the Messiah comes from …

From where will the Messiah come, when He will establish his throne in Jerusalem in the future? From heaven, you will say. Not quite correct! According to the prophets, He shall come from Edom, i.e., from the desert area between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. In Isaiah 63 we read:

1 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. 2 Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 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; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. (KJV) (See also: Isa.34:6)

It is in the territory of Edom (Edom means ‘red’) where the Lord will deal with the nations. Why there? Because in this desert will also be the hiding place of the faithful remnant of Israel (Rev.12:6). The name Bozrah, capital of Edom, means “sheepfold” and it is in this location that the Lord will gather together the whole herd of Israel. In the “wilderness of the nations [or peoples]” as Ezekiel 20:35 calls it. Micah 2 foretells:

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 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.

When the Lord will appear on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14), then that is not in order to immediately take His place in Jerusalem. No, He appears near Jerusalem to create an escape route from the land of Israel to the mountains in the desert (Zach.14:4), to Azel that ‘aside’ or ‘reserved’ means. Where else than in the specially reserved place to bring together all His people, in Bozrah, near Selah or Petra? Petra is the famous city, carved out of the rocks and is only accessible via a narrow road and a cramped gate … Anyway, it is from the territory of Edom that the assembled flock, under the leadership of her Shepherd, will go up to the devastated land and to Jerusalem, via the route already called, for thousands of years, “the royal road”: The Kings Highway (Num.20:17). How revealing!

Delen: