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Just like with Daniel, John was given a series of visions that detailed different aspects of the same general timeframe (future to him). I've tried to visualize it in the table above. Each new vision is marked by a phrase similar to "and lo I saw..." and generally ends with "thunders and hail and lightning; it is done".
- Chapters 4-11 are a progressive vision of heaven's throne through to the judgment of earth from their perspective.
- Chapters 12-16 are a progressive vision and the actions of the enemies of God from Earth's POV through to their judgment.
- Chapters 17-18 are visions detailing the great harlot, the beast, the bride, and the judgment of God's enemies.
Certain events are summarized while more detail of those same events is given in other portions. So chapter 11 summarizes the events detailed in chapters 13-16, and chapters 17-20 provide even more detail of events in chapters 13-16.
To your question:
I believe Chapter 11 isn't the gathering of the nations against God's people, rather the chapter prophesies the persecution and then scattering of God's people into the Christian nations under Catholicism spanning 1,260 years. The two witnesses are the remnant of the two houses of Israel who are obedient to The Almighty and who have faith in the Messiah.
- Chapter 10 gives us a description of a mighty messenger standing on the earth and the sea saying "There is no more delay!" This is a callback to Daniel 12:7 where the man in linen, standing in a similar location, lifted up His hands and said the time of great trouble wouldn't be for some time, but that when the people are scattered the time of trouble would be completed.
- Chapter 11 gives the timeframe 1260 days for the testimony of the two witnesses
- Chapter 13 gives the same timeframe of 42 months when the beast of the sea abuses the saints
- Recorded history confirms that it took about nearly 1300 years to scatter God's people.
Sure. we have
Zech 14:4 that reads:
4 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.
^ Clearly this is the physical presence of God, but when is it? Well, we're given another clue in
verse 8:
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.
^ The day verse 4 happens is the same day living waters flow out of Jerusalem. There are two passages I recall that mention living waters flowing out of Jerusalem:
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
Ezekiel 47:1-12
The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east)...
So both passages mark the timing of this water-flowing event as
after the Gog-Magog war of Revelation 21, which is
after the millennium reign of Revelation 20...and The Millennium Reign of Revelation 20 is
after the resurrection.
So per Revelation's order, the nations do not gather together against Jerusalem until after the resurrection and 1000-year reign.
Likewise, the Ezekiel 47 event is
after the fiery destruction of the nations by the Almighty in Ezekiel 39, which is
after Gog & Magog is tempted to attack Jerusalem at peace in Ezekiel 38, which is
after the resurrection and regathering event described in Ezekiel 37.
Again, we know that the resurrection and the millennium reign haven't happened in human history, so Zechariah 14:1-4 isn't describing the current events in the Middle East. The resurrection happens before the nations gather together against Jerusalem.
Thus Zechariah 14:3-4 describes The Almighty descending to earth to destroy the nations with fire after the millennium, it doesn't describe The Messiah's 2nd coming.
Ezekiel 37-47
- Messiah returns, resurrects, and regathers His people
- United Israel returns home
- They live in peace in unwalled villages
- Gog & Magog are tempted to attack
- The Almighty destroys them (
Zech 14:3-7)
- The Great Temple
- The river of life flows out of it
Revelation 19-22
- Messiah returns, regathers His people
- Destruction of the beast and his army
- The Millenium reign
- The Gog & Magog nations surround the camp of God's people
- The Almighty destroys them (
Zech 14:3-7)
- New Jerusalem
- The river of life flows out of it
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