Previously we found that, during the Greater Second Exodus,  “the Remnant of Israel” are going to go through a proverbial wilderness.

• And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.  And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.  Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel20:34-36 KJVm 

Which is also a period of testing where many that are called are going to be purged even before entering Israel.

• And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:  And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 20:37-38 KJVm

And for those that do arrive in Jerusalem, a final purge awaits inside the walls of the Old City.

• …How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it! Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.

Ezekiel 14:21-22 NASB

In this article, we are going to examine a purge described in the Parable of the Ten Virgins to help prepare you for this period of refinement which “the Remnant of Israel” must go through.

 According to the Yeshua, the reason He spoke in parables to the crowds was because His message was not meant to be understood by all that heard.

• This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

Matthew 13:13 KJV

However, in a private setting, Yeshua would graciously explain the parables to His disciples.

• He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

Matthew 13:11 NIV

Unfortunately, His explanation of the Parable of the Ten Virgins was not written in the New Testament.  However, that doesn’t mean it was never documented.

JERUSALEM 70 A.D.

Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 A.D. after a 143 day siege, where all of its inhabitants were killed or enslaved.

According to the historian Josephus 1.1 million Jews were slain and 97 thousand were captured, enslaved and scattered throughout the empire.

However dreadful, this national tragedy provides end time believers with vital insight into the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

THE SIEGE ON JERUSALEM

According to the prophet Zechariah, the Old City of Jerusalem is predicted to be  in the  process of a fortress siege prior to the second advent of Ha’Mashiach.

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah 14:2-3 KJVm

Many believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in the 70 A.D. when Jerusalem fell to the Romans.  It was not.

According to Zechariah, only half the inhabitants are predicted to be compromised, unlike in 70 A.D. where all the inhabitants were either killed or enslaved.

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Zechariah 14:2 KJVm

Also notice that this prophecy is predicted to take place on the Day of The Most High (the Second Coming)…

• Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you.

Zechariah 14:1 KJVm

 …where Yeshua will come and fight the nations, at the end of the age. 

• Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah 14:3 KJVm

Many of the 1.1 million Jews who died in 70 A.D. had to be aware of Zechariah’s prediction and probably assumed that the Roman siege on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was the fulfillment of this prophecy and probably assumed that they would be protected by the advent of The Messiah.

Unfortunately for the 1.1 million who died, Yeshua did not return then.  Their misfortune, however, did not negate Zechariah’s prediction, that The Son of Man is going to come and protect half the inhabitants of the  Old City while deeply embattled in this predicted fortress siege.

What is the implication?

Zechariah’s prediction is the written explanation of the Kingdom Parable of the Ten Virgins.  Notice that both the parable and Zechariah’s prediction have three things in common:

1.  THE SECOND COMING OF YESHUA

First, both passages are describing an event that takes place during the second coming of the Yeshua and the end of the age.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Yeshua’s return is compared to the arrival of the bridegroom.

• “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.”

Matthew 25:10 NIV

In Zechariah’s prediction, Yeshua arrives to fight the nations… eventually setting foot on the Mount of Olives which is East of Jerusalem.

• Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east… 

Zechariah 14:3-4 KJVm

2.  A GROUP OF BELIEVERS WHICH PHYSICALLY SURVIVE TO GREET THE SON OF MAN AT HIS RETURN

Secondly, both accounts provide details concerning a group of believers which will be alive at the second coming of Yeshua.

The scriptures mention a group of believers which will physically escape the predicted apocalypse and will be alive at Yeshua’s return.

• Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 

Luke 21:36 KJV

And it is this parable of the Ten Virgins which is describing this group of believers which will be alive and waiting to meet Yeshua (the Bridegroom) at the time of His return.

• Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Matthew 25:1 NASB

Likewise, Zechariah describes a “residue of the people” which are not going to be “cut off from the city.”

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Zechariah 14:2-3 KJVm

And it is this “residue of the people” which are those believers that will be alive at the end of the age.

3.  HALF THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE PURGED

Thirdly, both the New Testament parable and the Old Testament prophecy predict that half the participants will be purged and prevented from entering the Kingdom.

In the parable, half of the ten virgins are not prepared.

• Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 

Matthew 25:2 NIV

As circumstances would have it, only the half that are prepared will join Yeshua and enter the kingdom. The foolish virgins will be shut out. 

• But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

Matthew 25:10 NIV

Likewise, Zechariah’s account of the siege against Jerusalem is a description where half those in the city will be taken captive.  And it is these individuals which go into captivity that are represented by the five Foolish Virgins in the parable.

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah 14:2-3 KJVm

Then after half the city is taken, Yeshua will enter the battle on behalf of those remaining within the Old City.  

• In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as the angel of the LORD before them.

Zechariah 12:8 KJVm

And it is these remaining individuals, which the Yeshua fights for, that are represented by the five Wise Virgins in the parable.  They are “the Remnant of Israel” and they are those of you that will be found “worthy to escape” and be alive to greet Yeshua at His return.

So both the Parable of the Ten Virgins and Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the siege of Jerusalem are a description of this final purge.

THE GREATER SECOND EXODUS AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION SCENARIO

The following is a description of the Great Tribulation scenario which “the Remnant of Israel” are going to be faced with.

 “The Remnant” arrive in the Metropolitan area of Jerusalem.

“The Remnant” have to be in the Jerusalem area prior to the start of the Great Tribulation because of the Mark of the Beast.

• And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 13: 16-17 KJVm

Anyone trying to get to Jerusalem after the Great Tribulation starts will not make it because they will not be able to buy food or purchase transportation without the Mark.

