The Greek word for testing is peirasmos, which is also used in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’: ‘Lead us not into temptation.’1 The same word2 is used when the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert. In the Lord’s Prayer it is followed immediately by ‘but deliver us from evil,’3 for we are no match for such temptations. The Lord Jesus speaks about temptation4 as well, when looking towards His suffering and death. We read in Matthew 16:21-23: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Apparently at that moment Peter became an instrument of temptation in the hands of the devil, trying to block Jesus from becoming the Lamb of God to be slain for the sins of the world.
Paul uses the word too and says: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. When you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”5 It is clear – and encouraging! – that God provides a way out of temptations, that Jesus protects us from them, so that we do not perish in them and do not fall victim to the devil. There is even talk in this verse of the hour of trial/testing that is to come upon the whole world.
James 1:12-16 adds to that: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
In His discourse on the end times, Jesus also talks about great tribulation such as has never befallen the world before and never will again.6 There, He uses the Greek word thlipsis, which we also came across in the letters to Smyrna7 and Thyatira8, and about which John speaks on Patmos.9 It will be used once again shortly in connection with the multitude that no one can count.10 The multitude resisted the tribulation because they have washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the Lamb.
Tribulation and testing are two different matters therefore, although there is certainly an element of tribulation in testing! If we assume, for the moment, that the Lord Jesus is talking about the same thing in this verse as in His discourse on the end times even though two different Greek words are used, a severe period of trial and tribulation, of testing, is going to come on the whole world. But He promises to keep us from it!
How will He do so? Some are of the opinion that He will rapture us before things get bad. This is called the rapture of the church,11 even though this expression is not found in Scripture. One thing is sure, when He comes back in Glory with His beautiful resurrection- body He will take us to Himself and we will have the same incredible resurrection-body as He has. How that incredible body functions we have seen during the 40 days between His resurrection and His Ascension!
The righteous dead will be risen first. Together with them, we will meet our Lord in the cloud to accompany Him to His throne in Jerusalem. This will happen when He comes in Glory. How this event relates to other end times events is not clear. Will we go through that final period of trials and tribulation? Some say yes while others say no. Those who say “no” believe what will happen will be the same as the experience of the people of Israel in the Land of Goshen in Egypt when the plagues struck. In the land of Goshen there were no plagues. In Exodus 7:14 – 12:42, one can read about these plagues but Israel was protected from these. They experienced no darkness, no swarms of insects, no undrinkable water that became like blood, and the firstborn of the Israelites did not die. With the blood of the lamb on their doorposts the people of God were safe and protected from the judgements brought by the angel of death.12 The Israelites were protected from disasters, these trials and tribulations, just as Noah and his family were safe in the Ark when the Flood covered the earth.
What does the Greek say for ‘keep you from’? Does “tereo ek” mean ‘keep you from’, so that you will not be in it? Or does it mean ‘keep you safe’ during the time that you are in the trials and tribulation? Only comparing this passage with the only other verse where this expression is used can solve this matter! You will find it in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, verse 15: “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from (tereo ek) the evil one.” This is the so-called High Priestly prayer of Jesus in which He prays for His disciples and for those who will come to Him through their preaching during the centuries to come. “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from (tereo ek) the evil one, the devil.”13 Because when they end up in the clutches of the devil, then they are really lost. Our Lord prays for “those you have given Me” and “for those who will believe in Me through their message.” 14 The Saviour prays for us and protects us, and He will keep us from the hour of trial and tribulation that is to come upon the whole world. Is this not wonderful? And it is also true of your personal, difficult circumstances!
• The words used here for ‘world’ and ‘earth’ are oikoumene and gè respectively, the world inhabited by people and the earth, the ground, the globe.
• The return of Christ will be preceded by painful birth pangs upon planet earth, which will become more frequent, more severe and more painful the closer the ’birth’ comes. The last days will be the most difficult ones. But even a martyr’s death will not ‘harm’ God’s children, for no hair on their head will be lost.
• The martyrs will have special crowns and great rewards! Jesus says in Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him.”.
Bible References:
1.Matthew 6:13 2.Luke 4:13 3.Matthew 6:13 4. Luke 22:28, 40 and 46 5.1 Corinthians 10:13. See also James 1:2 and 12; 1 Peter 1:6 and 4:12; 2 Peter 2;9; Hebrews 3:8 6.Matthew 24:21 7.Revelation 2:9–10 8. Revelation 2:22 9.Revelation 1:9 10.Revelation 7:14 11.1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 12.Exodus 12:21–23; Hebrews 11:28 13. John 17:15 14.John 17:9
