The Flight To Bozrah

The Flight to Mystery Bozrah and The Bozrah Exile

The Apostle John in the Book of Revelations tells us that in the latter days God's covenant people, the woman of Revelations 12, will be given the wings of a great eagle and she will fly off to a place of exile for 3 1/2 years. Here is the scripture passage.

1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
– Revelations 12

Now we come to the two scripture verses which form the crux of this article. It concerns the flight of the woman and the time period in which she is fed and nurtured. She will almost certainly be flying off to some remote place. It must be well separated and isolated from the main flows of international politics. In this place this woman of mystery is "fed" and "nurtured". We must assume this is nurturing in a spiritual as well as a physical sense.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 1/2 years).
– Revelations 12:6

The very same message is restated 8 verses later. But this time the Holy Spirit gives it to us in terms of different time units.

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent (3 1/2 years).
– Revelations 12:14

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of (possibly in) the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth (angry?) with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God (commandments of God?), and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
– Revelations 12:15-17

So here we have the great end time drama. An epic persecution is being instigated by Satan. The woman we see showcased throughout Holy Scripture, Are the covenant people of the God of Israel. They are entering into the Great Tribulation.

But wonder of wonders! What do we see? The woman is given the wings of a great eagle. And she is flying to "her place". Where is she going? And just what is going on here?

The End-Time Gathering of 'Jacob', "As The Sheep Of Bozrah" (Which is a reference to the covenant people of God).

As usual, the Holy Scripture provides the best commentary. The prophet Micah in Micah 2:12-13 sheds some light on some of 'the rest of the story'.

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make greate noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is (has?) come up before them: they have broken up, and passed through the gate, and are (have?) gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on (at?) the head of them.
–Micah 2:12-13 (Yes even looking at this the two verses look mangled supernaturally changed)

God will gather the remnant of Israel. The end-time remnant nation of Israel, and the end-time remnant congregation of Israel which is the end-time remnant church!

Here in Micah 2:12 we see an epic gathering of God's covenant people. The reference given here in the Old Testament is 'Jacob'. Micah refers to them as the 'remnant of Israel'. This reference to a 'remnant' clearly relates to God's covenant people after the refining. From other scripture we know that this refining occurs at the end of the age. Does it relate to the travail of the woman of destiny? The prophet Isaiah brings us this message.

Behold (this word has been inserted many times in scriptures), I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
– Isaiah 48:10 KJV

Looking at NKJV…

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

One more version RSV

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

(tried/tested/refined)

The word "remnant" is a very helpful key here. It relates to God's Elect at the end of the age. A quick word search through the scriptures will soon make this clear. A remnant shall return Isaiah says. (Isaiah 10:21 and 22) In Micah 5 we see God has given His people Israel up; that is until an event of great significance. What is it? And does it relate to the flight of the woman we see in Revelations 12? It most definitely does.

What happens when the remnant of Israel come to the end of their strength? What happens when they can no longer "carry on"? Abraham faced this trial right at the very beginning.

Remember what happened when he made a covenant with God? God Himself will be carrying His people in that day. Those are His footprints in the sand; even footprints through the blood.

We serve a God who loves His covenant people. He has never abandoned nor forsaken them. The sins of the prodigals may have carried them far away. But even in their wanderings they have always been close to the Father's heart. At the very beginning, even as the children of Israel were about to become a nation God carried them. He bore them 'on wings of eagles' across the Red Sea in a great deliverance.

God declares His faithfulness in bearing and carrying His covenant people. As He carried them from their conception He will continue to do this until the nation is old. He will carry them right through to the consummation at the end of the age. This is a wonderful promise that will involve untold hundreds of millions of God's faithful Elect in the latter days.

3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly (belly!?!?!), which are carried from the womb:
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar (unknown word to me) hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you
– Isaiah 46:3-4

The travail of the woman. A remnant shall return. And all Israel will be restored.

Here below in this Old Testament scripture we see the same woman of Israel John saw in Revelations 12. A great drama precedes the return of the remnant. This is a time of great travail. It is the great tribulation. Moses had spoken of this tribulation. And Jesus Himself prophecised that His covenant people would reject Him and would enter into a covenant with a false messiah (John 5:43). He also spoke of a time of travail and great tribulation. We see this laid out very clearly in Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse.

The travail of 'the woman' was seen by John. The prophet Micah also speaks of a great travail. Micah 5:3 gives specific mention of the 'travail' of the woman.

3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return undo the children of Israel
– Micah 5:3

This the travail clearly must precede and lead on to the deliverance and the glorification of the Man Child (uh…this isn't the jungle book). The travail of God's covenant people we see in the 5th seal is not in vain. It leads on to the 6th seal and the return of the Messiah. This results in the end time restoration of all of Israel. Micah also tells of the glorious return of the remnant at the climax of the age.

