The Rapture is the gathering of believers constituting the Church (also known as the Bride of Christ) from Earth by Jesus--generally described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. I have previously presented here reasons suggesting that there will, indeed, be a Rapture and that it occurs prior to the antichrist's entering into a 7-year covenant with "many"(Daniel (9:27)--a 7-year period commonly referred to as the Tribulation (with the last 3.5 years constituting the "Great Tribulation"). Although many people believe that the Rapture will indeed occur prior to the Tribulation, everyone wonders if there is a particular time that it will occur. Many seek to correlate the Rapture to the special festivals and events that God established for His chosen people, the Jews. In this regard, I note that there are a number of considerations suggesting that the Rapture could occur at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Festival of Booths and Sukkot), the final day of which is denominated by the Jews as Hoshanah Rabbah (which means the "The Great Supplication"):
1. The Feast of Tabernacles is a commemoration of God's having rescued His people from Egypt and protecting them, leading them and having them live in booths in the wilderness--which could be a parallel to the exodus of believers constituting the Church from the Egypt of this world and being protected by God in chambers in heaven. See Leviticus 23:41-43 and Isaiah 26:20-21.
2. The feast is for 7 days--which could represent a parallel to the 7-year period of God's special protection of the Church from the Tribulation. See Leviticus 23:41 in light of the 7-year period of Tribulation identified in the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 (identified as a final "seven" or "week") that awaits the Jews in the future. It is followed by a day of rest (Lev. 23:36), which could represent the start of the millennial reign of Christ that follows the Tribulation.
3. During the millennial reign of Christ, Gentile nations are invited to come to Israel to worship Jesus during the Feast of Booths--a suggestion that Gentiles are uniquely invited to participate in and celebrate this particular feast. See Zech. 14:16-19.
4. The Feast of Tabernacles is a celebration of harvest--which could represent an amazing parallel to the concept of God's people, like crops, being gathered to Him--such as at the Rapture. See Leviticus 23:39 in light of the following consideration: There are 2 distinct "crop" (i.e., people) gatherings described in Amos 7:1-6: (1) the King’s crop (which, contextually, would represent the Church as the Bride of Christ--believers in Jesus who are raptured prior to the arrival of the “locusts”—the trials of the Tribulation), followed by (2) the spring crop, which would accordingly represent the Jewish saints who die during or otherwise survive the Tribulation, having rejected the mark of the beast and having refused to worship the image of the beast; interestingly, the prophet Amos speaks of the second group distinctly as “Jacob”—i.e., the Jews.
5. The Apostle Paul, in describing what we understand to be the Rapture, explains that it begins at the sound of a final trumpet blast: "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" I Cor. 15:52 (emphasis added). Paul also notes the trumpet in 1 Thes. 4:16: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God ...." Many Bible scholars and students struggle to understand the meaning of this trumpet blast, considering that it is a critical marker of the Rapture and believing that it must correlate to one of the Jewish celebrations. In this regard, Psalm 81, which many consider to be a celebration of both the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Tabernacles, includes the celebratory invitation to blow the trumpet: "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day" (Psalm 81:3)--the full moon marking the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The shofar is accordingly blown on the final day of the feast, Hoshanah Rabbah (see the article on The Shofar in War and Worship; see also the article regarding The Secret of the 15 Steps--particularly at "Secret #4), and could well mark the trumpet blast described by Paul. (Of course, the shofar is also blown on Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur as well, and there are certainly considerations pointing to these days as well.) While the shofar is blown at these events, it is noteworthy to consider that, distinct from the shofar blasts, there are also special blasts from metal trumpets. In Numbers 10, we see the following discussion: "The Lord spoke further to Moses, saying, 'Make yourself two trumpets of silver, you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and breaking camp. ... And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you will be thought of by the Lord your God, and be saved from your enemies. Also on the day of your joy and at your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God.'” Numbers 10:1-2&9-10. Thus, it is possible that (a) these trumpets are the trumpets described by Paul and used by God as a summoning of the "congregation" of the Church at the Rapture, (b) these trumpets are the trumpets described by Paul and used by God to mark the "day of our joy"--which could coincide with any of the Jewish feasts or first days of the month--at the Rapture, or (c) these trumpets represent a parallel to the trumpets used by God to summon His Church at the Rapture.
6. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7 day feast to the Lord that starts with a day of restful celebration. Leviticus 23:34-36, 41. There is no question that for believers who are to be raptured, they will enjoy a time of celebratory rest that culminates in the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Rev. 19:7-10--which occurs prior to the Second Coming of Christ to Earth to begin His millennial reign. Rev. 19:11-19.
7. Jesus made a special announcement on the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles: "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.'" John 7:37. Jesus' statement is akin to the statement made to John in Revelation: "Come up here" (Rev. 4:1); the statement made to John is considered by many to be a pre-Tribulation Rapture like invitation.
8. It is customary for Jews in their celebration to perform a ceremony similar to the one performed in connection with the overtaking of Jericho, in that during each day of the festival, they conduct a prayer ritual called the hoshanot, in which the congregants walk in a circle around a Sefer Torah holding a branch of a palm tree, and on the 7th day they encircle it 7 times. In Joshua 6:3-5, the final circuit is followed by a trumpet blast and shout. The final trumpet on Hoshanah Rabbah would represent this trumpet blast that together with the shout of the archangel could align with the explanations provided by Paul. And just like Rahab and her family were saved from the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 6:25), so the Church would be rescued from the destruction that will be the Tribulation.
Thus, while there are a number of candidates for the time at which the Rapture might occur, there is no question that the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Hoshanah Rabbah, must be on the list of possibilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment