What is the Location of the Second Coming?

The beloved passage from Isaiah 63 opens with a rhetorical question on the part of the prophet Isaiah, and playing the part of Israel he asks, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?", to which Yahweh then answers, "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." (Isaiah 63:1) There is little doubt that this represents the prophetic response of Christ, as the One who comes to save His people shortly later mentions "the day of vengeance" (Isaiah 63:4), a day which Christ explicitly reserves for His Second Advent, as signified by how He deliberately cut short of reading an identical Messianic clause while announcing His ministry in Nazareth (cf. Isaiah 61:1-2 to Luke 4:18-19). 

And so, we must ask, why does the book of Isaiah depict the warrior Christ in His Second Advent as coming from Bozrah, a city which was apparently the ancient capital of Edom? 

The Mount of Olives

We must begin with the most direct testimonies. Forty days after His resurrection, Christ ascended into the heaven, and Luke records what two messengers had said to the awe-stricken apostles:

Acts 1:9-12 And speaking these things, upon their watching He was lifted up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing into heaven upon His going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood by them. And they said "Men, Galilaians, why do you stand looking into the heaven? This Yahshua, who is taken up from you into the heaven, thusly shall He come in the manner which you have beheld Him going into the heaven." Then they returned into Jerusalem from the mountain called "of Olives", which is near to Jerusalem, [...]

It can be deduced, that the two white-clad messengers, speaking of the manner of Christ's ascension, were expressing that the return of Yahshua Christ would be in the exact same form as His departure, as there are many witnesses of His triumphant coming from heaven. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 19:11)

But once more, through the agreement of several witnesses, could it be possible that the messengers were also referring to the very course of Yahshua's departure, and not solely to its form? The word translated as manner in the CNT is τρόπος (#G5158), and in addition to the fashion of something, it can also refer to the course. 

Luke makes it clear that Christ had ascended to the heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), and we will read several prophecies indicating His arrival over that exact same place, either explicitly or implicitly, through which it will become evident that Yahshua's return has an identical fashion and course to His departure! He ascended from the Mount of Olives and into the heaven, and so will He descend from the heaven to land His feet on the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives, seldom referenced in the Old Testament, has an outstanding role in the prophecy of the Second Coming found in what is now the closing chapter of Zechariah, and the convenient mention of this typically obscure Mount provides a fundamental second witness to the testimony of Acts:

Zechariah 14:3-5 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle [a parallel to the conquest of Canaan]. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave 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 to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 

The context of this passage and its adjoining prophecies are certainly unfulfilled, as they concern Christ coming with His saints (14:3-5, cf. Jude 1:14, Revelation 19:14), the reign of Christ (14:9), the ultimate obedience of Israel (14:10, cf. Isaiah 45:23), the shaking of the nations (14:13, cf. Haggai 2:21, Ezekiel 38:21), the consecration of the gain (14:14, cf. Micah 4:13, Haggai 2:8), the extinction of the bastard races (14:21, cf. Obadiah 1:16, Isaiah 41:12), and more.

The array of ultimate visions confirms that Zechariah 14:3-5 concerns the Second Coming, and the significance of its description of Christ landing His feet on the Mount of Olives, and especially its poetic symmetry with the book of Acts, should not be dismissed as merely coincidental. The acute reader is full-aware that there are no arbitrary details in Scripture, and in that spirit, we should earnestly wonder why Yahshua Christ chose to give His most famous discourse on the times peripheral to His return on this very same mountain:

Matthew 24:3 Then with His sitting upon the Mount of Olives the students came forth to Him by themselves, saying: "Tell us, when shall these things be?" and "What is the sign of Your coming, and of the consummation of the age?" 

Matthew 24:30 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn and they shall see 'The Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and much effulgence!' 

There are so many places Christ could have given this eschatological discourse, and His sovereign choice to have described the circumstances of His return on the very Mount where He ascended, even that very hill which Zechariah sets His return, certainly appears to be a subtle nod to the substance of His testimony, and a magnification of its assurance. 