In this same passage Micah tells the story of the casting away of Israel. He also saw the travail of 'the woman' of Israel in the latter days. Then he saw the climactic deliverance of the woman as the Man-child (…again man-child?) is born. With this final magnificent restoration of all Israel a remnant returns.

Therefore He will give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth. Then the remnant of His brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
– Micah 5:3

So it will be a remnant that will return (Isaiah 10:21-22). This is god dealing with the Congregation of 'Israel'. God will regather all His people. There will come a great refinement involving all of Jacob/Israel with the wider Congregation/Church of God. And a remnant will return at the end of the age. What a magnificent story this is!

I will gather all of you, o Jacob!

Our next big clue is in Micah 2:12. God says He will gather 'all' of 'Jacob'. God makes a big point of saying He will gather 'all' of Jacob. What is the Holy Spirit telling us here?

Jacob is a name for God's called out people. The Bible uses 'Jacob' in devotional and prophetic sense. This name is a handle for God's Covenant Congregation in their unrefined condition. In Bible symbology "Jacob" is the name they go by in their early pilgrimage. But at the end of their sojourning the company of 'Jacob' (trickster, supplanter, heel) has truly become "Israel".

The Woman of Revelations 12. A picture of the covenant people of God.

How might 'the woman' of Revelations 12 be pictured elsewhere in scripture? We have seen a connection to 'Jacob'. 'Jacob' is a name or 'handle' for the covenant people of God.

How about 'the woman'? Is 'the woman' another Bible name for the covenant people of God? It certainly is!

In Genesis 3:15 we see reference to 'the woman' as the bearer of the Seed. The Seed of 'the woman' is the coming of the Messiah. And it is the Seed of the woman who will crush (Glad you said crush here!! ) the head of the Serpent.

The Seed of the woman is certainly Jesus Christ, the Head. Jesus Christ is also the Seed of Abraham. The Seed of the Woman, the Seed of Abraham, relates to Jesus Christ our Head. Does the Seed of the Woman, Seed of Abraham, have anything to do with us in the Body of Christ? It certainly does. Our Apostle Pall tells us,

29 If you are in Christ then you too are Abraham's Seed and heirs according to the promise (given to Abraham).
– Galatians 3:29

"The promise" refers to the promise of the Land of Israel. It also refers to the promise of a miriad company of decedents, A huge multitude that cannot be counted for numbers.

So here in Revelations 12 we see the Woman, her Seed, and the dragon once again. The drama between the woman and the serpent we saw back in the Garden of Eden. It has now come full circle. 'The woman' of destiny is now in the end time. She is in travail and in great tribulation.

The Woman of wonder we see in Revelations 12 must be restored Israel. Because she has a diadem, a crown of 12 stars. When John saw her she was in great travail. And yet she is dazzling, clothed with the sun in the brightness of her Heavenly Father. The moon and her own reflected light are no longer dominant. The moon is beneath her feet.

In the Song of Songs we get another glimpse of this woman of great wonder. It is the grand conclusion of the story and the end of the song. The daughters of Jerusalem, in all their worldliness, can only gaze on her with wonder. They ask,

10 Who is she who arises as the dawn, from the womb of the morning, fair and beautiful as the moon, clear and bright, dazzling as the sun, as awesome and as terrible as an army with banners!?
– Song of Songs 6:10

(doesn't seem right with "terrible as an army with banners". Here's another translation.

Berean Study Bible
Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?

The references to 'Bozrah' at the end of the age. Still an untold story.

It is in this end time context that we see the flight of the woman of Revelations 12. She is obviously flying off to a place of mystery that has some prominence in the end time. Is there a place mentioned elsewhere in Holy Scripture that may provide a cross reference? Indeed there is. It is a place the Bible identifies as 'Bozrah'.

We know from the context of the Bozrah scriptures in Micah and in Isaiah 63 that Bozrah is a place of exile for God's people in the latter days. It is also a place of an awesome climactic deliverance at the end of the age. Because Jesus the Messiah returns in wrath to Bozrah. He is coming to destroy the wicked. And he is returning to break out His people from some sort of enclosure at Bozrah. It will be at Bozrah that Jesus the Messiah will come to rescue His saints, described as the sheep of Bozrah, at the magnificent 'Bozrah Deliverance'. Here is our scripture from Micah 2:12-13.

