To be kept from the hour of temptation (Revelation 3:10).

Because thou hast kept (guarded) the word of my patience, I also will keep (guard) thee from the hour of temptation, that will come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)

The latter-rain revival already has commenced in the earth. It will not reach its climax until every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth has seen the power of God and has heard the Kingdom Word of repentance to life in Jesus’ name.

After the testimony has been given, Antichrist, through deception, will be able to overcome the testimony. God will allow this to happen in order to purify the Wife of the Lamb.

Antichrist will employ many strategies and tactics to overcome the saints, including violence and fear and the closing off of the opportunity of the victorious saints to buy and sell. In order to buy and sell the Christian will be required to compromise his testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10).

But the most effective weapon of Antichrist will be the filling of the earth with sin and material prosperity. The believers will be so loaded down with material comforts and sin will be so prevalent that the majority of them will trim their Christian zeal enough to gain access to the security, pleasures, and acceptance offered by the world.

This is an extremely effective deception. The devil overcomes the witnessing saint by giving him the illusion that the world is his friend; that he ought to be prominent and successful in the world; that he deserves to have the best the world can offer because he is a son of God.

This particular strategy will, if possible, conquer God’s elect. It may be peculiar to the twentieth century (but see Luke 4:5-7).

Many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of God’s people already have been overcome and their power to testify destroyed because of their adultery with the world.

The Lord’s sheep have been deluded into believing God desires they be wealthy and prominent in the world and that they should use their faith to gain wealth and worldly success. This tactic of the enemy has been extremely effective in destroying the spiritual life of Christians who otherwise might have stood successfully in the hour of persecution that is at hand.

Antichrist has joined the Christian assemblings and is teaching in them.

After the latter-rain revival has borne witness to the entire earth of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus, prosperity and sin will fill the world. The newly baptised believers will be caught off guard. God will allow the power of the Spirit of God to subside so the "tares" can come to maturity.

The result of the sin and prosperity of the earth following the latter-rain revival will be the backsliding and coldness of most of the Christians living on the earth.

During the post-revival era Christ will require great patience of His people. It will be easy to join the worldly Christian churches. Antichrist will support those churches with money and approval.

Governmental approval of the churches will prove to be a heady experience for those who are accustomed to persecution from the government. This approval and acceptance will catch the saints off guard and beguile them away from the Spirit of Christ.

It will be extremely difficult to fight against all of society (including Christian society). All but the strongest and most determined of the saints will become weary of the unceasing struggle to stand against the whole world, now that the revival glory and power have abated.

But those who overcome the Antichrist spirit, who guard carefully the Word of Christ’s patience, will be guarded carefully by Christ. The Spirit of God will make clear to them all of the lies of the enemy. They will not be deceived into serving Antichrist.

But the majority of the believers shall be deceived. Their love will grow cold. Deception through material abundance already is taking place.

The Christian person who is deceived into yielding to the worldly spirit will suffer terribly in the Day of Christ.

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:9-11)

Now, consider carefully the following concept:

"Here is the patience of the saints" (Revelation 14:12).

This refers back to Revelation 3:10, "hast kept the word of my patience."

"Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).

In order to escape the deceptions of Antichrist we must (1) exercise patience while in our "prison"; (2) keep the commandments of God; and (3) keep the faith of Jesus.

Some are teaching today that this is not referring to Christians because Christians are not obligated to keep the commandments of God. This is a departure from God’s holy Word.

Compare:

And hereby we do know we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:3,4)

By this we know all who are teaching that Christians are not obligated to keep God’s commandments given through Christ are liars.

The same John who wrote Revelation 14:12 wrote also I John 2:3,4. There is great deception among the Christian people today: deception concerning the nature of the Judgement Seat of Christ; deception concerning the way in which grace operates in the Christian redemption; deception concerning what the Scriptures teach concerning judgement and rewards; deception concerning the coming of Christ, the Day of the Lord. The resurrection to eternal life is not being preached as being the goal of our efforts.

We can escape from deception if we will turn to Jesus, repent of our sins, and take up our cross and follow Him.

But if we choose instead to continue in the delusion that all of us will be raptured out of trouble no matter how we behave ourselves, and that we all will be rewarded in the Day of Christ, receiving the good we have done but not the evil (although this is in violation of the written Word), we will be deceived continually until we have been raised from the dead and face a frowning Christ instead of a crowning Christ.

What will it be for you, a crown or a frown?

It can be a crown. But you will have to turn to Christ immediately and ask His help in escaping from the watered-down, lukewarm, pleasure-loving, sinful, rebellious behaviour that characterizes so many of the "Christian believers" of our day.

Truly, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Truly, they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; they are lovers of their own selves. Truly, they are haters of their parents. Truly, they heap to themselves false prophets who will tickle their ears.

There is a godly remnant today who have turned to Christ with their whole heart, having escaped the teachings of Jezebel that are filling the Christian churches.

"Nicholas" is teaching us that if we believe in Jesus it does not matter how we behave. We have been saved by an unconditional grace that is unrelated to what we say and do.

"Balaam" is teaching us how to make money from the Gospel; how to employ Kingdom principles in order to become prosperous and successful in the world.

"Jezebel" is instructing the Lord’s people to commit fornication with the demon gods of lust, violence, covetousness, witchcraft, and partying.

If we follow these "teachers," whom the Lord rebukes in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, Christ will fight against us with the sword of His mouth. He will kill us with spiritual death, even though at one time we had been part of the Lamp-stand of God.

How can we escape from the strong delusions that have entered the minds of Christian people? If we will guard the Word of Christ’s patience, that is, if we will take up our cross and do His will, trusting Him completely and waiting patiently for Him to bring to pass all that we desire, making Him our security, our pleasure, our achievement, then He will guard us from all of the deluding temptations that are spewing from the heart and mouth of Antichrist.

Thus far in our study we have been eating of the tree of life; we have been ruling our circumstances by the authority and power of resurrection life; we have gained spiritual authority greater than the authority of the second death; we have been eating Divine food that is hidden from those who are walking in the flesh and seeking their own will.

We have been voted into the ranks of the chosen; we have been assigned authority and power over the nations of the earth; Christ has been formed in us and is abiding in us; we have been walking with Christ in righteousness; our name has been inscribed eternally in the Lamb’s Book of Life; our name has been made known to the Father and to the holy, elect angels; and we have been kept each day from the deceptions of the devil.

If all of this is true of us, God will create us as a pillar of His eternal Temple.