These are three convincing witnesses, but if we want to understand the matter most thoroughly, and prove all things, it is imperative to understand that the Mount of Olives was located outside of the ancient city of Jerusalem, as Luke demonstrated where he wrote, "Then they returned into Jerusalem from the mountain called "of Olives", which is near to Jerusalem" (Acts 1:12) The evangelist Luke wasn't explicit on just how close the Mount was to Jerusalem, but Mark was, where he wrote for his Latin audience unfamiliar with Judaean geography, "the Mount of Olives opposite the temple" (Mark 13:3). 

For all intents and purposes today, the Mount of Olives is in Jerusalem, especially considering that the city's borders have since expanded over the course of nearly twenty centuries, and this unlocks the substance of several other prophecies concerning Christ's return.

Bozrah

Those of us in Christian Identity are soberly aware that the city of Jerusalem today is not inhabited by Judahites, or even Israelites, but by the accursed Edomite-jews, the devils who returned in 1948 to rebuild the desolate places (Malachi 1:4). While the claim is not internationally recognized, the Israeli border of wickedness certainly does consider Jerusalem to be its capital, something which the supposed country passed into law on July 30th 1980. It is a fair designation, since Jerusalem is the center of the civic and religious life of that fraudulent state.

Following this train of thought: if Jerusalem is the most logical candidate for the modern capital of Edom, and if Bozrah was supposedly the ancient capital of Edom, then it is reasonable to conclude that in the far-visions of prophecy, Bozrah must be synonymous with Jerusalem. Something more decisive than this, is if certain writings indicate that Christ comes down on the Mount of Olives, which is in Jerusalem, a writing cannot be broken, and then if other writings depict Christ as coming down upon Bozrah, another writing which can also not be broken, then Jerusalem and Bozrah must represent the same place, whenever such prophecies describe an identical fulfillment. Otherwise, the writings are in contention with one another, but we know that this cannot be the case, and so we must follow the interpretation which easily brings them into harmony. It can be seen then, that the identification of Bozrah as Jerusalem has a rational component, given that Jerusalem is the modern capital of Edom, and it also has a prophetic component, since the Mount of Olives is in Jerusalem. 

Having identified Bozrah, we must now thoroughly establish its relevance within the picture of the Second Coming. We will begin by returning to Isaiah 63, but examining the passage in full: 

Isaiah 63:1-6 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. [Luke 1:71] Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; [Revelation 19:15] and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment [Revelation 19:13]. For the day of vengeance [Isaiah 61:2] is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. 

It should again be emphasized that this "day of vengeance", is a day which Christ explicitly reserves for His Second Advent, as signified by how He deliberately cut short of reading an identical clause while announcing His ministry in Nazareth (cf. Isaiah 61:1-2 to Luke 4:18-19). The fact that Christ returns with vengeance is evident from His own words in the Gospel, where He gave the parable of the persistent widow. (Luke 18:7-8)

The violent trampling of the winepress described in Isaiah 63 is parallel to other prophecies of the Second Coming, perhaps most notably in the Revelation, which even describes the anger. It is written in Revelation 19:15 that Christ will "trample the vat of the wine of the wrath of the anger of Yahweh Almighty", and then in Isaiah 63:3, Christ is depicted as saying "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury" The "stained raiment" is also alluded to, where it stays that Christ is "cloaked with a garment dipped in blood" (Revelation 19:13)

This should be sufficient to demonstrate that Isaiah 63:1-6 describes the Second Coming. Christ's initial response in the passage, where He says "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save", is even representative of the meaning of His name, which can be interpreted as Yahweh saves. In His first Advent, Yahshua Christ saved His people from their errors (Matthew 1:21), and in His Second He will save them from their enemies. (Luke 1:71)

This prophecy of Bozrah has a direct parallel earlier in the book of Isaiah, which we must now turn to:

Isaiah 34:2-8 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations [Zechariah 14:3], and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases [Ezekiel 39:11], and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: [Revelation 19:11] and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD [Isaiah 27:1] is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice [Ezekiel 39:17] in Bozrah, and a great slaughter [Revelation 19:17] in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns [oxen] shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood [Isaiah 63:6], and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. 

