Christians around the world are walking into what Perry Stone calls “the hour of testing,” a divinely permitted season of intense trials designed to expose what’s truly within a person.
In a recent episode of Manna-Fest, Stone declared, “We’re going to explore that subject today… millions are entering the hour of testing.” Drawing from Revelation 3, he emphasized Jesus’ words to the church of Philadelphia: “Because you have kept my command to persevere, I will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.”
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According to Stone, the phrase “hour of testing” doesn’t just refer to the Great Tribulation but can also apply to severe personal seasons of suffering. “A temptation is a piercing that comes to you and a test that comes to you which actually reveals what is on the inside of you,” he said. “You know, a lot of people boast on how strong they are in the Lord until something happens that puts them through a real test.”
Stone gave examples from Scripture, pointing to Jesus’ own “hour” in the Gospels. “Before it happened, a ship couldn’t drown Him. A storm couldn’t drown Him. They could not stone Him. No one could kill Him. No one could harm Him because he was under a supernatural divine protection from His Father,” he explained. But when Jesus’ hour came, “He is arrested… He’s publicly humiliated… He’s publicly crucified.”
In today’s world, many believers may feel that “all hell has broken loose.” Stone warned, “The test or trial that you’re in is so weird and so intense that you have never seen anything like it.” He added, “Good people will go through an hour of testing.”
To those who mock or persecute others during such times, Stone gave a stern warning: “Let me just tell you… your hour is coming. You are going to reap what you have sown.”
But for the faithful, Stone listed three purposes of this difficult hour:
- God lays the axe to the root.
“There’s some things on your tree that shouldn’t be there, and He starts cutting down the tree.” - There has to be a purging.
“The chaff, which is just the trash and the junk hanging on—it’s got to come off, it’s got to be put away, it’s got to be burnt.” - He trims the vine.
“A vine that does not produce fruit will be trimmed… not to harm you. It is to purge you, to make you white, to refine you in the fire.”
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Despite the hardship, Stone offered hope: “I’m going to come out like pure gold. I’m going to come out with a better prayer life. I’m going to come out trusting God in a greater way.”
For those who feel the weight of the hour of testing, trust God in the fire. He’s working, often unseen, on your behalf.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
