Essay sidebar: Zechariah 14 is the key to prophecy

By R.C. Dick

Herbert W. Armstrong said he was our "father in the faith." I agree and staunchly support the doctrines God revealed to Mr. Armstrong. They are the way to an abundant, happy life.

It was 45 years ago, in the prophecy class in Ambassador College, that I first really became aware of Zechariah 14:4-5. Christ's feet would stand on the Mount of Olives; the mount would split to form a great valley along which "ye shall flee . . ."

But didn't 1 Thessalonians 4 tell us the Lord would return with a shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God? Won't the dead in Christ rise first and then we who are alive rise to meet Him in the air?

How could He possibly do both?

I would not accept that this was a contradiction. If this is what God said, this is how it has to be.

After diligently searching the scriptures, I found that both accounts are absolutely true. When this fact becomes clear, it opens a whole new dimension of prophecy. Suddenly scriptures that we have wondered about or just ignored become clear to reveal endless, thrilling new pieces to an exciting account of what lies before us.

I might add that, although I did not agree with the Worldwide Church of God concerning this prophecy, I never stopped serving the church to the best of my ability.