For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
(1 Thes 4:16-18)
The next resurrection believers anticipate will occur when “the LORD Himself will descend from heaven” for “all who have longed for his appearing,” (2 Tim 4:8), who “eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed,” (1 Cor 1:7)(Phil 3:20)(Titus 2:13), “to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him,” (Heb 9:28). The next resurrection will include all believers, both the dead and living, who have existed up to that time in history, excepting those resurrected along with Christ, (Matt 27:52-53). Maimonides taught that, while belief in the Messiah is essential, a longing desire for His return is also required, as John has written, “Come, Lord Jesus,” (Rev 22:20).
Scholars generally accept that the resurrection of the saints will occur during the seven-year period of end time events identified as the final week of Daniel’s seventy week prophecy. The angel Gabriel told Daniel, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city…he will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate,” (Dan 9:24-27).
The Bible further subdivides this seven year period into separate three and one-half year periods. The first is marked by temple sacrifice and worship of the true God, which is immediately followed by apostasy and the revealing of “the man of lawlessness,” (2 Thes 2:3). The latter three and one-half years is a time of great persecution for Israel, commonly referred to as the “birth pains of the Messiah” (Micah 5:3-4), and the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:5-7). The book of Daniel concludes by saying, “There will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time…From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” (Dan 12:1&11-12).
Pre-Tribulation Resurrection: There are three traditional positions relating to the resurrection of the saints during this seven year (one week) covenant and I will do great injustice to all three in my brief description. The first school of thought, often referred to as the “pre-tribulation rapture,” holds that believers will be resurrected at the beginning of the seven year period. Believers will remain with Christ and then return with Him to earth at the end of the tribulation period. The pattern for this event is the one week biblical weddings typified by Jacob. In this way, believers will be kept from “the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world,” (Rev 3:10), fulfilling the many similar promises given in scripture, (1 Thes 1:10).
The belief in an early resurrection is attractive because believers will not have to experience any of the judgments in the Book of Revelations. However, the “hour” referred to in the third chapter should be seen as the “the hour of his (God) judgment” (Rev 14:7), the same “one hour” that the ten kings receive their authority to reign with the beast, (Rev 17:12). This hour occurs during the last three and one-half years when the seven bowls of judgment are poured out on the earth. The many promises in scripture to protect believers do not require that believers be removed from the earth. During the days when the LORD poured out His ten plagues on Egypt, He did not remove Israel from the land, but providentially protected them in Goshen. It is not before the coming tribulation, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days…He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEYWILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other,” (Matt 24:29-31).
Post Tribulation Resurrection: Another school of thought, often referred to as the “post tribulation rapture,” holds that believers are destined to endure the tribulations in the Book of Revelations and will be resurrected at the end of these tribulations, (Matt 24:24-31). During the last half of the seven year covenant period, the Beast is given authority to rule over the earth, (Rev 13:5). This final forty-two month period is referred to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), who will be given power to “trample on the holy city for 42 months,” (Rev 11:2). The leader of the Gentile nations, the Beast (anti-Christ), will be “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them,” (Rev 13:7)(Dan 7:21) “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God,” (2 Thes 2:4).
Many saints who refuse to worship the Beast will be persecuted and killed by the sword. “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them,’” (Rev 14:12-13)(Rev 13:10). As I understand, the Church of Christ holds that the majority of tribulations written about in the gospel accounts, the epistles and the Book of Revelations, have already occurred. However, if they have occurred, who were the two witnesses of Revelations (11th chapter) and why did the resurrection and judgment not immediately follow the tribulation?
