A Gap Between The Rapture And The 70th Week?

Q

My question is why you don’t write about the gap between the Rapture and the start of they 7 year Tribulation Period taking into consideration Psalm 83 and Obadiah, Verse 18? (maybe you have and I didn’t see it) I firmly believe that Israel will destroy the Arab countries surrounding Israel (perhaps before or shortly after the Rapture); therefore, why aren’t those same Arab nations mentioned in Psalm 83 mentioned in the Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and 39? They aren’t.

It appears that Israel will expand its borders upon destroying these Arab nations surrounding them, and in doing so, will gain security and have no walled villages. Geographically speaking, Israel today has no security and no unwalled villages. That is very obvious! Therefore, the Magog War won’t occur until later, and prior to the middle of the Tribulation.

Another point that I wish to comment on is that after the Magog War it will take Israel 7 years to burn the enemies weapons – and we know that 2/3 of Israelis will die and the 1/3 remnant will flee perhaps to the Red Rose city of Petra in Jordan. Therefore, it would appear that if Israel is going to burn their enemies weapons for 7 years, then it would have to be prior to the middle of the Tribulation Period. They have to be there in Israel to carry that burning of weapons out. Thus the gap would have to be at least 3 1/2 yrs and longer.

A

I don’t write about a gap between the Rapture and the beginning of the 70th week because it can’t be verified. We don’t know the date of either. You’re stating your opinions about how things will happen, which is OK, but they can’t be confirmed in Scripture. I do believe Israel’s neighbors will be neutralized before the Battle of Ezekiel 38 because nothing else explains their absence .

As for 2/3 of the Israelites dying and the remaining third fleeing to Petra, that’s an interpretation of Zechariah 13:8-9 I happen to disagree with. It says the Lord will bring the remaining third into the fire (Great Tribulation), but Rev. 12:14 says the believing remnant will flee to Petra to be protected from the fire. The rest of the Jews in Israel will stay put and they’re the ones who use the weapons for fuel.

In your scenario the whole country would be abandoned to the anti-Christ and his followers, Satan could capture the Promised land without a fight, and there would be no need for for the world to come to arms against Jerusalem.

My view of Zechariah 13:8-9 is that it was fulfilled in WW2 when 2/3 of the 9 million Jews in the world at the time were exterminated. The remaining third caused the re-birth of the nation in 1948 and they and their children will be refined in the soon coming Great Tribulation.