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Michael James Stone
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The Campaign of Armageddon pt 5 (final)
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THE EIGHTH STAGE: THE VICTORY ASCENT UP THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

After the actual fighting is completed, there will be a victory ascent up the Mount of Olives which is described in Zechariah 14:3-4a:
Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.

Since this passage is often used as evidence that the Second Coming will initially take place at the Mount of Olives, it needs to be studied more carefully, especially in light of the other passages.

Earlier in the same context, Zechariah 12:7 stated that Messiah will save the tents of Judah first prior to saving the Jews in Jerusalem. The meaning of this was detailed at the end of the sixth stage of this campaign. Other passages also showing His initial return to Bozrah with the fighting commencing in that place have been previously cited. In Zechariah 14, Jehovah is first seen as going forth to fight against the nations that had gathered against the Jews (v. 3). It is only after the fighting of verse three that His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives (v. 4).

Along with this victory ascent upon the Mount of Olives, a number of cataclysmic events will occur as the Great Tribulation comes to an end. These cataclysmic events will be a result of the seventh bowl judgment described in Revelation 16:17-21:

And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.

With the seventh bowl, a voice cries out, It is finished, because the seventh bowl brings the Tribulation to a definite end (v. 17). This declaration will be followed by convulsions of nature, including the greatest earthquake ever to occur in the history of the earth (v. 18). This will cause the City of Jerusalem to split into three divisions, while the city of Babylon will suffer the full wrath of God (v. 19). Many geographical changes will take place (v. 20) and hail will fall weighing 120 pounds (v. 21).

This earthquake that will shake Jerusalem is further described in Zechariah 14:4b-5:

And the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee.

Not only will Jerusalem be split into three divisions, but the Mount of Olives will be split into two parts, creating a valley running east and west. This newly formed valley will provide a way of escape for the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem from the earthquake that will destroy the city. In this way the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be rescued following the deliverance of the other Jews in Bozrah.

Another cataclysmic event that will take place at this time is the worldwide blackout, described in Matthew 24:29:

But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

The earthquake and the blackout of this time are also described in Joel 3:14-17: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge unto his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. With the multitudes defeated in the closing Day of Jehovah in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (v. 14), the blackout will occur (v. 15), as well as the great earthquake (v. 16a). But a refuge will be provided for the Jews from these cataclysmic events (vv. 16b-17) by means of the valley cutting through the Mount of Olives spoken of by Zechariah.

The Great Tribulation and the Campaign of Armageddon will come to an end with these cataclysmic events.

Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum

1 A more detailed study on the Campaign of Armageddon and other prophetic issues may be found in The Footsteps of the Messiah, by Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum. This book may be purchased through Ariel Ministries.

1 Following this chapter is a map that illustrates these eight stages.

2 All Scripture quotations are from the American Standard Version of 1901.

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