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of men.
– Micah 2:12

Here in Micah 2:12 God's people 'Jacob' are being gathered. They are being gathered at a place called 'Bozrah'. And from the other Bozrah scripture in Isaiah 63 there can be no doubt. The Bozrah scriptures relate to the end time. God's covenant people have taken flight. And they have landed at a place referred to in scripture as 'Bozrah'.

So much for the gathering. What happens at the end of the Bozrah story?

The answer is awesome beyond words to tell. We see Jesus the Messiah coming to His fold in the early dawn. He is a fearsome Presence as He strides in. As the Shepherd of Israel He is right in among His people. He comes to make a Way through the wall of the sheepfold. His sheep are pressing in around Him with great pressure. But He is 'The Breaker'. And as the dawn breaks the breakthrough comes. The Shepherd of Israel becomes the Door of the sheepfold. And He is leading His sheep out to pasture.

13 The Breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.
– Micah 2:13

God expects us to study the Holy Scriptures and connect the dots. (2 Timothy 2:15 and 3:16) The deliverance of the remnant of God's people out at Bozrah presupposes an exile at Bozrah. And the Revelations 12 scripture prophesies a flight to a place of safety for God's people at the end of the age. So are Revelations 12 and the flight and exile of the woman and the gathering of God's people at Bozrah connected? I believe that we are bound to say that they are connected. They are two perspectives of the same end time story. God is taking care of His covenant people right up there at the end of the age.

So here our Apostle John is bringing us "the rest of the story". Here we have a wonderful promise showing God's great mercy and deliverance. The flight of the woman of Revelations 12 completes the story of the end time exile at Bozrah. Because Bozrah is surely the destination of the woman of destiny in this epic saga prophesied for the end of this age.

The flight of the woman of Revelations 12. And the time period coincides with the great tribulation period.

The scripture passage in Revelations 12 is stark and plan. God's covenant people will fly off to a place of safety, feeding, or nurturing, in the latter days. We clearly and concisely told that they would be sheltered and fed, (or nurtured), during a certain time period. That time period happens to be the very same time period of the great tribulation. (Daniel 12:7) It coincides exactly with the reign of the anti-christ. (Revelations 13:5). It is also the precise time period John gives for the trampling of Jerusalem. (Revelations 11:2) This is the latter half of the 70th Week of Daniel. We are talking here about the final three and a half years of this age (Not certain how fast or slow time goes on Bozrah). Here are the details.

The time period during which the woman is nurtured is given in two ways. In Revelations 12:6 we are told that the covenant people of God are fed or nurtured for 1260 days. In Revelations 12:14 we get told the very same information. But here in this verse the message is restated in terms of different time units. The time period for the exile of the woman is given in verse 14 as a "time, times, and half a time", or a period of three and a half Biblical Years.

The flight and exile of the woman is a scriptural bonanza. It gives us a veritable "Rosetta stone" for prophetic time. Because the Ancient of Days dispenses it to us from the courts of heaven in two seperate ways. The time is dispensed to us in two time units, those being days and biblical years. This is a clincher for Bible prophecy students. A Biblical year is 360 days, period! There is no question about it.

Here is our math. 1260 divided by 3.5 = 360. So the number of days in a biblical or prophetic year is 360 days. This is in harmony with the Biblical time or holy time we see dispensed to us throughout the Holy Scriptures.

The flight and exile of the woman John has given to us in these two verses tells us something else as well. The flight and exile of the woman is also the time period of the latter half of the 70th Week of Daniel.

God's covenant people in the end-time drama are showcased in scripture in several ways. Moses prophesied that God's people would eventually get themselves into some serious trouble.He specifically stated that they would be in tribulation in the latter days.Jesus described His people as 'the Elect'.And He told of a Great Tribulation in the Olivet Discourse.We also see God's covenant people pictured as 'the woman' in Revelation 12.They the people of faith, the Congregation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.They are called 'Jacob' in Micah 2:12-13.Here in Micah we see them gathered in exile. Micah identifies and characterizes them here "as the sheep of Bozrah". (Mic. 12:12-13)Why are God's remnant Elect being gathered together by God in a place of exile?What is going on here? And why did this happen?

The Apostle John does not tell us the reason the woman is compromised and in this great danger. But other scriptures do. It seems that here will be a "great falling away" from the faith or an 'apostasy' at the end of this age. (2Thes.2:3) It will involve the 7 year covenant of Daniel 9:27, probably the most important prophetic scripture of all. Jesus Himself said that He came in His Father's Name. But His covenant people would reject Him and choose someone else who came in his own name, a Luciferian selfist, a false messiah. (John 5:43)

But John does give us valuable information. He tells us that the woman is taking flight to a place where she can be cared for. It is quite obviously a place of exile. He certainly does gives us some valuable details concerning that flight and that exile. He tells us that the woman is threatened by the Dragon, Satan or Lucifer. She is also in travail and about to complete the delivery of a man child. This is why she has to flee to a place of exile.

