The Bride in the Wilderness: What Really Happens to God's People During the Tribulation

The short answer: Pastor Chris teaches that God’s people will be on the earth during the tribulation, and that the bride of Messiah walks one of two paths through it. Some are hidden and nourished in “a place prepared by God” in the wilderness, out of the dragon’s reach (Revelation 12:6, 14). Others are refined through martyrdom, washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14; 13:7). They are not two brides but one, like one menorah with many branches burning the same oil, and both paths end at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7–9).

Why this message, and why now

After the widely shared prediction that the rapture would happen on September 23–24, 2025, the pastor in Africa behind it went online again with a new date. He said the Lord had meant the Julian calendar, not our Gregorian one, and September 23–24 on the Julian calendar falls on October 6–7 on ours. Pastor Chris recorded this teaching in response, to lay out from Scripture what actually happens to God’s people during the tribulation: who is carried into the wilderness, who is martyred, and who is covered supernaturally by the Lord.

His starting point is simple. We cannot add to or subtract from Scripture, and we cannot keep handling the Word through our own emotions and interpretations. We must go to the Bible and see what it says.

The mystery of the bride

Paul describes Messiah’s love for His people as the love of a bridegroom:

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25–27)

And John sees the wedding itself:

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’” (Revelation 19:7–9)

Pastor Chris points out that the bride is not a denomination; the Bible doesn’t speak of denominations. She is not Israel alone, nor the church alone. She is the faithful covenant people of Yeshua HaMashiach, a remnant drawn from every tribe and tongue who keep His commands and hold fast to His testimony.

This mystery runs through all of Scripture: Eve formed from Adam’s side, Rebekah brought to Isaac, Ruth the Moabitess joining the lineage of Messiah. The Spirit has been telling the story of the bride from the beginning. The Bible, Pastor Chris says, is a love story between the Lord and His people, and He has been preparing us all along to be joined to Him.

That is also a warning. You can sit in church every Sunday, know the songs and the Scriptures and the language of religion, and still not be ready. The bride is not defined by a label but by love, not by membership but by covenant faithfulness. She is a remnant who follows the Lamb wherever He goes. Pastor Chris presses the point: grace is not a license to sin. The oil in your lamp matters. The purity of your garments matters. Are you part of the bride, not in name only, but in spirit and in truth?

A place prepared in the wilderness

Revelation 12 unveils one of the most mysterious images in Scripture:

“Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Revelation 12:6)

“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 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.” (Revelation 12:13–14)

Pastor Chris reads it plainly. The woman is God’s covenant people. The dragon is Satan, enraged because his time is short. The wilderness is not chaos but a place God Himself prepared, where His people are cared for for 1,260 days, during the tribulation. In other words, God’s people are here through the tribulation, and for the obedient bride in the wilderness He blinds the enemy so they live under the shadow of the Most High.

This connects directly to the Exodus. The Lord led Israel into the desert not to destroy them but to nourish them with manna from heaven, water from the rock, and His glory in fire and cloud. The “wings of a great eagle” echo His words at Sinai:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” (Exodus 19:4)

So the wilderness is not escape; it is intimacy. It is where God draws His people away from Babylon’s corruption into the secret place of His provision. That is why Pastor Chris keeps telling believers not to fear:

“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” (Psalm 91:7)

When you are in a wilderness right now

Many believers feel like they are already in a wilderness: chased by sickness, betrayal or financial collapse, feeling alone and stripped of everything. Pastor Chris speaks from experience. He lost everything, including his family, his money and his business, and was homeless during four years in the desert. It was in those years that he truly found the Lord and his prophetic anointing, and where God prepared him for the ministry he carries today.

His encouragement: the wilderness is not punishment; it is preparation. It is not the absence of God but His presence in its rawest form. When you can’t rely on money, systems or people, you learn to rely on Him. He loves you too much to let Pharaoh feed you or Babylon keep you comfortable. He brings you into the wilderness to give you to Himself. Don’t despise it. The very desert you want to escape may be the eagle’s wings carrying you to safety. It is the bridal chamber of God.

One bride, two paths

Here Pastor Chris goes deeper. Scripture shows the bride with two prophetic expressions at the end of the age. The first is the preserved remnant of Revelation 12, carried into the wilderness, hidden and nourished. The second is the multitude John sees before the throne:

“And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:14)

“It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.” (Revelation 13:7)

One part of the bride is preserved by supernatural protection; another is refined through martyrdom. Both are purified. Pastor Chris compares the bride to the menorah in the temple: one lampstand with seven branches, different expressions of light flowing from the same oil. Some shine in the wilderness, others in the fire of persecution, but all burn with the same flame of the Spirit. He also notes that the seven lamps point to the seven churches Yeshua wrote to (Revelation 1:20).

