The Gathering at Petra

As we have seen, at the exact mid-point of the Tribulation period, or 1,260 days after the Antichrist signs the peace agreement to protect Israel (remember the Bible goes by a Jewish 30 day a month lunar calendar) he is going to walk into the temple, that he has probably helped make happen, and proclaim himself to be God. At this point the Bible indicates that there will be many Jewish people who are going to realize that he is not what he is cracked up to be (a benevolent world leader) and a time of persecution against the Jewish people is going to break out. Remember from the previous page what we said about the history of persecution against the Jewish people. Well, the Antichrist will be more influenced by ultimate evil, by Satan, than any previous leader before him. As a result, this persecution is going to be so bad that the Bible predicts that it will be the worst persecution in the history of the world. That is saying something given the Holocaust.

However, God has provided and has given His children a way out should they choose to accept it. We believe that God will set up a "safe haven" in the south of Jordan, at a place called "Petra," a place where Jewish people will be kept and nurtured for the entire second half of the Tribulation. They just have to get there.The Bible encourages Jewish people, that once they see this Abomination of Desolation happen, to get out of Jerusalem and into the mountainous wilderness (which we believe refers to Petra) as soon as they can.

And so the Bible predicts that the second half of the Tribulation will be characterized by wars, by environmental catastrophies, and by persecution of anyone who does not join forces with the Antichrist, along with many of the other things that we have already talked about. It will be a horrible, horrible time to live. Jewish people will be particularly persecuted.

The Bible tells us that 1,260 days (or three and a half years) after the Antichrist walks into the temple, proclaiming himself to be God, the Tribulation period officially closes. However, no one singular event marks the end of the Tribulation. Things continue to go on as they are, but the Tribulation period itself is officially over. The Bible indicates that what will be happening at that time is that the armies of the Antichrist will be stationed in three main locations: 1) in the Valley of Meggido, north of Jerusalem, 2) at Petra in the south of Jordan, and 3) in Jerusalem proper, all with the same goal: to wipe out their enemies.

In fact the Bible predicts that at that time it will look so bad for anyone who has not joined forces with the Antichrist that it will take a miracle to secure their survival.