For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ... The prophecy seems literal (cf. Joel 3:2). If Antichrist be the leader of the nations, it seems inconsistent with the statement that he will at this time be sitting in the temple as God at Jerusalem (2 Thessalonians 2:4); thus Antichrist outside would be made to besiege Antichrist within the city. But obscurities and difficulties of detail do not set aside the main facts of revelations: the event will clear up seeming difficulties. (Compare the complicated movements, Daniel 11:1-45.) The beast that leads the secular hosts is distinct from the second beast that wields the spiritual power, and who is also called "the false prophet" (Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 16:13-14) Moreover, Antichrist, who at one time sits in the temple as God, may subsequently prove to be at the head of the hosts which shall assail Jerusalem and perish finally, after a temporary success.
And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. In Zechariah 13:8-9, it is "two-thirds" that perish, and "the third" escapes. There, however, it is "in all the land;" here it is "half of the city." Two-thirds of the whole people perish, one-third survives. One-half of the citizens are led captive, the residue are not cut off. Perhaps, too, we ought to translate 'a (not "the") residue.'