revelation chapter twelve as the Church and no wonder as reformed theology for the most part advocate and preach replacement theology. The woman being pregnant speaks of the fact that the Messiah would be born a Jew. The enormous red dragon Satan was trying to prevent the birth of the one who would defeat him as foretold by God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Hence Satan has tried to destroy Israel to prevent the Messiah’s incarnation.
We see this when Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all male Hebrew babies at birth, but the midwives disobeyed him and allowed the boys to live and Moses was one of those babies. Eventually, Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River to reduce the Israelite population. God brought this terrible act back upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians by killing all of their firstborn in the land.
We see another attempt by Satan to stop the Messiah from being born when King Herod ordered the execution of all male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. This act was motivated by his desire to eliminate the threat posed by the newborn Jesus, whom he saw as a rival. However in Revelation chapter twelve the woman (the remnant of Israel) escapes the clutches of the red dragon Satan and was preserved during the time of Great Tribulation (three and a half years). Satan cannot destroy Israel, and his dark desire to eliminate all of the Jews on earth and especially in Israel is still happening today.
He knows his time is short and he is working 24/7 to eliminate the Jews and we are told also the offspring of the women, the faithful Body of Messiah. We are also told that this enormous red dragon, with blood on his hands, had ten horns and seven crowns, clearly identifying him with the last beast empire of the Antichrist indwelt by Satan who will go after the Jews and the faithful Body of Messiah during the time of Great Tribulation (Revelation 13:1, 17:9-13).
Now it needs to be emphasised that when faithful believers are being persecuted, tempted and killed for their perseverance to obey God’s commandments and by holding fast to their testimony of Jesus, that by doing this they are overcoming everything Satan in his unhinged rage and mindset launches at them. This will be the specific mark of those in the end-times who refuse to bow the knee to Satan and his beast empire. When Satan attacks us relentlessly he will intensify his attacks as he sees his end and that of his empire doomed to destruction rapidly approaching.
As new covenant Bible believers how do we overcome Satan when under attack? When we testify to what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us and accepting that we may lose our lives we will overcome Satan’s incessant attacks every time. If we know those promises from God’s Word related to the power of the Messiah’s blood, and with our testimony, launch them at Satan he will leave us alone (Psalm 8:2) (Psalm 9:1-3) (James 4:7). Having said this; even in martyrdom “the righteous will be as bold as a lion!” (Proverbs 28:1)
Satan will always counter attack when we are walking in the will of God. We must stay alert, walk by faith moment by moment in step with the Holy Spirit and be praying continuously in the Holy Spirit, merging thankfulness with praise, and putting on the whole armour of God at the beginning of every day (Ephesians 6:10-18). In doing these things we will succeed in driving Satan out of our affairs. The more we launch the promises of God related to the blood of Messiah at Satan as we live by faith and not by sight, the more proficient we will become in seeing ahead of time when he is making his move against us. To be forearmed is to be forewarned (2 Corinthians 2:11).
If we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and maintain our perseverance in seeking to obey the Word of God we will experience victory even when faced with death. This is only possible of course by the grace and power of the blessed Holy Spirit (1 Peter 4:12-14).
If we put ourselves and our interests and our life in this world first and hold on to it and what we consider important to hold onto, we are going to fail God. We are called to be sacrificial and to demonstrate our faith in Messiah by being willing to lay down our life and die if necessary. This is what it means to take up our cross and follow the Messiah our Lord Jesus. What the “earth dwellers” did to Him they will do to us (John 15:18-21).
Now death is not a problem for believers. Rabbi the apostle Paul tells us that flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God? Why? Because these bodies of ours are decaying and riddled with sin and not fit to enter into the Kingdom of God where sin does not and cannot exist. At the rapture and resurrection in the twinkling of the eye we will instantly receive kingdom bodies, free from sin, incorruptible, immortal, and full of the light, the glory, the awesome splendour with the power and the love of God beyond human measure. Death will be swallowed up by victory (1 Corinthians 15:50-55).
If we are going to enjoy life in God’s kingdom in the age to come and in the New Jerusalem for all of eternity then we must be resurrected to receive new bodies. With this in view and in light of the promises of God which cannot change or fail death should not be a problem. Realistically, those who have been tortured and martyred for their faith were not happy to die in the way they did that’s for sure, however, they died happy in light of their coming resurrection!
The Messiah our Lord Jesus was the firstborn from the dead in that He was the first man to physically die and to rise again and never to die again. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection. As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). It’s okay to die for us as believers in this life as we will go to a better place in heaven to join all believers who have preceded us.
Now also in Revelation 12:12 we also notice the change that those who overcome enter into the kingdom that all those who dwell in the heavens rejoice and welcome home the overcomers! The “heaven dwellers” are all those who have preceded the overcomers who will join them. As the author of Hebrews writes; “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).
Another thing to notice is that in Revelation 12:12 that while the faithful Body of Messiah is present with the Lord Jesus and the hosts of heaven having overcome Satan, that Satan, having been cast down, takes out his rage on all those in this world who have worshipped and followed him, knowing that his time in this world is short. Satan’s Empire will also destroy the harlot at God’s bidding. See also (Revelation 17:1-6, 15-18).