It begins with the same pursuit, because where it reads that Yahweh's indignation is "upon all nations" (Isaiah 34:2), this is parallel to what we read in Zechariah, of Christ coming down on the Mount of Olives, where it is written, "Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." (Zechariah 14:3) As for the rolling of the heavens as a scroll, this is certainly parallel to the "heaven having been opened" in the description of the Second Coming in the Revelation, and the heavens dividing or bowing is a recurring signal of the Second Coming throughout several other relevant prophecies, such as Isaiah 64:1, Psalm 18:9, and Psalm 144:5. 

The land of Edom being "soaked with blood" (Isaiah 34:7) was described in the parallel vision, where it said that Christ will "bring their down their strength to the earth" (Isaiah 63:6), as the word translated as strength in that instance is actually nêtsach (#H5332), referring to a brilliant color, contextually in that passage of the trodden grapes, and therefore blood. It could read then, that Christ will "bring their down their blood to the earth", and that is precisely how the soil of Edom becomes soaked here.

Interestingly, the sword being "bathed in heaven" and then "coming down on Idumea" can be interpreted as merging together a full witness of the testimony of the two messengers, as recorded in the book of Acts. The sword being bathed in heaven would correspond to the form of Yahshua's return, which is from heaven, and the sword coming on Idumea would correspond to the course, which is on route to the Mount of Olives from which He ascended. 

This allegorical sword actually plays a significant role in the prophets, such as in the Song of Moses, as it reads in the Septuagint:

Deuteronomy 32:41-43 (LXX) For I will sharpen my sword [Isaiah 34:5] like lightning [Matthew 24:27], and my hand shall take hold of judgment [Revelation 19:11]; and I will render judgment to my enemies [Isaiah 34:2], and will recompense them that hate me [Luke 1:71]. I will make my weapons drunk with blood [Isaiah 34:6], and my sword shall devour flesh, it shall glut itself with the blood of the wounded, and from the captivity of the heads of their enemies that rule over them. Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; [...]

Paul of Tarsus confirms this prophecy to be speaking of Christ (Hebrews 1:6), and after all, the Song of Moses' ultimate purpose is to be sung at the end of the age, as a witness to the fulfillment of Yahweh God's ancient warnings of punishment and promises of mercy. We should expect, then, to see the ultimate redemption of Israel in its testimony. (Many steps of Scripture's End-Times sequence of events can be found in the Song of Moses) 

The sword of the Second Coming also appears elsewhere in the prophets, notably at Isaiah 27:1, which we will discuss later, as that prophecy is implicitly depicted as taking place in Edom. 

The compounding of this sword coming down on Bozrah (Isaiah 34), with the day of vengeance taking place in Bozrah (Isaiah 63), together demonstrate the setting for the Second Coming. Furthermore, the description of the sacrifice in Bozrah (Isaiah 34:6), is parallel to descriptions of the Wedding Supper in prophecies such as Ezekiel 39:17-19. 

We will now read one other prophecy concerning Bozrah, found in the prophet Jeremiah. It is quite lengthy, but we will read its entirety in order to demonstrate how it shares much verbatim language with the prophet Obadiah, which certainly has relevance for the time of the end:

Jeremiah 49:7-18 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? [Obadiah 1:8] Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. [Obadiah 1:5] But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, [Obadiah 1:6] and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. [Obadiah 1:1] For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. [Obadiah 1:2] Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD. [Obadiah 1:3-4] Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. 

These parallels with the book of Obadiah are largely verbatim, and certainly establish a far vision for this oracle against Edom, for reason that much of the prophet Obadiah is unfulfilled, for example, the Edomites along with the other bastard races have not yet been made extinct. With an ultimate fulfillment at the end of the age thus demanded, the conclusion of this oracle against Edom in Jeremiah 49 becomes an immediately familiar description of the Second Coming of the Christ:

Jeremiah 49:19-22 Behold, he [Christ] shall come up like a lion [Revelation 5:5] from the swelling of Jordan [Hebrews 4:8] against the habitation of the strong [Psalm 60:9]: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man [Matthew 12:18], that I may appoint over her? [Hebrews 1:2] for who is like me? [Hebrews 1:3] and who will appoint me the time? [1 Corinthians 15:24] and who is that shepherd [Revelation 19:15] that will stand before me? Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings [Malachi 4:2] over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 

The description of Christ, the lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), coming from "the swelling of Jordan" is perhaps a poetic mirror with Joshua the son of Nun, who crossed the Jordan to begin the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 3). As Paul of Tarsus illustrated in his epistle to the Hebrews, the rest which Joshua was unable to fulfill will be achieved in Christ:

Deuteronomy 12:10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; 

Hebrews 4:8-9 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken concerning another [Christ] after that day. So a period of rest remains for the people of Yahweh. 

Indeed, the children of Israel will only have rest once the bastard races are brought to extinction, as the book of Deuteronomy, along with Paul of Tarsus, together demonstrate, and Yahshua Christ will bring this rest to His people, when He comes as a Warrior King. He will be the "lion" coming "from the swelling of the Jordan" that succeeds where the children of Israel failed, for as it says in Numbers concerning the original conquest of Canaan which was unsuccessful, "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." (Numbers 23:24) 

In those days, the first Joshua did not give the children of Israel rest, but the second Joshua, the lion of the tribe of Judah, certainly will, and there is a good reason why the book of Joshua, the sole book the Bible which bears the name of Christ (Yahshua = Joshua), is one which largely concerns war and conquest. As Yahweh said concerning Joshua, "My name is in him" (Exodus 23:21)

Having taken that short digression to note the prophetic mirrors, as the passage in Jeremiah 49 continues, it only becomes increasingly clear that it concerns Yahshua Christ in its far vision, as it rhetorically asks questions such as, "who is a chosen man that is appointed over her?", and "who is like Yahweh?", and "who is the Shepherd who will stand before Yahweh?" Throughout the New Testament we find the answers to all of these questions: it is Yahshua Christ and none else! 

Therefore, with the oracle against Edom in Jeremiah 49 being parallel to the book of Obadiah, which is largely unfulfilled, and with its conclusion describing the Second Coming of the Christ, we should note that there is yet another witness of Him descending upon Bozrah, for it says "Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah" (Jeremiah 49:22). 

The spreading of wings is parallel to a prophecy of the Second Coming and Wedding Supper in the book of Malachi:

Malachi 4:2-3 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings [Second Coming]; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. [Wedding Supper]

And so we see that Christ comes with healing in His wings for His people Israel, but an overshadowing of destruction for Edom, and the parallel vision of both the Second Coming and Wedding Supper in Malachi, yet again establishes that Jeremiah 49:7-22 has a far vision. 

It would be redundant to explore the passage in this presentation, but Jeremiah 50:44-46 is mostly verbatim with the prophecy of the Second Coming at Jeremiah 49:19-21. There is a reason for this, as Jeremiah 49:7-22 concerns Edom and Jeremiah 50 in its entirety concerns Babylon, but many prophecies against Babylon are also relevant to Edom in their far visions, as Edom is the daughter of Babylon (Psalm 137:7-8, Jeremiah 50:42). For that reason, the judgement against the Chaldeans of Babylon in Habakkuk 3, features what could be considered one of Scripture's most striking visions of the Second Coming.

And so, in accordance with the law of two or three witnesses, we have seen three prophecies which describe Christ as descending upon or coming from Bozrah (Isaiah 34:6, 63:1, Jeremiah 49:22).

Seir / Edom

We have demonstrated three undeniable witnesses of the Second Coming's prophetic connection with Bozrah, which can rationally be presumed to represent the desolate and devil inhabited city of Jerusalem today, thus compounding with Christ's return to the Mount of Olives, as described in Zechariah 14:4, and alluded to in the book of Acts. The city of Jerusalem is itself situated within the border of wickedness, as the Edomite-jews have colonized the land of Palestine, in fulfillment of the prophet Malachi:

Malachi 1:4-5  Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. 

Therefore, just as Bozrah must represent Jerusalem in the far-visions of prophecy, so must the land of Edom represent the fraudulent state of Israel. In fact, the identity theft attempted by the Edomite-jews in naming their country Israel, is foreshadowed in the fact that the "border of wickedness" established by Edom is apparently also "the border of Israel", and so Yahweh God foretold that the Edomites would settle the desolate land of Palestine and name the country "Israel", roughly 2,400 years before it happened! 

Furthermore, the prophecy of Yahweh "throwing down" this border of wickedness is again prophetic of Yahshua Christ descending on Bozrah with fury.

With Bozrah being the capital of the border of wickedness, called "Israel", we must understand any far-vision of the land of Edom to represent that so-called country, and this means that any far-vision prophecy of Christ rising up from Edom can be understood to be parallel to the testimonies concerning Bozrah (Jerusalem), and the Mount of Olives (in Jerusalem). We will begin by turning our pages to a prayer of Moses, in which he reflected on their incredible journeys:

Deuteronomy 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: [Jude 1:14, Revelation 19:14], from his right hand [prophetic of Christ - the right hand of Yahweh, Psalm 110:5, 118:16] went a fiery law for them. 

Seir represents the country of Edom (Genesis 32:3, 36:8). As for Paran, it can also be connected with Esau through the Horites and Ishmaelites. It is apparent in Genesis 14 that the Horites/Hivites (Hurrians of secular archaeology) dwelled as far as Paran in the time of Abraham (Genesis 14:6), and that the Horites later mingled with Esau's descendants (Genesis 36:21, 29). Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, had also dwelled in the wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:21), and Esau took an Ishamelite wife (Genesis 28:9). With Horite and Ishmaelite blood flowing through Edomite veins, it could be said that shining forth from mount Paran is a worthy parallelism to Yahweh rising up from Seir. 

The words of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 33:2, are retrospective of the journeys of Israel after the exodus out of Egypt, but a far vision of his prayer is also perfectly evident in the fact that its language is echoed throughout other prophets besides Moses (Judges 5:2-5, Habakkuk 3:2-3), and even in the Revelation of Yahshua Christ, the last prophet. 

The description of Yahweh coming with His saints requires little elaboration and is a clear parallel to the Second Coming of Christ, who is often depicted as the "right hand of Yahweh", as so in this passage of Deuteronomy (Psalm 110:1, 118:16). We could argue that the "fiery law" has an ultimate fulfillment in Christ leading His people into obedience with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5, Ezekiel 20:34, 37), because while fire often represents violence, it can also be interpreted in certain contexts to represent fierceness or fury. Where it says that Yahweh "rose up" from Seir, the word is zârach (#H2224), which is most often used in regards to the sunrise, and thus it is also equivalent again with the Second Coming of Christ, the sun rising with healing in His wings. (Malachi 4:2, Hosea 6:3, Luke 1:78, Psalm 90:13-14, 143:8-9, 2 Peter 1:19, Ephesians 5:14, et al)

Indeed, Moses was a prophet. (Deuteronomy 34:10)

Judges 5:2-5 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted from before the LORD [a common description, but still reminiscent of Isaiah 34:3], even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. 

This is the song of Deborah and Barak, and it mirrors the prayer of Moses where it says "LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom" (Judges 5:4). There are prophetic types for the Second Coming and the Wedding Supper throughout this song, and because this is not a commentary on the book of Judges, it should suffice to say that the "avenging of Israel" (Judges 5:2) is parallel to that "day of vengeance" in Bozrah (Isaiah 34:8, 63:4), as signified through the fact that Yahweh is depicted in the song as "marching out of the field of Edom". These are three explicit witnesses now of the day of vengeance transpiring in Edom. 