But John does give us valuable information. He tells us that the woman is taking flight to a place where she can be cared for. It is quite obviously a place of exile. He certainly does gives us some valuable details concerning that flight and that exile. He tells us that the woman is threatened by the Dragon, Satan or Lucifer. She is also in travail and about to complete the delivery of a man child. This is why she has to flee to a place of exile.

Gomer's final dalliance leads to "Jacob's Trouble". Compromise with the world causes God's covenant people to enter into the great tribulation.

7 Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
– Jeremiah 30:7

'Jacob's trouble' is the Great Tribulation. (Dan.12:6-7)It is the time period of the reign of the Antichrist. (Rev.13:5)And it is the exact same time period of the trampling of Jerusalem. (Rev.11:2)

How did God's people get into this jam?Apparently 'the woman' is as Gomer. Moses gave a warning to God's people about this. (Deut. 4:23-31) Moses prophesied in his final address to the covenant people of God that this End-Time Apostasy would happen.So did Jesus in John 5:43 God's people have had a continuing pattern of aberrant behavior. In departing from their First Love and True Husband they seek protection and solace from their angst by taking worldly lovers. Here we see 'the woman', (Israel and the Church), in her final dalliance.It will be her final and cataclysmic mistake.She has made covenant with a false messiah. Now she is in a world of trouble.

But, all is not lost.Something else of great wonder is happening. And it is happening right inside the Tribulation period. A great drama is unfolding during last half of the last seven years of this age. The woman is being being threatened by the dragon who is empowering the Antichrist. She is also in travail and in pain to be delivered. But nevertheless, this is a magnificent prophecy. Because the woman is wearing the starry crown.

Let us pause to take in the big picture here. The Head of the Manchild is most certainly our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our sacred Head. And He has already been born. He has already been resurrected to glory. Jesus was the firstfruits from the dead. (1Cor. 15:20) He rose from the dead and ascended to His Father nearly 2,000 years ago. But there is more to this travail and delivery of the Manchild than we have been told.

The Body of the Manchild and the entire Body of Christ is in the story as well. The Elect, the Body of Christ, will be born into the glory as well. The Manchild is sacrificed in the drama of the 5th seal. (Rev.6:9-11) Here the 'final witness' of the saints is brought before the courts of heaven. And then their souls are seen in glory, even as the ashes beneath the altar in heaven. John sees this great company gathering before the throne of God. (Rev. 12:5) And God the Father, the Ancient of Days, is about to give the word to wrap things up. (Rev. 16:1)

When that 5th seal final witness of the saints is complete the 6th seal follows. (Rev.6:12-13) The heavens open and the sign of the Son of Man is seen in heaven. (Mat.24:30) The great harvest of the end time is about to be reaped. (Rev.14:14-20)

Meanwhile, the woman of Revelation 12 is in great travail as she is being delivered. (Rev.12:1-2) She has been given the wings of a great eagle. Can we guess which nation might be involved here? She flees into the wilderness away from the face of the dragon. (Rev.12:6) God, once again, is showing His great mercy in deliverance. And a certain country is aiding her in her flight away from the face of the Dragon. She is on her way. She is on her flight to a place of exile.

That place of gathering and exile is identified in Micah 2:12-13 with the name 'Bozrah'. Bozrah means 'sheepfold'. And this is our first major clue. In former times Bozrah was a pastoral city of Edom. It belonged to the children of Esau. And that is our other clue.

The place of the exile is given in Micah 2:12-13 as Bozrah. It is not Petra. Petra would not accommodate more than 1,000 people. The end-time exile of Jacob, God's covenant people, involves hundreds of millions of saints. For those fleeing Jerusalem a refuge at Petra would be an unwise and fatal choice. The whole middle east will be a war zone! Gas warfare or fuel bombs would quickly turn the deep canyons of Petra into a death trap.

The name of the place of exile to which 'the woman' flees is given to us in scripture. It is Bozrah. And it is right there in Mystery Bozrah that Messiah, (and Micah refers to Him as "the Breaker"), will come to destroy the wicked and deliver His saints at the end of the age. The place of refuge will not be Petra. There are no scripture passages that mention Petra or allude in any way to Petra at all. None, zero, zip.

Why have our Bible prophecy teachers done this switch from Biblical Bozrah to un-Biblical Petra? Why hide the solid Bozrah scriptures with a false and misleading fable about Petra? Will the saints of the Commonwealth of Israel, particularly women and children, really find shelter right inside the End-Time drama and right in the middle of an apocalyptic war zone that will encompass the entire Middle East? Can the hundreds of millions of saints in Greater Israel really expect to crowd into this small little water-less canyon and find refuge and expect to survive there throughout the entire 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation?

Here are the facts that hopefully will put this sham, this cover story to rest. Petra has never been able to house and accommodate more than 1,000 people. There is no water there and no sewage, - just empty caves and tombs of hard rock. Clearly Petra is not big enough to house and shelter nor supply food and other supplies for the huge numbers of people God will be sheltering in the latter days. And certainly not for three and a half years in a war zone with no good roads, no railway, and no airfields. Getting supplies into Petra under these circumstances would be difficult.

Petra is an unlikely, even impossible place, for an exile of the nation of Israel or even the small 5 million population from Judah and Jerusalem. The place is too small. And Petra certainly wouldn't accommodate a wider company of Christian and Messianic believers in an exile that numbers in the hundreds of millions. And if we are considering a refuge for Israel during the Armageddon siege then we need to be brought up to date. Yes, in ancient times Petra was a retreat for the Idumeans. The narrow passes were easily defended with swords and bows and arrows. But in these days of modern warfare the Israeli military would never allow their women and children to be led to an unsafe place like Petra in Jordan. In this day and age there is no shelter there. They would be far better off staying at home back in Israel in their underground bomb shelters. Petra would never qualify as a retreat in this day and age, except in the fevered imaginations of Bible prophecy story tellers and their unthinking audiences. Even getting a population of people out to Petra would expose them to great dangers on the way. Then to put a population of civilians in Petra at a dangerous location right inside a war zone would be sheer madness. It would seal their doom. Petra would be a deathtrap.

And why? Because one bomb down in that deep gorge would be the end of all the people in there. And with a chemical bomb the gas would just sit in the gorge and go nowhere. A gas attack would kill the whole population in that valley very quickly. And in the modern era of napalm bombs and fuel bombs a retreat to Petra would be utterly suicidal. The gorge would soon become a fiery furnace. The supposed "place of refuge" would soon become an oven full of charred corpses. No one would survive.

So what is going on here? Why was the Bozrah story we see clearly outlined in Isaiah 63 and Micah 2:12-13 being dumped? Why is the true and faithful Bozrah exile being "cloaked" by this hare-brained unscriptural and fanciful "flight to Petra" story? Why was this Petra fable floated anyway? Prophecy teachers talk a lot about Petra. But virtually nothing is being taught about Bozrah. Why the misinformation? And what is the real agenda here?

That, dear saints, is what we shall be looking into in this article.

Bozrah, not Petra. The real story is the flight of the woman, God's elect, to a place of exile and nurturing during the tribulation. The bible calls it Bozrah and it is probably a faraway place. That story is being switched out in exchange for a false story about a supposed escape to Petra by the population of Israel.

The Bozrah story tells of a magnificent deliverance of God's people at the end of the age. It involves the returning Messiah and the covenant people of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The scriptures point to Bozrah as a place where the Elect are held in exile during the time of "Jacob's trouble". They are held captive under the jurisdiction of the wild, untamed, and Godless children of Esau.

Here is something we need to understand. The prophecy of Isaac over his son Esau way back in Genesis still stands. The Edomites are still with us today. An epic future time, the 70th Week of Daniel, will see them rise up just as Isaac prophesied. (Gen.27:39-40) The wild and godless Edomites will eventually be given dominion over God's covenant people.

Micah sees end time exile and incarceration of God's covenant people in the end time drama. He also sees the second coming of Messiah and the epic conclusion to the Bozrah story. He sees the Shepherd of Israel entering His sheepfold in the hours before dawn. Out there at Bozrah our returning Messiah becomes "the Breaker".

This wonderful prophecy of the Bozrah Deliverance is hidden from Christian eyes at this point in history. It is "cloaked" by the powers that be. A Bozrah deliverance presupposes a Bozrah exile. We are looking here at an incarceration of God's covenant people in the last 3.5 years of the age. This may be cross-referenced by John the Beloved as the flight of the woman of Revelation 12.

This is very disturbing to some Christian believers. The rulers are well aware of past Church history. They probably fear that this information, (should it get out), may trigger societal disruptions by carnal Christians. And so at this point in time the entire Bozrah drama is under a religious smokescreen involving a supposed flight of Israel to a place of refuge in Petra. The flight to Bozrah is still an untold story.

