And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (II Thessalonians 2:8)

When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (II Thessalonians 1:10)

The role of deliverer will be exercised in the wilderness, and will increase in authority and power as the Father and the Son enter to a greater extent into God's deliverers in fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34; John 14:18-23).

Then, at the time of the Lord's return from Heaven, the Light of God will blaze in terrifying power from the personalities of the saints. The sky above the earth will be illuminated in the fullness of glory, heralding the glorious return of Christ in the clouds. The scroll of the heavens will be rolled back and the sign of the Son of Man will appear for all mankind to behold.

There are several passages in the Old Testament that speak of a delivered remnant who will be saved throughout the dark night of the second half of the week.

Joel points toward the time of the Lord's return:

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:31)

In this context, Joel states:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)

The term "remnant," in the above verse, reminds us of Isaiah 4:3:

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.

There will be a warlike remnant in that most terrible of hours. There will be victorious saints on the earth all through mankind's spiritual night. Whoever seeks the Lord will be able to find Him through these deliverers.

And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2)

Notice the expression, "a man." The Amplified Bible, the Emphasized Bible, and the New American Standard Bible differ from the King James concerning the passage. Each of these three versions translates Isaiah 32:2 as a continuation of the preceding verse. The concept is: The king will rule righteously and the princes will rule justly, and each of them will be as a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm.

Since there will be no storms or dry places during the thousand-year reign of the King and His princes, it appears likely that their role as deliverers will begin during the latter part of the week, during the reign of Antichrist. Joseph (along with his wife, Asenath) delivered Jacob during the seven lean years, not during the years of abundance of grain. (The ceasing of the "grain" after the seven abundant years reminds us that the "grain offering" will cease in the middle of the week.)

To be continued.