Will Philadelphian Christians flee to a ‘place of safety’?

Are some of God’s people actually going to flee right before the tribulation? According to Jesus, the answer is yes.

Jesus taught:

20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:20-21, NKJV throughout, unless otherwise indicated).

Let this be perfectly clear, there are two groups of God’s people mentioned in Revelation 12–one which goes to a place of safety and one which does not. It states:

14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:14-17).

The above shows that the church (symbolized by a woman) will “fly into the wilderness to her place.” Being in heaven with Jesus is not the same as being in any wilderness–hence this is not some type of “rapture” as many Protestants believe in. Also notice that the church “is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” Hence, this is how Jesus is intending to keep His Philadelphia Christians “from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world” (Revelation 3:10). This “hour of trial,” this “time and times and half a time” includes the period of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.

Notice also that since a flood of water is used to try to destroy the church, but is helped by the earth, that the church is NOT in heaven, but on the earth.

Carefully notice that just keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ is not enough to insure that one will go “into the wilderness,” be “nourished,” and protected “from the presence of the serpent.” The dragon, through the Beast power, will “make war” with those who do not go. For “the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25)–again the time period of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.

Where could the promised place of protection be?

David wrote, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5). This may have a dual meaning. It may be referring to the tribulation and may also be referring to an interesting event in David’s life. David was hiding in the woods from Saul (I Samuel 23:19), and “When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon…So David made haste to get away from Saul…so they called that place the Rock of Escape” (I Samuel 23:25,26,28). The word translated ‘Rock’ is Sela and the word translated as ‘rock’ are derivatives of the same word. Thus there was a Sela of Escape for David.

Jesus taught, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” (Matthew 24:20) which is consistent with Revelation 12:14 which clearly states that it is a place to go to, it is in the wilderness, and it is away from the presence of the serpent. The word translated as wilderness, is translated as desert in the NIV. This word is eremos, which Strong’s defines as lonesome, waste, desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness. Thus, it is not protection in our own houses (as some have erroneously suggested), nor is it protection in a large city. It is somewhere in the wilderness.

Let’s fully quote Isaiah 16:1-4,

1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land..

From these verses, we learn that Moab hides the outcasts, those who escape and then wander–this could be God’s people as Jesus told them “pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape” (Luke 21:36). The fact that they are called wanderers suggests that perhaps they do not start in Petra. It could refer to the fact that they are from many lands and/or that they have wandered to different places before coming to ‘Moab.’

We have seen that this place has something to do with Moab, Sela, and the wilderness. We know that some of the area that once was Moab is modern Jordan (while there also used to be Edomites there, we in the COGs tend to feel they moved much further north). We also know that Sela means rock. It is called Petra in Greek, which also means rock. There is a deserted town in Jordan named Petra, which is the place called Sela in Isaiah. Petra is not a city itself, and is in a lonesome, rocky, desert wilderness that contains caves. It is possible that some other place on Earth also meets these criteria, but thus far Petra appears to be the leading candidate.

The scriptures that precede Isaiah 16 may also provide a clue. Notice:

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. (Isaiah 2:10)

They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows. For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab, Its wailing to Eglaim And its wailing to Beer Elim. For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood; Because I will bring more upon Dimon, Lions upon him who escapes from Moab, And on the remnant of the land (Isaiah 15:7-9).

It is possible that the term “Brook (Hebrew nachal which indicates a stream, flood, or similar) of Willows” (Hebrew arab’) may be a reference to the area near Petra called Wadi al-Arabah (which some claim means something like “valley of the desert” or perhaps “drainage area of willows”). Wadi al-Arabah is also called Wadi al Jayb.

As Wadi al-Arabah is about 180 kilometers long, from the southern shore of the Dead Sea to Al Aqabah in the south (hence it is in Jordan, though some of it may be in Israeli territory), it runs past Petra to the west and it is somewhat close enough to Petra to “carry away to.”

A Wadi is supposed to be some type of drainage area (or simply a low area or valley that drains when flooded).

A small one closest to Petra seems to be Wadi Musa (“valley of Moses”)–which is currently not wet–but on a map it looks like it would drain into Wadi al-Arabah if wet enough. But it is possible that since the name Wadi implied a wet area when it was given, that this “Brook of the Willows” includes the area of Petra. But this is uncertain–but again these verses in Isaiah 15, like those in Isaiah 16, do also indicate that perhaps some area in Jordan is involved.

Christians may wander in that area as well.

Interestingly, Jeremiah wrote:

You who dwell in Moab, Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, And be like the dove which makes her nest in the sides of the cave’s mouth (Jeremiah 48:28).

For thus says the LORD: “Behold, one shall fly like an eagle, And spread his wings over Moab…” (Jeremiah 48:40).

It should also be noted that Petra is south, south-east of Jerusalem, which, as we saw earlier, is a possible direction for the place of protection to be. Other than the aspect of caves (which does not mention the amount of caves), it should be noted that many other areas in Jordan also are in the right direction and fit the description of the place. So it is possible that the Church may flee into Jordan and not stay in Petra, but somewhere else in Jordan or a neighboring area.

It may be of interest to note that although Moab (somewhat associated with modern Jordan) is likely to somewhat support the upcoming King of the South (Daniel 11:40), Moab ends up escaping the punishment by the final King of the North (Daniel 11:40-43)–and possibly God allows this escape because the place of protection may be in their land (though the King of the North would likely believe that there are other reasons, including political ones).

There is another passage of scripture that may be alluding to a Jordanian location for the place, which states,

5 If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they have wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of Jordan? 6 For even you brothers, the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; Yes they have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them, even though they speak smooth words to you” (Jeremiah 12:5-6).

The implication to God’s people is if you are having a difficult time living in a relatively peaceful land, what will happen to you when you are being pursued by ‘a multitude’ in the ‘floodplain of Jordan’?

Remember, the serpent spews out a flood to try to destroy those who flee to the wilderness (Revelation 12:14-15). Thus it is possible that this is why Jeremiah is warning God’s people about how they will do in the ‘floodplain of Jordan’ (most any map suggests this floodplain looks like it is east of Jerusalem, God’s people would probably need to cross it if they arrive in Jerusalem and head towards Petra). They will also have lessons to learn.

The idea that those going to the place will undergo final training is one that we in the Continuing Church of God also embrace. We do not believe that the faithful are simply going to save their physical lives, but also be trained so that they can be more effective servants of God. To learn to better spread the love of God to more of humanity.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Might Petra be the Place of Safety? This is a video. Bible teaches that a portion of the Christians will be protected in a wilderness area during the Great Tribulation. Might this place be Petra in Jordan? Which places do the show can and cannot be the place of safety? Is the idea of Christians fleeing to an area with caves during the reign of the Beast and Antichrist an old one or a modern invention? Which Christians get this protection and which do not? Will those who do not go be subject to persecution? Do Catholic prophecies warn against this place of protection?
This is PETRA! This is a 1962 Good News article by the late Dr. Hoeh.
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 十条诫命显示爱，违反诫命的就是邪恶的
 When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2017, 2018, or 2019? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?