Here below is the scripture in Micah that tells of the Bozrah deliverance. This scripture is in the Old Testament. We are not used to looking for the second coming in the Old Testament. So the prophetic significance of the Bozrah scriptures are missed by dispensational Bible teachers in the Church. Bozrah is rarely mentioned by today's teachers of Bible prophecy. And yet here it is.

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is (has?) come up before them: they have broken up, and passed through the gate, and are (have?) gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on (at?) the head of them.
– Micah 2:12-13

The image above shows a stone sheepfold of the type seen in biblical times. Here the sheep would be confined by their shepherd during the hours of darkness in a place of protection. As the dawn approached the shepherd would come into the sheepfold among His sheep. They would gather around the shepherd as he prepared to open a way for them to be delivered from the stone enclosure. As he opened a way out for them they would crowd up alongside him pushing against the gateway with a lot of force.

When the breakthrough came the whole flock would pour out of the sheepfold through the breach together with the Messiah as "the Breaker" going before them. They would follow on the heels of the Shepherd as he led them out to find pasture. This is the magnificent pastoral picture of the "manchild company" breaking forth into holy history at the end of the age. This will change the destiny of heaven and earth. The stars and angelic rulerships fall. And here on earth Messiah brings in His Millennial Kingdom. He will minister and rule for a thousand years.

Editor note: I don't know know what "manchild" was once in scriptures, but I do not believe it is accurate given all the supernatural bible changes. But what was the word before? Comment if you remember please.

This detailed picture of the deliverance of the elect by Messiah (and not the church) at the second advent is given to us in Micah chapter 2. This drama is laid out for us quite clearly and in detail.

The Bozrah deliverance is a thrilling element of the Second Coming of Christ. He is the Anointed One and our coming Messiah. The Micah 2 scripture shows the connection of the Second Coming of Christ to Bozrah, (an Edomite domain), very well. We also see The Bozrah deliverance laid out for us in spectacular fashion in Isaiah 63. This is the judgement side to the Second Coming of Christ. God is obviously telling us something here in these Bozrah scriptures. Each of them clearly relate to the return of Messiah.

Bozrah, not Petra. The "Flight to Petra" is based on human speculation. There are no references to Petra in the bible. But there are many Bozrah scriptures.

If evangelicals are going to present a story of a flight to Petra in the time of the Great Tribulation then where are the scriptures supporting such an notion? Are there any verses at all in the bible that mention Petra at all? The short answer is this.

There are none! No, not one!

The splitting of the Mount of Olives at the second coming, and the flight of the inhabitants of Jerusalem to Azal.

Evangelical teachers seem to ignore or put a news blackout on this wonderful story of the flight to Bozrah. And we hear nothing from them concerning the magnificent Bozrah deliverance at the end of this age. It seems that they do a bait and switch. The Bozrah prophecy is obfuscated and "cloaked". Instead we get an unsubstantiated substitute story about a supposed flight to Petra in the time of Armageddon and the second coming. They have a notion that Petra, an ancient city in Jordan would be a nice place of refuge for refugees coming out of Jerusalem during the big earthquake that splits the Mount of Olives at the end of this age. But is there any scripture at all to support this notion?

The answer is "no".

Well there will certainly be an epic earthquake at the end of this age. Zachariah tells us that it will split the Mount of Olives in half. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem will flee. But where will they flee to? Are they really going to Petra? And if not, then just where will they flee?

This "flight to Petra" notion is embedded in the evangelical family. Biblical Christians bring it up quite often. It is brought up in relation to the trials of the Jewish people in Jerusalem and their flight out of the city of Jerusalem at the end of the age. But where did this idea of a "flight to Petra" way down in Jordan come from?

As we shall see, it is an unscriptural fable thought up by men. There is no scriptural support for a "flight to Petra" at all.

The scripture passage they focus in on to support this is in Zachariah 14. But as we shall see, they have the wrong city.

Zachariah 14
1 The day of the Lord is coming,
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with you.*

The escape from the earthquake by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. When the Mount of Olives is split they evacuate to nearby Azal.

AN: While doing a search on locations…seeing that supernatural changes has affected allot of the bible, I came across scripture in the book of Jude.

14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold (why is this in the bible so much now? The word 'behold'. Do a search on it and you'll be shocked at the results), the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him

AN: I just found it interesting. Jesus coming with his saints? From where?

As we can see, there is no mention of Bozrah or Petra at all in this passage.This is a flight of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of the city during an earthquake.That earthquake is the "big one" and it splits the Mount of Olives.One element of the Second Coming is Jesus' return at the Mount of Olives. He is the One who at His Second Coming causes the earthquake!

In this prophecy all the prophecies involving Edom there is no mention at all of the city of Petra. And there is no mention of Petra in any other part of the Bible for that matter. But here is a clear message of a flight out of Jerusalem that will end up in a nearby city. That city is not way down in Jordan. It is in fact quite close to Jerusalem. It is the city of Azal.

This "flight to Azal" happens at the very end of the age at the second coming of Christ. The "flight to Azal" we see in the passage above involves a short time short distance evacuation of a city. Zachariah gives no mention of a prolonged Tribulation refuge way down in Petra which is in Jordan. This "flight to Azal" will not satisfy the prophecy of the 'flight of the woman' in Rev. 12:6 & 12:14.Nor will not satisfy the scripture of the Bozrah exile and the Bozrah deliverance we see in Micah 2:12-13.

The so called "flight to Petra" is a doctrine without any scriptural foundation whatsoever. The 'Azal evacuation' scripture in Zechariah 14 is the real story. And yet it and the Bozrah scriptures have both been used to build up this Petra fable. This "flight to Petra" and "refuge in Petra" fable is religious folklore. They are used in a fast and loose way to "cover up" the rue stories at Azal and at Bozrah. The Petra retreat fable becomes a "cover story" for these real prophecies. Because we know that there will be a citywide evacuation of Jerusalem to nearby Azal. And we know that Messiah will be paying a visit to Bozrah at His Second Coming. (Isa. 63 and Micah 2:12-13)

A religious smokescreen over the Bozrah Exile. And a "cloaking" of the Bozrah Deliverance.

Now we come to the next question. Why has this crucial information regarding the exile and subsequent deliverance of God's elect from Edomite incarceration at Bozrah at the end of the age been "cloaked"? Why have we been fed this Petra disinformation? What are the dark rulers pulling ecclesiastical strings. Just what are they trying to do here? Just what is their agenda? Why have the Bozrah scriptures in Micah 2:12-13 and the Revelation 12 scripture been omitted from teachings on end-time themes?

The Bozrah exile is a story of a retreat to a place of sanctuary during the great Tribulation is it not? And the following Bozrah deliverance one of the most exciting and inspiring passages in the Bible. The entire Bozrah drama has obviously been "cloaked" by the religious powers. Why? Isn't the Bozrah story some exceedingly good and encouraging news? So why haven't we heard this before?

The politics of end time truth

Well it seems that when it comes to the question of the Great Tribulation Christian Bible teachers do not want to have to tell the Church they might be involved in any sort of exile. Even if it is outlined in the Bible in Micah 2:12-13 and in Revelation 12:6 and 12:14 they will studiously omit any reference to it as an end time scripture involving the Church. These dark dramas of the end-time, according to them, are are "not for the Church". They are "for the Jews".

Of course we know that this Great Tribulation, is the time of "Jacob's trouble". Therefore, according to them, the Great Tribulation will be a time of trial and tribulation specifically for the Jews and the Jews only. But is this true? Is there any scriptural proof that the Church will not be here during the 70th Week?

Bible teachers know that the returning Messiah will deliver our Jewish brethren when He comes back and His feet touch the Mount of Olives. When Jesus returns He will deliver the Jewish nation from the end-time siege by the surrounding nations at Jerusalem. - Zech.12:7-13:1 Christians know all about the deliverance of Israel at the Battle of Armageddon. But is this all there is to the Second Coming of Christ? Is there more? Perhaps something they have not been told?

What Christians do not know is that at His Second Coming Christ will also come in vengeance upon His enemies at Bozrah. (Isa.63) He will also deliver His saints at the same place, (or places), named in scripture as Bozrah. Bozrah means "sheepfold". And it is a place under the end time sovereignty of Edom. These are two very valuable clues to the Bozrah story as it relates to the climax of this age.

Bozrah is part and parcel of the end time drama. The exile to sanctuary in Bozrah and these deliverance actions by Messiah at Bozrah have not been taught by Bible prophecy teachers. But they are all part of the mosaic of this magnificent return of Messiah. Because He is coming back! And He will deliver and then glorify all His covenant people both in Israel and out in the nations. All this drama and adventure will be capped off at the Resurrection-Rapture at the end of the age.

The "cloaking" of this information is probably done with good intentions. It has been hidden from the Church at large and it has been kept from them for their own good. The western Church is still immature. Even we as evangelicals are still a carnal and potentially violent people. So perhaps we did not deserve to know this Bozrah story.

But with this prophecy the faithful Elect are given hope. With a God who carries His people we don't need to fear. We don't need to be angry and violent crusading dominionists, beating our fellow servants. God has everything under control, even in the midst of Great Tribulation. According to Micah and the Apostle John our God will be merciful. He will nurture and feed His people during the Great Tribulation. He will take them a place of exile, a mystery place named in Holy Scripture as Bozrah.

