Kept From The Hour

Q. I have been wondering if Revelation 3:10b where Jesus says to the church of Philadelphia (the evangelical church) ”I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” is also a verification of the rapture happening before the tribulation since some of the judgments happen before the “Great Tribulation”?  Could you also explain the “hour of trial”, would that speak of the whole 7 years?

A. I believe that Rev. 3:10 says that the Church will miss all of the last 7 years. The Greek word for hour can be used figuratively to  describe any definite time just like its English counterpart.  An example is when British historians refer to 1940 as “Our Darkest Hour”.  It lasted much longer than 60 minutes.

Also, the Greek word for “from” in that verse means “out of the place, time, or cause”.  It denotes separation from the object to which it refers, in this case the hour of trial.