Where Deborah and Barak sing that the "people willingly offered themselves", this is prophetic of Israel the bride being made ready for the Wedding Supper war, (Psalm 110:3, Revelation 19:7)

Indeed, Deborah was a prophetess. (Judges 4:4)

Habakkuk 3:2-4 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy (Luke 1:72-74). God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns [rays] coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 

This is another prophetic song, a Shigionoth of the prophet Habakkuk (3:1), which is said to mean “a wild passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm”. The song is certainly filled with passionate zeal, as it is arguably one of the most vivid Second Coming prophecies found in Scripture, and here it opens with language that again mirrors the prayer of Moses, where it says "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran" (Habakkuk 3:3), echoing "The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran" (Deuteronomy 33:2) Where it says in Habakkuk that "his brightness was as the light" (Habakkuk 3:4), this is compounded with the shining forth described in the prayer of Moses, both signifying the sun (Christ) rising, and we should remember that the sun rises from the east.

There are several far-visions in the song of Habakkuk, and they are completely unfulfilled. There is no doubt that the song concerns Christ. For instance, where Habakkuk rhetorically asks, "Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?" (Habakkuk 3:8), the rivers and sea are representative of the bastard races (Revelation 12:15, 17:15) being destroyed by Christ and His army in the Wedding Supper war (Isaiah 59:19, Psalm 93:3-5), and the horses and chariots of salvation are a reference to Christ's army of saints (Revelation 19:14, Isaiah 66:15). After the bastard races are brought to extinction by Christ and His army in the Wedding Supper war, we read in Revelation that "the sea is no longer" (Revelation 21:1).

A significant parallel to the song of Deborah and Barak can also be identified in Habakkuk 3, and the compounding brings to light once more that the prophetic setting of the Shigionoth is in Edom: 

Habakkuk 3:12-13 Thou didst march (#H6805) through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed (saints); thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 

The word for march is tsâ‛ad (#H6805), and it was also used in the book of Judges:

Judges 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst (#H6805) out of the field of Edom, [...]

Some last points before we move on: the threshing of the nations described in Habakkuk 3:12 is of course the harvest of the tares at the end of the age, and is not yet fulfilled (Matthew 13:40, Luke 3:17, Isaiah 41:14-16, Micah 4:13, et al), and where it says that Yahweh "went forth for the salvation of thy people" (Habakkuk 3:13), this is descriptive of Christ going forth from heaven (Revelation 19:11) to deliver His people from the hands of their enemies, as He Himself has promised to do (Luke 18:7), and the name Yahshua means Yahweh is salvation.

There is much more that could be said, but we pray this is sufficient enough to demonstrate how the testimonies of Moses, Deborah & Barak, and Habakkuk, all possess far visions that can be directly compounded with the Second Coming of the Christ. The constant depictions of Christ coming from the land of Edom, must be compared with the depictions of the sword coming down on Bozrah, and the feet coming down upon the Mount of Olives. These three prophetic signals being weaved together into one consistent message become a single testimony which we must embrace (#H2265).

While it is not necessary to prove the course of Yahshua's return, for the sake of further demonstrating the thoroughness of these interpretations, we will provide one last set of witnesses which are potentially meatier in matter, as compared to the milk of what has already been presented:

The Strong City 

If Christ descends on Bozrah and then afterwards gathers His people to Himself from the four winds, this would mean that the people are being gathered to Palestine. This is the conclusion that must be made if the writings are not to be broken, and the conclusion itself has several witnesses throughout the prophets:

Psalm 60:9-12 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies? [Isaiah 26:18] Give us help from trouble [Isaiah 26:16]: for vain is the help of man. [Psalm 118:8-9] Through God we shall do valiantly: [Psalm 118:15-16] for he it is that shall tread down our enemies. [Isaiah 26:21]

In the 60th Psalm [near identical also to Psalm 108], we see Edom being referred to as a "strong city", which is similar to what we read from the prophecy of Bozrah in Jeremiah, where it said "Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong" (Jeremiah 49:19). 