Bozrah was a pastoral town in Edom. So we know it has some connection to the Edomites. And the modern day children of Jacob's godless brother Esau will be in control. But if God says that the woman of Revelation 12 will be "nurtured" then some positive things must be going on. This will be a camp-meeting of Biblical proportions. The remnant of all 12 tribes of Israel will be there. Micah says that ALL of Jacob will be gathered. (Micah 2:12-13). This will include a remnant of our Jewish brothers and sisters in the House of Judah. It will also have to include the remnant of the lost 10 tribes.

And here is some more encouraging news. Just as in that former seven year famine back in Egypt, there will be "a famine of the hearing of the Word of God". (Amos 8:11) During the seven years of the future 70th Week God's people will be hungry for spiritual truth. And once again the House of Joseph will be feeding his brethren and the world, just as our patriarch Joseph did in the former time in Egypt. The House of Joseph will be there, emerging from the shadows, along with the House of Benjamin. Once again Joseph will be laying out a table for his brethren. He will be revealing the mysteries, even in the midst of tears.

So is this Bozrah prophecy all bad? Just what will be happening during the Tribulation period out at the sheepfolds of Bozrah?

Quite clearly the Bozrah exile will not just be an incarceration story. Apparently the Bozrah enclosure also provide some degree of shelter and even nurturing or spiritual nourishment for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the end-time. Bozrah is in fact a place of relative safety.

The flight to Bozrah and the gathering of all of Jacob in Micah 2:12-13. And the flight of the woman of Revelations 12:8 and 12:14. They are one and the same.

To pick up the rest of the story we shall now go to the apocalypse of John. In the saga of 'the woman of Revelation 12' we see the story of the flight of the woman, (a picture of God's covenant people), "away from the face of the dragon". She is obviously taken off to a place of exile. And the time of this exile corresponds to the time of the latter half of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final 3.5 years of this age. This is the time of the Great Tribulation and the trampling of Jerusalem.

Why is the woman in exile for three and a half years?
As we study the scripture passage in Revelations 12 we see that she is there for two purposes.

1. She is there to be protected.
2. She is there to be nurtured.

This must mean a spiritual nurturing or nourishment. She will be physically cared for too it seems. This prophecy of the woman who takes flight on the wings of an eagle to a place of nurturing for the exact time period of the Great Tribulation is clearly telling us a very important part of the story of the end-time. It parallels the story of the exile of the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the end-time at Bozrah. Bozrah is the place, (or places), where Jacob can be nurtured in the things of God. This will be happening during the last half of the 70th week, and during the time of the Great Tribulation.

The Bozrah story cannot be hidden forever. It will be told eventually. Bozrah is an important spiritual place in which God will protect, preserve, refine, and nurture His people in the end-time drama.

Where will end-time Bozrah be located? Right now we do not know where Bozrah might be geographically. It may be many places. Or it may be one place. It may be one central dumping ground for Judeo-Christian troublemakers in the latter days.

Oh yes, the Bozrah scriptures do not just refer to "past history". Nor is Bozrah just an archeological dig on a ruin of an ancient pastoral city of Esau southeast of the Dead Sea. For those who are there at this appointed place and time in the latter days God will have His purpose for this exile. Bozrah will be the place the prophets Isaiah and Micah spoke about. Bozrah will be a very real place under the overall control of very real modern day Edomites. It may well turn out to be a geo-political area far from the promised land. Mystery Bozrah of the latter days will most certainly be a modern geo-political area. The poetic prophecy indicates that Mystery Bozrah will be out at the ends of the earth. The covenant people of God will look up in those days to find themselves in a serendipity. It will be the place of great wonder, of wrath and deliverance. It will be the place and time the Old Testament prophets spoke of over 2700 years ago. A place and time the patriarchs of old saw in the stars and constellations in the heavens.

And there, in that place, they will find their God. They will find Him in a place that will be

"…as a hiding place from the wind
A covert from the tempest,
Even a shelter in the time of storm.

As rivers of water in a dry and thirsty place,
As the shadow of a great Rock,
in a weary land."
– Isaiah 32:2

And that is where Jesus the Messiah will find them at the end. A day of wrath and deliverance. "The Breaker" comes to rend,

He comes into His sheepfold
They all press in to Him.
Then at the Door the breakthrough!
Out they go! Led by their King!

This is not fable. All of this will certainly happen. In the Fall Season of some future year. This end-time drama will unfold precicely as it has been prophecised. Jesus the Messiah will surely return as "the Breaker". At the sheepfolds of Mystery Bozrah. - Micah 2:12-13

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