JD doesn't go into detail about the "3.5 years of burning" that Arnold Fruchtenbaum describes. What's interesting about that passage (the verse he's quoting is Ezekiel 39:9, which talks about burning leftover weaponry for 7 years) is that, while the surrounding verses refer to "Israelites", 39:9 uses vague language: "those who live in the cities of Israel".
That's an interesting distinction.
Is the inference there that, while the Israelites will bury the dead of the Gog/Magog war for 7 months (39:12), it may not necessarily be those same people that benefit from that which is left behind? My suggestion here is that a believing remnant may flee to Petra, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Israel's cities will be empty or abandoned. There are numerous other verses that would support this, including passages in Isaiah and in Zechariah, which indicate that around HALF of Israel will flee; the rest will remain behind.
You can come to your own conclusions about that... but I firmly believe that the Gog/Magog war occurs DURING the Tribulation, not prior to it. Allow me to justify that.
There is a particular style and form of language used in reference to the Tribulation, and it's there all throughout Scripture.
Any time you see the phrase "in that day", you should be raising an eyebrow. This phrase tends to refer almost exclusively to Daniel's 70th Week, 'That Day' being a synonym of the 'Day of the Lord', which is the Tribulation (and beyond).
You can do a search on this online these days, which is pretty awesome:
www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=%22in+that+day%22&version=NIV&searchtype=phrase...now, if you follow through that list, ask yourself...
how many of these passages CAN'T apply to the Tribulation? I'd like to suggest that you'll struggle to find any.
Now sit down with Ezekiel 38.
That phrase occurs TWICE. This strongly suggests to me that the Gog/Magog war is a Tribulation event; that is, that it occurs during the 'Day of the Lord', and does not occur prior to the Tribulation, or prior to the Rapture.
Also, note that Ezekiel 38:14 says "In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety"...
does that 'safety' not suggest a peace agreement is in place? I believe it does. This too fits the picture of the Tribulation, with a peace agreement being made with Antichrist.
While I'd agree with Arnold Fruchtenbaum on most things, this isn't one of them. HOWEVER... for the sake of argument, let's assume for a moment that he's correct - that the Gog/Magog war occurs 3.5 years before the Tribulation.
Does that necessarily mean that the Rapture is 3.5 years away?
Not at all. The timing of the Rapture is not contingent upon the commencement of the Tribulation; that is, the two do not necessarily follow one another immediately. So, don't be discouraged... time is short. Very short... and we'll soon be going home to be with the One we love.