REMNANT MUST BE ON ZION

Next the armies of the Beast will surround the modern city of Jerusalem just before the Great Tribulation begins.

• And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Luke 21: 20 KJV

ARMIES SURROUND JERUSALEM

Then with a detachment of soldiers, the Abomination of Desolation will forcefully enter the Old City and the Temple.  He will then abolish the temple sacrifices and set himself up as the Most High.

• His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

Daniel 11:31 NIV

THE ABOMINATION ENTERS THE OLD CITY

This desecration of the Holy Place, by the Abomination of Desolation, is the sign for…

“The Remnant” (the Wise Virgins) and the Two Witnesses to “flee” for the safety of the mountain fortress we know as the Old City of Jerusalem. 

• When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Matthew 24:15-16 KJV

 This mass influx of over a million people, will prompt the Abomination of Desolation  to evacuate the Old City,  eventually establishing his camp in a location somewhere between the Mediterranean Sea and Jerusalem.

• He will halt between Jerusalem and the sea and there pitch his royal tents, but while he is there his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.

Daniel 11:45 TLB

Meanwhile, after evacuating the Old City,  the Abomination’s armies will advance on Jerusalem right up to walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, just as the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

• But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Revelation 11:2 KJVm

JERUSALEM OLD CITY SURROUNDED

Next, The Most High will stop the armies advances by defending the Old City (Mount Zion) and her assemblies with a Pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night…

• And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Isaiah 4:5 KJVm

…just as He protected Israel while fleeing from Egypt.

• … and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Exodus 14:19-20 KJVm

 Inside the walls of the Old City, the Two Witnesses begin their 1260 day ministry…

• And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Revelation 11:3 NASB

 …while the Wise and Foolish Virgins co-mingle and are pleaded with by The Lord Most High.

• And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 20:35-36 KJVm

Outside the Old City will be the armies of the Abomination, which will be occupying the rest of the Metropolitan area of Jerusalem for the 42 months of the Great Tribulation.

• But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 

Revelation 11:2 KJVm

When 1260 days are completed the protection will drop, the two witnesses will be killed and their bodies will lay exposed on a street in Jerusalem where our Master was crucified.

• When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Master was crucified.

Revelation 11:7 -8 KJVm

The nations that surrounded Jerusalem for 42 months will then begin to siege the Old City, like the Romans in 70 A.D. 

Next, an undisclosed event persuades the Foolish Virgins to separate from the Wise Virgins, with one group gravitating to the North side of the fortress and the other group moving to the South side (More on this shortly).

The sieging army then breaches the wall and captures half of the fortress containing the Foolish  Virgins.

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half the city shall go forth into captivity,  and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Zechariah 14:2 KJVm

At that point Yeshua returns and set’s foot on the Mount of Olives, which is to the East of the Old City.

• 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.

Zechariah 14:4 KJVm

OLD CITY AND MT OF OLIVES

This will cause an earthquake that will split the Mount of Olives in half creating a North and South Side.

It is this earthquake that will be instrumental in protecting the Wise Virgins during this siege.  Notice that this quake will create a great valley which will run East and West…

• 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. 

Zechariah 14:4 KJVm

 … and will reach all the way to the Old City, creating an escape route for the Wise Virgins.

• You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

Zechariah 14:5 KJVm

The quake will also split the Old City of Jerusalem in half, with one group of Virgins being on the North side and the other group being on the South.

OLD CITY EARTHQUAKE

This raises the question:  If the Foolish Virgins gravitate to one side and into captivity…

…while the Wise Virgins move to other side and protected…

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half the city shall go forth into captivity,  and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Zechariah 14:2 KJVm

…then which side of the earthquake should the Wise Virgins be on?

Traditionally, Mount Zion is the City of David, which is on the south side of the Old City,  suggesting that it is the south side. 

OLD CITY EARTHQUAKE & MOUNT ZION

 
 However, the Psalmist suggests that Mount Zion is the Old City entirely and that the North is the “side” of choice. 

• Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

Psalms 48:1-2 KJVm

IN REVIEW

 Zechariah’s prediction concerning the future siege on Jerusalem is the written explanation of the Kingdom Parable of the Ten Virgins, where within the walls of the Old City will be the individuals the parable recognizes as Five Wise Virgins and Five Foolish Virgins.

• And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Matthew 25:2 KJV

As the siege progresses the city will be taken. Half  the inhabitants, recognized as the Foolish Virgins, will be purged and go into captivity.

• For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Zechariah 14:2 KJV

At that point Yeshua will return with the resurrected believers…

• 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. 

Zechariah 14:5 KJVm

 …to fight the nations which will be sieging Jerusalem.

• Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah 14:3 KJVm

 Then Yeshua will set foot on the Mount of Olives, which will create an earthquake that will split the Mount of Olives and the Old City of Jerusalem in half…

• On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

Zechariah 14:4 NIV

 …and will be instrumental in protecting the “wise virgins.”

• You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: you shall flee, like as you 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.

Zechariah 14:5 NIV

These remaining individuals (which the Son of Man fights for) are the five Wise Virgins in the parable.  These are “the Remnant of Israel” which will be in the Greater Second Exodus.  And these are those of you that are found “worthy to escape” and to be alive to greet the Son of Man at His return.

This is the Gospel of the Kingdom according to the Yeshua’s Kingdom Parable of the Ten Virgins. 

Next: The Parable of the Sower

Conversations concerning this and other articles are being discussed on FaceBook.  Click this link to enter EXODUS X – THE GREATER SECOND EXODUS AND RETURN OF THE REMNANT OF ISRAEL on FaceBook.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH FRIENDS