The martyring of many saints would seem to run contrary to the promises to keep the saints from “the hour of testing,” (Rev 3:10). Further, Paul tells us that “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed,” (2 Thes 2:7-8). In scripture, it is God who protects and delivers the saints from the “evil one,” (John 17:11)(2 Thes 3:3)(Rev 12:6). For this reason, the “he who now restrains” is commonly understood to be either the Holy Spirit or the body of the Church where the Holy Spirit dwells. At some point in God’s plan to judge the world, the Spirit will be removed, following the pattern of Sodom and Gomorrah where the righteous were removed, so that judgment of the world can be completed. The promises relating to the Spirit make it impossible to remove the Spirit without also removing believers who have been sealed by the Spirit. In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13), it is the five who were ready, who have oil (the Spirit), who leave with the bridegroom when he appeared. Those without oil (the Spirit) remain despite their plea to, “Open the door for us!” (Matt 15:11).
Mid-Tribulation Resurrection: The 11th chapter in the Book of Revelations contains many elements of the resurrection found elsewhere in scripture. Central to the 11th chapter are the two witnesses, who prophesy “for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth,” (Rev 11:3). This time period appears to mark the first half of the seven year covenant foretold by Daniel (Dan 9:27) and will fulfill the words of Jesus, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things,” (Matt 17:11). As in the first coming of Jesus, many will not heed the words of Elijah and in the over the last 42 months (Dan 12:11), the holy city will be trampled upon by the Gentiles (Rev 11:2)(Dan 9:27). The first 42 months and the last 42 months are separated a significant event, the death and resurrection of the two witnesses. The resurrection of the two witnesses contains a number of elements that are also associated with the larger resurrection of the saints.
The Loud Call and The Trumpet Blast:
“Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed…Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign for ever and ever.’” (Rev 11:12-15).
The resurrection of the two witnesses is accompanied by “a loud voice from heaven” and the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet, reminding us of Paul’s resurrection account, “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God,” (1 Thes 4:16). Although some believers hold to an earlier resurrection, Paul’s statement that, “the dead in Christ will rise first,” would seem to preclude a resurrection prior to the two witnesses.
The loud voice from heaven is heard to say, “Come up here.” At the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus “called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:43). People have speculated that Jesus used the name of Lazarus to preclude a broader resurrection. Jesus told his disciples, “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,” (John 5:28-29). All people will hear the voice of Jesus, but those who hear the voice of Jesus in this life will live, (John 5:25). In scripture, when Jesus calls out to an individual, “Come,” they are compelled to respond, (Matt 4:19-20)(Matt 14:28-29).
The voice from heaven is immediately followed by a trumpet blast (Rev 11:15), which is the seventh and “last trumpet,” identified by Paul as the trumpet of the resurrection, (1 Cor 15:52). The two witnesses are gathered into “the cloud,” just as all the saints “will be caught up together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thess 4:17). Coming in the clouds is a consistent theme throughout scripture (Dan 7:13)(Matt 24:30)(Mark 13:26-27)(Matt 26:64).
Earthquakes: Two earthquakes are associated with the resurrection of the witnesses in the 13th and 19th verses of the 11th chapter. Earthquakes in scripture are associated with the arriving and departing of the Lord, as the Psalmist has written, “The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Sinai itself at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” (Psa 68:8). Sinai was said to shake at the LORD’s descending, (Heb 12:26). The great earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Zech 14:5), is associated in Hebraic tradition with Ezekiel’s vision of the LORD leaving the temple, (Ezek 10:1-22). The earth shook at the time of the crucifixion (Matt 27:54), when the tomb was opened, and when Christ first ascended to the father, (Matt 28:2)(John 20:17). We would expect the return of Jesus to be accompanied by one of more earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude, “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’” (Heb 12:26)(Zech 14:4).
The Elements of the Fall Feasts: Believers who view scripture from a Hebraic perspective generally hold that the return of Christ will occur during the fall Feasts of Trumpets (Rosh HaShannah), The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Tabernacles (Sukkot). In the 11th chapter of the Book of Revelations, we are given a number of evidences to demonstrate that these events occur during the time of the fall Feasts. The blowing of the seventh trumpet would be appropriate on the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, the Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year (the first day of Tishrei), the date when the kings of Israel were crowned. Immediately following the seventh trumpet, loud voices in heaven proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15). At this time, “You (Jesus) have taken your great power and have begun to reign,” (Rev 11:17).
The ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are referred to as “The Days of Awe,” a time when heaven is open to receive the repentant prayers of the saints. On the Day of Atonement, the books are closed and the judgment of God is rendered. John records “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant,” (Rev 11:19). John’s words indicate the time of year and tell us that even during these future days of tribulation, God will remain open to the repentant prayers of the nations prior to rendering judgment. How do the nations respond? “The nations were angry,” (Rev 11:18), so God will judge the nations “destroying those who destroy the earth…And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm,” (Rev 11:18-19).
The Day of Atonement is the time for “judging the dead, and for rewarding your servant the prophets and your saints and those who reverence you name both small and great,” (Rev 11:18). Believers often forget that there is a time for judging and rewarding the saints. As Peter warned believers, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet 4:17). After this judgment, we will enter into the eternal rest of God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts believers to, “make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience,” (Heb 4:11).
The Mystery of God Will be Accomplished: When Jesus is revealed to the world, “in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets,” (Rev 10:7). Scripture contains a number of mysteries, but “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and shares together in the promise in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 3:6). The removal of the believing Church results in the removal of the Holy Spirit, which now holds back the secret power of the lawless one, (2 Thess 2:8). The Spirit’s removal allows Satan to display “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders (to deceive) those who are perishing,” (2 Thess 2:9-10), and the LORD to pour out His judgments.
From this point forward, the Book of Revelations focuses on the final plagues of the great tribulation and the redemption of the nation of Israel, who is depicted as “a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head,” (Rev 12:1). The two earthquakes in the 11th chapter are followed by the flight of the woman (Israel) into the desert (Rev 12:8). The flight of the woman may fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah,
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zech 14:4-5)
The LORD will deliver and protect the nation of Israel in the wilderness from the increasingly devastating plagues that will come upon the earth and the persecution of the Dragon who has fallen from heaven, (Rev 12:6-9). Beginning with the third plague on Egypt, the magicians of Egypt were unable to reproduce miracles concluding, “This is the finger of God,” (Ex 8:19). Beginning with the forth plague, the LORD made “a distinction between my people (Israel) and your people (Egypt)” (Ex 8:23), so that Israel was protected in Goshen. This pattern will be repeated in Revelations. After the resurrection of the saints, during the 42 months of the anti-Christ, the LORD will providentially protect and provide for the remnant of His people in the wilderness over “1260 days” (Rev 12:6), the last three and one-half years of the final tribulation.
Pre-Tribulation Resurrection: There are three traditional positions relating to the resurrection of the saints during this seven year (one week) covenant and I will do great injustice to all three in my brief description. The first school of thought, often referred to as the “pre-tribulation rapture,” holds that believers will be resurrected at the beginning of the seven year period. Believers will remain with Christ and then return with Him to earth at the end of the tribulation period. The pattern for this event is the one week biblical weddings typified by Jacob. In this way, believers will be kept from “the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world,” (Rev 3:10), fulfilling the many similar promises given in scripture, (1 Thes 1:10).
The belief in an early resurrection is attractive because believers will not have to experience any of the judgments in the Book of Revelations. However, the “hour” referred to in the third chapter should be seen as the “the hour of his (God) judgment” (Rev 14:7), the same “one hour” that the ten kings receive their authority to reign with the beast, (Rev 17:12). This hour occurs during the last three and one-half years when the seven bowls of judgment are poured out on the earth. The many promises in scripture to protect believers do not require that believers be removed from the earth. During the days when the LORD poured out His ten plagues on Egypt, He did not remove Israel from the land, but providentially protected them in Goshen. It is not before the coming tribulation, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days…He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEYWILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other,” (Matt 24:29-31).
Post Tribulation Resurrection: Another school of thought, often referred to as the “post tribulation rapture,” holds that believers are destined to endure the tribulations in the Book of Revelations and will be resurrected at the end of these tribulations, (Matt 24:24-31). During the last half of the seven year covenant period, the Beast is given authority to rule over the earth, (Rev 13:5). This final forty-two month period is referred to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), who will be given power to “trample on the holy city for 42 months,” (Rev 11:2). The leader of the Gentile nations, the Beast (anti-Christ), will be “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them,” (Rev 13:7)(Dan 7:21) “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God,” (2 Thes 2:4).
Many saints who refuse to worship the Beast will be persecuted and killed by the sword. “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them,’” (Rev 14:12-13)(Rev 13:10). As I understand, the Church of Christ holds that the majority of tribulations written about in the gospel accounts, the epistles and the Book of Revelations, have already occurred. However, if they have occurred, who were the two witnesses of Revelations (11th chapter) and why did the resurrection and judgment not immediately follow the tribulation?
The martyring of many saints would seem to run contrary to the promises to keep the saints from “the hour of testing,” (Rev 3:10). Further, Paul tells us that “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed,” (2 Thes 2:7-8). In scripture, it is God who protects and delivers the saints from the “evil one,” (John 17:11)(2 Thes 3:3)(Rev 12:6). For this reason, the “he who now restrains” is commonly understood to be either the Holy Spirit or the body of the Church where the Holy Spirit dwells. At some point in God’s plan to judge the world, the Spirit will be removed, following the pattern of Sodom and Gomorrah where the righteous were removed, so that judgment of the world can be completed. The promises relating to the Spirit make it impossible to remove the Spirit without also removing believers who have been sealed by the Spirit. In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13), it is the five who were ready, who have oil (the Spirit), who leave with the bridegroom when he appeared. Those without oil (the Spirit) remain despite their plea to, “Open the door for us!” (Matt 15:11).
Mid-Tribulation Resurrection: The 11th chapter in the Book of Revelations contains many elements of the resurrection found elsewhere in scripture. Central to the 11th chapter are the two witnesses, who prophesy “for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth,” (Rev 11:3). This time period appears to mark the first half of the seven year covenant foretold by Daniel (Dan 9:27) and will fulfill the words of Jesus, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things,” (Matt 17:11). As in the first coming of Jesus, many will not heed the words of Elijah and in the over the last 42 months (Dan 12:11), the holy city will be trampled upon by the Gentiles (Rev 11:2)(Dan 9:27). The first 42 months and the last 42 months are separated a significant event, the death and resurrection of the two witnesses. The resurrection of the two witnesses contains a number of elements that are also associated with the larger resurrection of the saints.
The Loud Call and The Trumpet Blast:
“Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed…Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign for ever and ever.’” (Rev 11:12-15).
The resurrection of the two witnesses is accompanied by “a loud voice from heaven” and the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet, reminding us of Paul’s resurrection account, “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God,” (1 Thes 4:16). Although some believers hold to an earlier resurrection, Paul’s statement that, “the dead in Christ will rise first,” would seem to preclude a resurrection prior to the two witnesses.
The loud voice from heaven is heard to say, “Come up here.” At the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus “called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:43). People have speculated that Jesus used the name of Lazarus to preclude a broader resurrection. Jesus told his disciples, “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,” (John 5:28-29). All people will hear the voice of Jesus, but those who hear the voice of Jesus in this life will live, (John 5:25). In scripture, when Jesus calls out to an individual, “Come,” they are compelled to respond, (Matt 4:19-20)(Matt 14:28-29).
The voice from heaven is immediately followed by a trumpet blast (Rev 11:15), which is the seventh and “last trumpet,” identified by Paul as the trumpet of the resurrection, (1 Cor 15:52). The two witnesses are gathered into “the cloud,” just as all the saints “will be caught up together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thess 4:17). Coming in the clouds is a consistent theme throughout scripture (Dan 7:13)(Matt 24:30)(Mark 13:26-27)(Matt 26:64).
Earthquakes: Two earthquakes are associated with the resurrection of the witnesses in the 13th and 19th verses of the 11th chapter. Earthquakes in scripture are associated with the arriving and departing of the Lord, as the Psalmist has written, “The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Sinai itself at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” (Psa 68:8). Sinai was said to shake at the LORD’s descending, (Heb 12:26). The great earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Zech 14:5), is associated in Hebraic tradition with Ezekiel’s vision of the LORD leaving the temple, (Ezek 10:1-22). The earth shook at the time of the crucifixion (Matt 27:54), when the tomb was opened, and when Christ first ascended to the father, (Matt 28:2)(John 20:17). We would expect the return of Jesus to be accompanied by one of more earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude, “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’” (Heb 12:26)(Zech 14:4).
The Elements of the Fall Feasts: Believers who view scripture from a Hebraic perspective generally hold that the return of Christ will occur during the fall Feasts of Trumpets (Rosh HaShannah), The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Tabernacles (Sukkot). In the 11th chapter of the Book of Revelations, we are given a number of evidences to demonstrate that these events occur during the time of the fall Feasts. The blowing of the seventh trumpet would be appropriate on the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, the Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year (the first day of Tishrei), the date when the kings of Israel were crowned. Immediately following the seventh trumpet, loud voices in heaven proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15). At this time, “You (Jesus) have taken your great power and have begun to reign,” (Rev 11:17).
The ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are referred to as “The Days of Awe,” a time when heaven is open to receive the repentant prayers of the saints. On the Day of Atonement, the books are closed and the judgment of God is rendered. John records “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant,” (Rev 11:19). John’s words indicate the time of year and tell us that even during these future days of tribulation, God will remain open to the repentant prayers of the nations prior to rendering judgment. How do the nations respond? “The nations were angry,” (Rev 11:18), so God will judge the nations “destroying those who destroy the earth…And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm,” (Rev 11:18-19).
The Day of Atonement is the time for “judging the dead, and for rewarding your servant the prophets and your saints and those who reverence you name both small and great,” (Rev 11:18). Believers often forget that there is a time for judging and rewarding the saints. As Peter warned believers, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet 4:17). After this judgment, we will enter into the eternal rest of God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts believers to, “make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience,” (Heb 4:11).
The Mystery of God Will be Accomplished: When Jesus is revealed to the world, “in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets,” (Rev 10:7). Scripture contains a number of mysteries, but “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and shares together in the promise in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 3:6). The removal of the believing Church results in the removal of the Holy Spirit, which now holds back the secret power of the lawless one, (2 Thess 2:8). The Spirit’s removal allows Satan to display “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders (to deceive) those who are perishing,” (2 Thess 2:9-10), and the LORD to pour out His judgments.
From this point forward, the Book of Revelations focuses on the final plagues of the great tribulation and the redemption of the nation of Israel, who is depicted as “a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head,” (Rev 12:1). The two earthquakes in the 11th chapter are followed by the flight of the woman (Israel) into the desert (Rev 12:8). The flight of the woman may fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah,
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zech 14:4-5)
The LORD will deliver and protect the nation of Israel in the wilderness from the increasingly devastating plagues that will come upon the earth and the persecution of the Dragon who has fallen from heaven, (Rev 12:6-9). Beginning with the third plague on Egypt, the magicians of Egypt were unable to reproduce miracles concluding, “This is the finger of God,” (Ex 8:19). Beginning with the forth plague, the LORD made “a distinction between my people (Israel) and your people (Egypt)” (Ex 8:23), so that Israel was protected in Goshen. This pattern will be repeated in Revelations. After the resurrection of the saints, during the 42 months of the anti-Christ, the LORD will providentially protect and provide for the remnant of His people in the wilderness over “1260 days” (Rev 12:6), the last three and one-half years of the final tribulation.
Scott
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