This description of Edom as a "strong city" is more common than we might think, as long as we follow the trail of clues, and Psalm 60 provides the first few footprints. The fact that the people are crying for help in a time of trouble, and confessing that their arm is utterly weak without God (Psalm 60:11), is the same pattern in Isaiah, where we read of distress, "LORD, in trouble have they visited thee" (Isaiah 26:16), and then confession of futility, "we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen." (Isaiah 26:18).

While such circumstances are common throughout the history of our race, the far vision of Isaiah is absolutely conspicuous, as Yahweh responds with an announcement of the resurrection, and what follows are several other unfulfilled prophecies:

Isaiah 26:18-21 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. [1 Thessalonians 4:16] Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. [Isaiah 4:2-6] For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: [Jude 1:14-15] the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword [Isaiah 34:5] shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon [Edom] that is in the sea. [...] 27:10-11 Yet the defenced city [Psalm 60:9] shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed [Malachi 4:2], and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches [Malachi 4:1] thereof. When the boughs thereof are withered [Revelation 14:15], they shall be broken off: the women come, [Matthew 25:10] and set them on fire: [Obadiah 1:18] for it is a people of no understanding: [Obadiah 1:8] therefore he that made them [Romans 9:22] will not have mercy [Romans 9:15] on them, and he that formed them [Romans 9:21] will shew them no favour. [Romans 9:16]

The resurrection is self-explanatory, and so is the description of Christ coming to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, which is similar to Jude's quotation of 1 Enoch (Jude 1:14-15). The passage then continues, and the sword which comes down upon Bozrah in Isaiah 34:5 makes another appearance, this time descending upon the dragon, which much conveys the same thing, as the dragon chiefly represents the Edomite-jews in Scripture (Malachi 1:3, cf. Revelation 12:3 to Matthew 2:13). The aftermath of this battle with the dragon, is that the "defensed city" is left desolate, which contextually must be the "strong city" of Edom, given that the dragon is representative of that entity, and also given that this is a clear prophecy of the Second Coming. 

With these things in mind, it could be interpreted that the portion where it says, "for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour", was an inspiration for Paul of Tarsus' discourse on the Edomite vessels of destruction, in what is now the ninth chapter of his epistle to the Romans. There, much as it is described in Isaiah 27, Paul explains that the Edomites were clay formed out of the womb of Rebecca to be fitted for destruction, and that they will not receive mercy. We recommend the relevant Christogenea commentary written by our friend William Finck, for those who wish to study this subject further.

Reading further in Isaiah, after the "defensed city" (which is Bozrah, cf. Jeremiah 49:19, 22) is laid desolate (Jeremiah 49:13) by Christ, we read that women come and burn the branches. These women must represent the "wise virgins" of Israel invited to the Wedding Supper war (Matthew 25:10), arising and traveling to Edom for battle (Obadiah 1:1), and their burning of branches is the fulfillment of the prophet Obadiah, where it is written "And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it." (Obadiah 1:18) Of course, branches in prophecy often individual members of larger family tree races and nations, and in this case the tree would be the family tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Malachi 4:1) 

The women who come to burn the branches is followed by a Hebrew parallelism describing the same thing from a different angle, and it says "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come" (Isaiah 27:13). Yahshua Christ mentions this "great trumpet" in His Olivet Discourse, as it is recorded by Matthew, and we must again emphasize that Christ will send out His messengers to gather His people to Himself upon His return. As Matthew corresponds with Isaiah, the remnant of Israel being gathered to Christ with the great trumpet, must at-least in large part be parallel to the women coming to burn the branches:

Matthew 24:30-31 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn and they shall see 'The Son of Man coming [Isaiah 26:21] upon the clouds of heaven with power and much effulgence!' And He shall send His messengers with a great trumpet [Isaiah 27:13], and they shall gather together His elect from out of the four winds, from the ends of the heavens unto the extremities of them. 

