The episode unpacks profound theological concepts, especially regarding the pre-tribulation stance. Hawking examines the promises of deliverance from trials as described in Revelation, specifically analysing the eschatological implications for believers today. Throughout the discussion, listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own spiritual journeys and to find hope and inspiration in the understanding that, just as the Philadelphian church was protected and honored, so too are believers promised protection amid life’s trials.
00:00:00 Introduction to the Pre-Tribulation Argument
want to mention four things here to show you why I’m a pre-tribulationist. I don’t even eat post-toasties. Don’t want to even get close to the problem. Now let’s look at it carefully because someday you may need the argument for your own heart.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. And today we’re pressing deeper into Jesus’ message to the church in Philadelphia. This church had very little power, very little power, but they never backed down. They never denied his name and they never gave in. And in return, Jesus doesn’t just open a door. He slams it shut on their enemies. You know, this is a word for every believer today who’s ever felt weak, outnumbered, or overlooked. The door Jesus opens, no one can shut. Turn to Revelation chapter 3, verses 7 to 13. David’s message called Open Doors continues in just a moment. First, well, Matt, it’s our tradition to share once a week an encouraging note from our listening family. I just love to see the reaction from our staff here, the volunteers, when they get a note like that. Boy, it lifts their hearts tremendously. This one comes from Ed, and I believe the name is Luz?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, what they have to say.
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I love this one, Jim. It says, thank you, David, for ministering to so many people over so many years. My wife and I treasure with much fondness the trip we took with you and your staff to Israel in October of 2014. Okay, yeah. May God continue to supply your need as long as your ability to communicate his love to people lasts in Christ’s love. Oh, I love that one because you have that trip to Israel.
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It’s just awesome. It’s your dad’s heart and desire that the teaching of God’s word, the Bible, the whole Bible, nothing but the Bible, and the proclamation of the gospel through Hope for Today on these radio stations and online through our print sources, that it goes on as long as the support is there for us to do it. And folks, if you have a note of encouragement for us, if you want to share a prayer request, if you even want to send a donation to help us continue in ministry, to partner with us in ministry, get in touch. And you can donate online at davidhonking.org. Or call us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible, by the numbers, 24253. And I’ll have our mailing addresses later in the program. Right now, here’s David.
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God opens doors and God shuts doors. And some of us are trying to get through them. Amen? Revelation 3, verse 7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 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. Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Well, let’s come to chapter 3, verse 9 and 10. We looked at the person who delivers this message to us, now the protection which the Lord gives to us. The protection. And there are basically two things that are said here. In verse 9, Jesus will honor us in the eyes of unbelievers who have been hostile toward us. Jesus will honor us. in the eyes of unbelievers who have been hostile to us. And the second thing that is said is that Jesus will keep us from the hour of temptation that’s going to come upon the whole world. Now let’s take those one at a time. Verse 9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan. Well, let’s back up to chapter 2, verse 9. To the church at Smyrna, he said, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Satan’s very much involved in religion. It’s obvious. And here he says, I’ll make them of the synagogue of Satan, all these who have opposed you, who say they’re Jews and are not. They’re not Jews of the heart. They’re not committed to the Messiah. They’re only outward, external, like many of us, religiously dedicated, but we are not close to the Lord. Our hearts are far from God. They are not. They lie. I’ll make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. It’s a wonderful blessing and encouragement to our hearts when we’re facing all kinds of trouble in this world, all kinds of hostility and persecution, and we aren’t, in this culture, experiencing half of what many people are. Persecution today is just as great as it’s ever been. And there are Christians all over the world who are suffering deeply for their faith in Jesus Christ. We sometimes forget that. The Club of Rome, which discusses future things in their minutes, which I had a copy of, stated very clearly that the number one problem in America are fundamentalist Christians who believe the Bible is the word of God. They are the obstacle to the goals of the new world order. I want them to know without any hesitation that we definitely are. But think also of the Muslim world. Those of you with Arab background, it’s no reflection on your heritage, for Muslim is something different than being Arab. Thank God for those Arabs who love the Lord. But there is in the Muslim world, which now has infested many, many parts of our world, one out of every five people in the world is a Muslim. And I guess you do know that Christians are treated exactly the same as