ISB ~ Revelation 3 v10

the hour of trial:A time of tribulation that will test the faith of believers. Jesus says it will seize the whole oikoumene, a Greek term that often refers to the Mediterranean world ruled by Rome (cf. Lk 2:1; Acts 24:5). The warning may refer to the spiritual confusion, political chaos, and natural catastrophes that swept over the Roman world in the late 60s (Mt 24:4-13; Tacitus, Histories 1, 2). However, if one dates Revelation in the 90s, the best candidate is the persecution of Christianity under Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81 to 96). Believers in ancient Philadelphia are promised the Lord’s protection from the widespread suffering. There is no hint that the text envisions a “rapture” of the Church into heaven before the onset of earthly distress.