The Rapture and Rosh Hashanah

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly when the rapture will happen.

But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32)

There is no debate about whether or not a rapture will occur; the Bible is clear on that question. As to when the rapture will take place, no one knows the exact timing of the event. Lord Jesus confirms this in Luke when He says, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40).

In Matthew 24:6-7, Lord Jesus spoke of various signs that we can look for to know when the coming of the Lord will be.

And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. (Matthew 24:6-7)

We can see most of these signs taking place in the times we live in, so we can expect that it will not be much longer before the coming of the Lord.

The Bible gives us another interesting clue as to when the rapture will take place.

These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. (Leviticus 23:4)

The seven feasts of the Lord are as follows:

The Passover
Unleavened Bread
First Fruits
Pentecost or weeks
The Feast of Trumpets
The Day of Atonement
The Feast of Tabernacles

Out of the seven feasts, the first four have been fulfilled by Lord Jesus Christ.

The sacrifice of Jesus as the lamb of God in the feast of the Passover
The burial of Jesus in the feast of the Unleavened Bread
The resurrection of Jesus in the feast of the Firstfruits
The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost

The most interesting thing is that the sacrifice, burial, resurrection and coming of the Holy Spirit all happened on the exact day when these feasts were celebrated.

Now there are three feasts yet to be fulfilled. They are:

The Feast of Trumpets
The Day of Atonement
The Feast of Tabernacles

When God "remembered Noah" (Genesis 8:1), the Scripture wasn't inferring that God had forgotten him. No, the text is saying that, due to Noah's obedience, the time had come for God to speak on his behalf.

When He began to speak on Noah's behalf, the flood waters began to abate. Oddly enough, the day on which Noah removed the cover of the ark and discovered that the surface of the ground was dry was "in the first month, the first day of the month" (Genesis 8: 13). This particular day would later be known as the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets is also known as Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish civil year.

Phases of the Moon

Rosh Hashana is the only feast day that occurs on a new moon, and because the Hebrew calendar is lunar, this feast does not occur on the same day each year on our calendar. Rosh Hashanah 2024 begins on the evening of 2 October and ends in the evening of Friday, October 4.

"Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation." (Leviticus 23:24)

On the day of the feast of trumpets, the shofar is blown. Bible scholars have long associated the feast of the trumpets with the rapture of the church.

Apostle Paul wrote:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

Every year the Jews celebrate the feast of the trumpets. Emotions run high when the feasts of trumpets draws near. We do not know when the rapture could occur, but one thing is sure, it will take place on the day of the feast of the trumpets. Our job is to stay prepared.

The Rapture and Rosh Hashanah

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