What about Revelation 3:7-12:
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Consider the letter is to Philadelphia, the name of the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the birth of this country. While much of the Church in Europe is lost, there are still churches in America that have "kept My Word and have not denied My Name."
And what about those that say they are Jews and are not, this country is full of them.
But the most amazing verse is 3:10, "I will also keep you from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world." While Christians are being persecuted now around the globe, we remain relatively free to worship here in the United States. Are we now in the Tribulation and is America being spared the worst of it?
Finally, note verse 11: "Behold, I am coming quickly . . ." What does 'quickly' mean? What about a country that didn't exist 300 years ago, we arrive on the scene at the end of time, so we are the only ones to whom it could be written, "I am coming quickly"
Much violence has been done to the word "trial" in Revelation 3:10. It actually means temptation, and is used in the same context as any other use of the word "temptation" in the New Testament. Jesus seemed to be praising them for resisting temptation:
"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev 3:8-10 KJV)
I believe, from that context, that the church was able to resist attempts to Judaize it; and Jesus was telling them they would be tempted no more.
To see one use of the word "tribulation" in the Revelation refer to the previous chapter, in Revelation 2:9-10:
"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev 2:9-10 KJV)
It appears that some in the churches who succumbed to temptation were destined for great tribulation, unless they repented:
"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (Rev 2:20-23 KJV)
And there were those who survived the tribulation, and were converted:
"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." (Rev 7:13-15 KJV)
Recall that Jesus never promised Christians that they would be kept from the tribulation: only that he would shorten the days of the tribulation for the sake of the elect:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Mat 24:21-22 KJV)
He did, however, warn Christians to flee Judea (or to stay out of it) when they saw certain signs:
"Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto." (Luke 21:21; also Matt 24:16 and Mark 13:14)
However, it does not appear that any of the disciples avoided the tribulation. John wrote about it this way:
"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev 1:9 KJV)
Philip
When looking at statements in the Bible, one must figure out "who the audience is" - and in this case who God is talking to directly. When you go over the "list" of churches, you'll see that they are all in one particular area of the world, they all pertain to those who exist at that time, that they were distributed to those particular churches (besides the other places where they were transmitted among Christians) and that they all pertain to that particular time period.
If you've ever seen these multiple choice questions on a test, where they ask you (of the available choices) which ones are similar and which particular one does not fit with the others -- you'll see that "Philadelphia" in the USA is "OUT" - in comparison with the other choices of churches in that region and that time period.
Good catch!