1. Revelation 3:10 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the nature of this trial?

Revelation 3:10 (ESV)

10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

The word translated as “try” is the common word for test. Anyone who has heard the gospel will be responsible for how he responds to the gospel. Those who respond with obedience and faith will undergo a testing to demonstrate whether their faith is genuine (1 Peter 1:6–7; James 1:2–12), and those who respond with disobedience and unbelief will also undergo the hard consequences of their decision in a fashion consistent with the promise of Romans 1:18–32.