A Place Prepared by God: Israel Preserved during the Great Tribulation

 “Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Revelation 12:6)

(Bozrah, the ancient capital of Edom)

Interestingly, several Second Coming passages also indicate that God is seen coming fromthese regions:

Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? -“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come.” (Isa. 63:1-4) 

God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. (Hab. 3:3)

The prophet, under the form of a theophany, was given a vision of the second advent of the Messiah . . . seen coming from Teman, a district of Edom, poetically the part standing for the whole, . . . advancing from Mount Paran, the hilly country between Edom and Sinai (Deu. 33:2). Isaiah, in a vision of the second advent, similarly beheld the Messiah advancing in judgment upon His foes “from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah” (Isa. 63:1-6). 

In the Psalms, mention is made of the nation being led to Edom during a time when God has cast Israel off and is seeking help from trouble. God is appealed to as the one who will tread down (cf. Isa. 63:1-6) Israel’s enemies:

Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies. (Ps. 60:9-12 cf. Ps. 108:10-13) 

The reference to “strong city” is thought to refer to Petra, “the strong city. (Petra or Sela) the rock-built city of Edom (Ps. 31:21; 2K. 14:7)”46, also known as Sela:

Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare His praise in the coastlands. The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. (Isa. 42:11-13) 

Petra is located in a basin within Mount Seir, and is totally surrounded by mountains and cliffs. The only way in and out of the city is through a narrow passageway that extends for about a mile and can only be negotiated by foot or by horseback. This makes the city easy to defend, and its surrounding high cliffs give added meaning and confirmation to Isaiah 33:16 . . . The name Bozrahmeans “sheepfold.” An ancient sheepfold had a narrow entrance so that the shepherd could count his sheep. Once inside the fold, the sheep had more room to move around. Petra is shaped like a giant sheepfold, with its narrow passage opening up to a spacious circle surrounded by cliffs.

Micah describes an assembly of Jacob, a remnant, which will be gathered into a fold (bozrah). The one who breaks them out is clearly a reference to Messiah, the Good Shepherd:

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold [בָּצְרָה [bāṣerâ]], like a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will come up before them; they will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; their king will pass before them, with the LORD at their head. (Mic. 2:12-13) 

The LORD will “gather” from their worldwide, age-long Diaspora the elect “remnant,” which will survive “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:5-7), the Great Tribulation (Rev. 8:1+-20:3+), preceding the establishment of the Kingdom over Israel (Rev. 20:4-6+; Acts 1:7). . . . The saved remnant will be the nucleus of the millennial Kingdom. The LORD declared, I will put them together like the sheep of Bozrah(a region in Edom well known as a sheep-raising center). . . . They (the returning remnant of Israel) will follow “the breaker,” the Messiah, who will break through and open the way, going up before them. They, following Him, will break through the gate and go out from their captivity to glorious freedom.