Ultimately at the battle of Armageddon which will see the wholesale and complete destruction of all opposition to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom on earth, the time of God’s wrath will have come to an end (Revelation chapter 16). In Revelation 19:11-21 after as the time of wrath is coming to an end, we see the return of the Messiah with the armies of heaven and the raptured and glorified saints to give the majority of “those who dwell upon he earth” the Coup de grâce! Also in that day as well all of the surviving Jews on earth will all be saved (Zechariah 12:10-13:1) (Romans 11:25-29). Let’s now look briefly at our final text…
(Revelation 13: 5-8)
(Revelation 13:5-10) “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
In these verses we see mentioned both groups. We see those “who dwell in heaven” and “those who dwell on earth.” For 42 months, being three and a half years in duration, the beast empire of the man of sin also called the Antichrist will utter proud words of slander and vile accusations against those “who dwell in heaven” being the believers who have physically died and are absent from the body and present with the Lord Jesus in heaven having escaped the clutches of Satan. In fact Satan’s slanderous accusations are railed at every living being in heaven and also against those persevering beleaguered and faithful believers still alive on earth.
During this period Satan will be exercising his power over all of the people in his empire which will be one of global proportions. The “earth dwellers” at this time will worship Satan dwelling in the man of sin. Having served him during their lifetime they will now worship him and ultimately join him in the eternal lake of fire originally prepared for him and his angels. The names of those “earth dwellers” will have never been written in the Lamb’s book of life, He who had been slain from the foundation of the world.
Satan’s war on earth clearly is against all of God’s elect saints and faithful followers still alive on earth and many of whom are to join the martyrs that are crying out under the altar of God in heaven for God’s righteous judgements. Notice also John writes; “If anyone has an ear, let him hear” however, even though the LORD is looking for repentance and for any who will still hear His voice, their destiny is set. John writes; “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed such will be the lot of the “earth dwellers.”
Here we are told is the call for “the perseverance and the faith of the saints.” If the saints were no longer on earth at this time, or to face the persecution of the beast empire of the man of sin, the Antichrist, then why would the Lord Jesus speaking through John call for the perseverance and the faith of the saints if they were no longer on earth? Those in the pre-tribulation rapture camp would say that these saints being addressed are the tribulation saints that missed the rapture; however, this is according to the dispensational system of Eschatology, not clearly endorsed by scripture.
In fact when you read 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2:1-4 Rabbi the Apostle Paul specifically says that the coming of the Lord Jesus with His body, the faithful assembly being gathered around Him at the rapture cannot happen until we know who the man of sin is. This fact in itself debunks the idea that the faithful Body of Messiah is removed before the man of sin is even revealed.
See on this website the article “The Coming of the Lord and the man of Sin.”
Epilogue
In closing there are only two people groups on earth. You have those “who are dwelling on earth” and “those who are dwelling in heaven.” We are not speaking about these groups metaphorically but two groups still living on earth. The “earth dwellers” have their hearts and minds in this world and the things it offers by way of temporary material possessions, pleasures and the satiating of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.
However, as their names were never written in the Lamb’s book of life, He who was slain from the foundation of the world, their destiny is the eternal tormenting lake of fire to join the one they have served in this temporary life being Satan. In contrast you have “the heaven dwellers,” being those, who while still alive on earth in their physical bodies, have their minds and hearts set upon heavenly things which are eternal in nature. Their names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life.
If you are reading this article and you have never been born again and availed yourself by faith of the blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus, that pure untainted blood shed to atone for and to cleanse your heart and life from sin, then your name is not written in His book of life. However, while you are still alive there is an eternal hope for you. On the basis of the shed blood of Messiah there is forgiveness of sin and redemption from its grip in your life if you are willing to repent (Ephesians 1:7) (1 John 1:7-9) (Isaiah 55:6-8).
The Lord Jesus in His unmerited favour is still reaching out to save you from hell, and the lake of fire. Salvation is found in no one else and there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved (John 14:6) (Acts 4:12) (John 3:16-18). God is not willing that anyone should spend an eternity of conscious torment in the lake of fire, but come to the place of repentance, forgiveness for sin and reconciliation with Him for eternity in His presence where there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand pleasures forevermore, far beyond anything you can imagine or even think (2 Peter 3:8-10) (Psalm 16:11).
The shed blood of Messiah has paid the debt you owe to God, however, you must be willing to change from a Messiah hating, Messiah rejecting way of life to a Messiah loving, Messiah accepting way of life. If you are willing to do this by faith, looking only to Him alone to save you, then the Lord Jesus will give you the capacity to repent, to believe in His atoning and cleansing blood, to be forgiven and cleansed from sin, receive eternal life and the Holy Spirit into your life (John 1:12-13) (Acts 2:38-39) (2 Corinthians 5:17) (1 John 1:7-9). God will declare you innocent of all charges; credit to you the perfect sinless and righteous character of His Son (Romans 3:21-26), and by His shed blood protect you from the wrath to come upon those “who dwell on earth.”(Romans 5:9).
Scripture says; “Now is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time, today if you hear His voice do not harden your heart but in faith reach out to Him who loves you beyond anything you can imagine of think and avail yourself of the Messiah’s atoning and cleansing blood, which will bring you to heaven and spare you from the wrath to come. You will no Longer be “an earth dweller” but instead “a heaven dweller” and your name will be written in the Lamb’s book of life for time and for eternity!
The Apostle Peter writes; “With the LORD a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. But the Day of the LORD will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:8-10).
The hour of testing is coming upon the whole earth. Both “those who dwell on earth” and “those who dwell in heaven” will be present. At the end of it those whose hearts are in heaven and companions with their brothers and sisters in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are theirs in Jesus because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, will be rescued. These will be those whom John saw coming out of great tribulation, having washed their robes and made then white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14-17). Whereas those whose hearts are rooted in this world will perish in the eternal flames.
As the Apostle John writes; “He came to His own (those fellow Jews who refused to believe), and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of lineage nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God “ (John 1:12-13).
Rabbi the Apostle Paul also writes; ““The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:8-10).
The question remains; “Are you an Earth or Heaven Dweller?