Jews. We are pigs and we are to be destroyed and exterminated off the face of the earth. And if any Muslim friends tell you differently, all they have to do is read the Muslim documents and covenants. That is exactly what it says. And my friends, we are living in a world that really isn’t a friend to God. We’re about ready to get out of here. Can you imagine what’s going to happen when the Christians leave? Jesus Christ will honor us, the Bible says, and they’ll know this beautiful statement that I have loved thee. Turn to Isaiah 43. I think he’s referring to this passage. Isaiah chapter 43. We try to point out to you, as you know in our series, where these quotes are coming from in the Old Testament. And I think this is one. Isaiah 43, verse 4. I love this. Let’s back it up because it’s so good. Verse 1. But now thus saith the Lord who created thee, O Jacob, and he who formed thee, O Israel. Isaiah 43.1. Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. I love this. Thou art mine. Isn’t that neat? This is a good verse to memorize. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Look at these words. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorably And I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men for thee and people for their life. Fear not, for I am with thee. He goes on to talk about the regathering of his people. What a precious passage. Back to Revelation 3. Jesus will honor us in the eyes of unbelievers who’ve been hostile to us. Now number two, and we come to the controversial section of Revelation 3, his message to the church at Philadelphia. Verse 10, he’ll not only honor us, he will keep us from the hour of temptation. Talk about wonderful protection. Jesus will keep us. Let’s read the verse. Verse 10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation or trial, which shall come upon all the world to try or test them that dwell upon the earth. Now there’s a number of things that we need to say, but here is the problem. This is a verse that puts people on either the pre-tribulational side or the post-tribulational side, depending on how you read it. If you are a pre-tribulationalist, you believe this promise means that God will remove us from the hour of testing that’s going to come on the whole world, the tribulation period. He’ll take us out of it. If you are a post-tribulationist, you believe that God is going to protect you while the tribulation is going on. In other words, the question is, is it removal or is it immunity? Which is it? Are we removed from the problem or are we just immune from the problem? What does it mean? Turn to John 17, please, the high priestly prayer of Christ to his father, and look at verse 15 because you have a similar statement. Chapter 17, verse 15. Those who believe in immunity, that we will go through the tribulation, but God will protect us from it, use this verse. John 17, 15. I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, Jesus said. but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil, or literally the evil one. Now that’s the same language, keep from. Same as Revelation 3.10. Here, obviously, in the verse, he doesn’t remove them from the world. He’s saying they’re going to stay in the world, but he will keep them from the evil one. So those who are post-tribulation say this is all the reference we need to prove the point. Now go back to Revelation 3.10. And I want to mention four things here to show you why I’m a pre-tribulationist. I don’t even eat post-toasties. I won’t even get close to the problem. Now, let’s look at it carefully. Number one, if you want this argument, because someday you may need the argument for your own heart, in more ways than perhaps we can discuss now, but the word from… is the Greek word ek, meaning out of. The natural sense of that preposition is removal, always has been. So when it means immunity, it is not the natural sense of the word. So that’s the first thing I’d point out to you. Number two, the second thing I’d point out to you, that in Greek, in this verse, the definite article, the, appears not only in front of our, but also in front of temptation or trial. It is the hour of the trial or the temptation. Why is that important? When the definite article the in Greek is used, it’s not like English where it’s not that significant. It’s very significant in Greek. It specifies or identifies. What it means is it’s a special period of time, not just trials in general. The post-tribulational argument is that all the trials that are going on, God’s going to protect us from it within that. And we all go through trials. Listen, folks, I could say the same thing about today. Why does it have to apply to tribulation? Does not God keep us from all the trials? Does not his grace sustain us in the midst of them? When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with thee. God is with us. We don’t need to be afraid. There are many, many encouragements like that in the Bible. But this isn’t just any old trial, like the trials we go through in our lives now. It’s talking about a special period of time, the hour of the temptation. And it’s referring to the Great Tribulation. The third thing I’d mention is that it says this time will come upon all the world. And that phrase can only be used of the coming tribulation period, which is described in Revelation 6 to 19. It’s to come upon the entire world. But to me, one of the more critical points of this verse is And the fourth thing is that the purpose, according to this verse, is to try or to test them that dwell on the earth. Now the phrase, those that dwell on the earth, is used ten times. It is always used of unbelievers. Why would there be any difference here? The purpose of the tribulation period is to test who? The believer? No. To test