Because Scripture uniformly testifies that Christ will return on the Mount of Olives, which is outside Jerusalem, symbolically Bozrah, then the modern land of Edom, the fraudulent state called "Israel", must be the very place where His people will be gathered to once He comes. This has been substantiated in the words of the 60th Psalm, where it is written "Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?" (Psalm 60:9), and then in Isaiah, where we just read, "the women come, and set them on fire" (Isaiah 27:11). It is also evident in several other prophecies, and perhaps most notably in Obadiah, which we have seen has parallels with Isaiah 27 and Jeremiah 49, and we read in its opening:

Obadiah 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador messenger is sent among the heathen nations, Arise ye [Micah 4:13], and let us rise up against her in battle. 

When Christ said that He will send out His messengers, it should not be interpreted as exclusively referring to angels, as anyone who bears a message becomes a messenger. The message is at least partially outlined in Obadiah, where the messenger says to the nations being gathered, "Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle" Through the harmony of several prophets, these gathered nations must represent the remnant of Israel being "led into the strong city", even the women coming to "burn the branches". It is important to remember that much of Obadiah is parallel or even verbatim to Jeremiah 49, which has a cross-reference to the "strong city" at Jeremiah 49:19.

To substantiate these things further, the fact that the children of Israel will be gathered to Christ partly for warfare is evident throughout the prophets, such as where it says in the 68th Psalm, "The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same." (Psalm 68:22-23. cf. Isaiah 11:12-14, Isaiah 41:5-15, et al) We should now know through an investigation of the writings, that the war begins in Edom.

We can conclude by saying, that even Christ Himself illustrated in His Gospel that He would come to conquer the strong city, in His parable of the strong man:

Luke 11:21-22 When the strong man [Psalm 60:9] being equipped should guard his court, his possessions are in peace. But when one stronger than him [Mark 1:7] coming [Isaiah 26:21] should conquer him [Isaiah 27:1], he takes from him the armor upon which he had trusted, and they distribute his spoils. [Isaiah 27:11. cf. Micah 4:13, Zechariah 14:14, Haggai 2:7-8, et al]

In Mark and Matthew, we read that Christ will "bind" the strong man (Mark 3:27), and our interpretation of Isaiah 27:1, where Christ with His sword descends on Bozrah to "punish leviathan the piercing serpent", is vindicated even further with the words of Yahweh recorded in the book of Job, where He says concerning leviathan, "wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him?" (Job 41:5-6) The binding of leviathan is the binding of the strong man, the maidens are the wise virgins who come to burn the branches, and the banquet is the Wedding Supper war. This again supports our interpretation of Isaiah 27:1 and 11.

We will expound on the parable of the strong man further in an upcoming installment of our Mark commentary, Yahweh willing.

Concluding Thoughts

We pray we have thoroughly established how the precise harmonization of these different prophecies make it undeniable that Christ will land His feet on the Mount of Olives, and execute His fierce vengeance against the Edomites, in the prelude to the Wedding Supper war. As Yahweh's words are recorded in the Septuagint of the 60th Psalm, "over Idumea will I stretch out my shoe" (Psalm 60:8 LXX)

It is west of Palestine, in Europe and North America, that the majority of the children of Israel live today, and so there is profound depth to the fact that Christ in His Second Coming is depicted as the rising sun (Malachi 4:2), and also in His own words that, "For just as lightning comes out from the east and appears so far as the west, thusly shall be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27, cf. Hosea 11:10, Isaiah 41:2, et al)

It will be an incredible moment and one worthy of remembrance throughout all ages, when the remnant of the children of Israel in the moment of their arrival see their God for the first time, marching out of the burning ruins of Jerusalem and drenched in the blood of His enemies. Perhaps the people will say, "who is this?", and Yahshua Christ will respond, "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." (Isaiah 63:1) 

Thank you for reading, and praise Yahweh the God of Israel, our Savior.