He is clear that which path a believer walks is not random; it is shaped by the heart, the walk and the obedience of each one. Both paths are victory, because both end at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The question is not “What happens to me?” but “Will I be faithful wherever He leads me?”

Some fear persecution, and Pastor Chris believes that fear is why many hold to a pre-tribulation rapture. Yeshua answered that fear directly:

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

If you have given your life to the Lord, you have eternal life. Men can take the flesh, but not your life; when you leave the body you go into His presence. Meanwhile we are called to make the most of this life, to be salt and light, and to obey the Great Commission. As Pastor Chris puts it, the greatest tragedy is not martyrdom but compromise. To survive the tribulation but lose your testimony is to lose everything. That is why discernment is non-negotiable: you must know God’s voice for yourself, study the Word for yourself, and not live on borrowed oil.

From Eve’s fall to the bride’s glory

God gave the first prophecy in the garden:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

Eve, whose Hebrew name Chavah means life, was deceived, and through disobedience death entered the world. Yet the promise of the Seed was planted. That Seed is Messiah Yeshua, the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). In Revelation 12 the woman appears again, clothed with the sun, giving birth to the One who will rule all nations. Eve’s story is redeemed: where she stumbled, her Seed triumphs.

Pastor Chris draws out the hidden revelation: the wilderness is the womb of God. Just as a child is formed in secret and revealed in time, the bride is hidden in the wilderness while she is formed into her true identity. Eve lost life; the bride gains eternal life. Eve hid in shame; the bride will stand in glory. If you feel your past disqualifies you, hear this: your story does not end in shame. The hidden season is not a graveyard but a womb, and the pain you feel may be the labor pains of a new identity.

Two covenants in the last days

Daniel speaks of a counterfeit covenant at the end:

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27)

While the beast makes his covenant, God has a secret plan for His bride, spoken through Hosea:

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” (Hosea 2:14–15)

See the contrast. The world makes a covenant with the beast and takes his mark, while God makes a covenant with His bride. Pastor Chris warns that the nations will be drawn into one blended worship, and believers must not be deceived. Like Esther, who was hidden, prepared and beautified before she was revealed to the king, the bride is being adorned in secret before she is revealed in glory. The Antichrist offers false peace; Messiah offers eternal life.

Because half-truths are the most dangerous lies, Pastor Chris gives a practical tip: when someone quotes a verse to you, read the verses before and after it so you understand the context.

The end of the story is a wedding

Scripture makes the bride’s destiny clear:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

In Revelation 20:4–6 the first resurrection includes those who refused to worship the beast, and Pastor Chris teaches that the martyred and the preserved reign together with Messiah for a thousand years. They are not two brides. They are one lampstand, one covenant, one destiny. The wilderness, the persecution and the dragon are not the end of the story. The end of the story is the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And the bride is not spotless because she never stumbled. She is spotless because she is washed in the blood of the Lamb. The question is not whether you have fallen, but whether you will rise and come back to the Bridegroom now. If you do not know Him, Pastor Chris invites you to repent with an open heart, receive the free gift of His Spirit, and surrender your life to Yeshua, who rose on the third day.

Frequently asked questions

Will Christians go through the tribulation?

Pastor Chris teaches yes. The woman of Revelation 12 is cared for in the wilderness for 1,260 days, and the beast makes war with the saints (Revelation 13:7), which means God’s people are on the earth during that time.

Who is the woman in Revelation 12?

In this teaching, the woman represents God’s faithful covenant people, the bride of Messiah, whom God protects in a place He prepared in the wilderness.

What is the wilderness in Revelation 12?

A place prepared by God where He nourishes His people out of the serpent’s reach, echoing how He fed Israel in the desert and carried them “on eagles’ wings” (Exodus 19:4).

Is the bride the church or Israel?

Pastor Chris teaches the bride is neither a denomination nor one group alone, but the faithful covenant remnant of Yeshua from every tribe and tongue who keep His commands.

Why are some protected and some martyred?

He teaches it is not random but shaped by each believer’s heart, walk and obedience. Both paths are victorious and end at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Are the preserved and the martyrs two different brides?

No. They are one bride, like one menorah with several branches burning the same oil.

What did the Africa-based rapture prediction claim?

That the rapture would come September 23–24, 2025, later revised to October 6–7 by appealing to the Julian calendar. Pastor Chris answers that Scripture, not date-setting, shows what happens to God’s people.

What does Hosea 2:14 have to do with the end times?

Pastor Chris reads it as God’s covenant with His bride in the wilderness, standing in contrast to the false covenant of Daniel 9:27.

How should I handle a hard season in my life?

See it as preparation, not punishment. The wilderness is where God draws you close, forms your identity and teaches you to depend on Him.

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