the non-believer. It’s God’s vengeance against the world. Look over in chapter 6, please. Chapter 6. Chapter 6, verse 10. The martyrs say, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? We’re talking unbelievers. In verse 17, the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? The tribulation’s not for the believer. Are there going to be believers saved during the tribulation? Yes. And that brings me to this fact. According to the book of Revelation, the Gentile believers, not Jewish, they’re in a special category during the tribulation, the Gentile believers, the Gentiles who become believers during the tribulation, are not protected, as the post-tribulationist says, but are in fact are all killed. You say, how do you know that? Thought you would ask. Turn to chapter 11, please, verse 7. No, the people who come to know the Lord in the tribulation are not protected. They are in fact killed. Revelation chapter 11, verse 7. Now you need to follow this carefully. You might want to jot down each of the references so you can study it for yourself later. Chapter 11, verse 7. Oh, by the way, the multitude we’re talking about is in chapter 7, verses 9 to 17. A multitude out of every nation, tribe, tongue, and people who come to know the Lord during the tribulation. Now chapter 11, verse 7. When they shall have finished their testimony, these are the two witnesses, the beast, this Antichrist that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall make war against them, shall overcome them, and what? Kill them. What does it mean to overcome them? It means to kill them. Look at chapter 13 and verse 7. Similar language, same person, the beast. It was given unto him to make war with the saints, with believers, and to what? overcome them. So what happens to them? They’re killed. You say, well, how do you know that for sure? Look in chapter 13, the same passage, verse 15. And he hath power, this is the false prophet, to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be what? Killed. If you don’t take the mark and you won’t worship the beast’s image, you are killed. That’s what it says. He causes them to be killed. Look at chapter 17. Chapter 17. Verse number 8. The beast that thou sawest was and is not shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, go into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not… written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was and is not and yet is. So here clearly, those who worship the beast are not believers. Their names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world. And all those who do not worship the beast are all killed. Now, it doesn’t include Jews. There is a remnant. One-third of the Jewish nation will survive and turn to the Lord at the end of the tribulation, according to Zechariah 13, 8, and 9. And also, there’s 144,000 Jews who are sealed by God and protected as they take the everlasting gospel all over the world. They are protected. But the Gentile believers, they are going to be killed. Now, go over to chapter 20, please. Chapter 20. Verse 4, I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God. Stop right there. Post-tribulationists say, well, that could be the martyrs of the past. No, it can’t. Look at the next statement. And who had not worshipped the beast. Neither his image, which won’t even be set up till the tribulation. Neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. These believers are treated as people who are killed. They are beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God because they didn’t worship the image of the beast. By the way, if you keep thinking with me, that’s another reason why you’re a pre-tribulationist. Stop and think about it. The book of 1 Thessalonians was written to Gentile believers. It says so. And we read in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 that when the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who are what? Alive and remain. Uh-oh. If it’s a post-tribulational argument, how can we have Gentile believers who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord when they’re all killed during the tribulation? unless the rapture is before the tribulation. And all God’s pre-tribulational saints said. Amen. I want to make sure you’re still with us here. If you keep thinking, folks, if you keep thinking all the time, you go through the book of Revelation, it’s amazing how many things check out clearly. The evidence is there if we want to see it. So come back to Revelation 3. What are we saying? We’re saying Jesus has promised to protect us from the great tribulation. We’re going to be removed. We are out of here. We will not be here during the tribulation period. Before you get too excited, just pray I’m right. We need to have a little balance here. There’s a world that needs Christ. Philadelphia is to foster the Hellenistic culture in the whole world. God takes that and uses it as an illustration that we also are to see God opening doors as well as shutting them. And we are to see the opportunities that are available to us to promote the message of the coming kingdom of God.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. By the way, if you missed any part of today’s program or a recent broadcast, remember, you can always go to davidhawking.org and catch up by clicking on the radio tab right there on the homepage. We keep the latest broadcast posted for your convenience, but only for a limited time. So be sure to jump on that opportunity as soon as you can. David’s going to close out our time in God’s Word in just a moment for today. First, though, his son Matt’s here, and we’re going to share an excellent resource that will help you see why the world seems to have gone haywire and the hope, the hope in God’s Word. Matt?
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Whatever happened to morality? This engaging question is the title of our featured resource by my dad for July.
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And we want to send you a copy when you join us in ministry with a donation of $20 or more.
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You know, Jim, our culture today is struggling desperately because it’s working feverishly against biblical principles and moral values. This war against God’s will and loving boundaries is like little we’ve seen before.
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Unbridled pleasure, worship of material gain, dehumanizing the unborn. Embracing contradictions as truth, like all paths lead to God, for example. We see that a lot, don’t we? Our culture is in a state of rapid decline and descent into chaos.
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It reminds me of the assessment of Romans 1, 22 to 23. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.
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So what did happen? to morality. How do we end up in this sorry condition and what does scripture declare about it? And Matt, is there any hope? Yeah.
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How can believers be a shining light of testimony? What do we say, Jim, to this and the next generation? Those questions are so, so important.
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You’re going to find the trustworthy answers from God’s word inside whatever happened to morality. Whatever happened to morality, the future survival of America and every nation is our gift to you when you contribute $20 or more this month. Prayerfully consider our donation. Give generously as God leads and provides. And you will find reassuring insight and encouragement inside the 278 pages of Whatever Happened to Morality. And your donation makes you a partner with us in ministry. We also want to let you know that you can pick up David’s Revelation Series study notes for just $10. All 48 messages that you’re going to hear on radio are covered. and both the book Whatever Happened to Morality and the Revelation Study Notes can be yours when you call 800-75-BIBLE, 800-75-24253. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE, 888-75-24253. And you can also order online at davidhawking.org. And by the way, if it’s been a while since you’ve written a letter to us, how about doing that today? We’d love to hear from you. It really does make a difference. Every letter we open, every gift we receive, it’s fuel for the mission. It keeps the microphones on, keeps the messages going out, and the Word of God cutting through the noise of today’s culture. It’s not just about paying bills. It’s about reaching souls, strengthening believers, equipping the church, and sharing the hope of God’s Word. And when you give, you’re a part of that. So if God is stirring your heart, don’t wait. Write to us at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8, P1. Together, let’s keep declaring the truth loud and clear. Amen? Well, as promised, here’s David to close our study.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for studying along with us the book of Revelation. That’s what is intended by the Word of God, to be a blessing to our hearts. And maybe you’re in a church like the Church of Philadelphia. It’s got a lot of opportunities. The Messiah himself has presented an open door, and nobody can shut it. And they’ve got a few things that are blessings, but they’ve also got something else that’s wrong. And that’s the synagogue of Satan. Wow. People have said they were Jews, but they aren’t. They lie. Watch out. The kind of lying that’s going on in this church, God says, I come quickly. Wow. Yep. He’s going to come quickly. And I hope you’re ready for His coming. The fact is that when the Lord does come, the message is quickly. Quickly. It’ll be sudden in a moment and the twinkling of an eye. God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you, David. And next time on Hope for Today, we continue in Revelation chapter 3 and things are about to get intense. The church at Philadelphia. They may not have had much power, but they had something far greater, a Savior who opens doors that no one can shut. David Hawking walks us into a promise-laden message of faithfulness, endurance, and victory that still speaks to you and me today. Don’t miss this encouraging and challenging word and invite someone to listen along with you right here on Hope for Today.
The episode unpacks profound theological concepts, especially regarding the pre-tribulation stance. Hawking examines the promises of deliverance from trials as described in Revelation, specifically analysing the eschatological implications for believers today. Throughout the discussion, listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own spiritual journeys and to find hope and inspiration in the understanding that, just as the Philadelphian church was protected and honored, so too are believers promised protection amid life’s trials.
