I'm Going to Predict the Day of the Rapture

          When we were in California I saw these signs. In fact, I even saw guys wearing sandwich boards on Hollywood Blvd. advertising this "fact". I know they are wrong for 2 reasons; 1) The Bible says "“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Matt. 24:36,37   2) That's not the day I picked. HA! Bear with me while I explain.
           I got these ideas from studying Messianic writers, so as usual, this is not an original thought - sigh. I've had one original thought in my life and it was wrong. To understand when the Lord is meeting us in the air, you have to go back to Leviticus and study the seven feasts. Now from how I understand it, and it makes great sense to me, the feasts were based on the harvest and to commemorate times where God moved on behalf of the Israelites. The first 3 we actually celebrated this past week.

    I. Passover - The Passover feast celebrated the deliverance of the nation of Israel from Egypt by means of the last plague of the Death Angel killing all the first born sons who were not protected by the blood of the Passover lamb placed on the doorposts of their home. Fulfillment - Good Friday (crucifixion). Jesus was/is the Passover lamb.He was crucified literally on the day of Passover! From being killed in the prime of life to being spotless without defect to not a bone being broken to the willful application of its blood to save ones life,etc., the foreshadowing was so clear Paul wrote,"...For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1Cor 5:7."

II. Unleavened Bread - During the multi-day Passover Feast they would take three unleavened breads  ,remove the middle one, break it and take the broken piece  (afikomen), wrap it in a napkin and hide it. Three days later the kids would go find it and the winner received a prize.

If you study Matzah bread, you see it has stripes, holes (piercings), and is flat (without yeast). Fulfillment - Burial of Christ. It doesn't take a huge stretch to see that Jesus fulfilled this feast of Unleavened Bread on those exact days. He received stripes, was pierced,without sin, broken, wrapped in cloths, hidden for three days, and is the second part (middle) of the trinity. Not only that but He referred to Himself as the Bread of Life, the Kernal of wheat that must fall to the ground, and as he instigated communion, while breaking the middle matzah, said "This is my body broken for you."

III. First Fruits - The Sunday after the feast of Unleavened Bread was the feast of First Fruits. This commemorated the beginning of the harvest season which represented life and God's faithfulness to them. If you have ever picked wild blackberries there is always one big ripe dark one on the vine while the rest are puny and red. This is the first fruit. It tells you more are coming. Fulfillment - Easter/Resurrection Day. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. "1Cor 15:22,23.

Jesus rose from the dead on this exact day and became the first of many (all who belong to Him) to experience life after death.

IV. Pentecost - Fifty days later the maximum harvest was seen. The Jews then had this feast to glorify God for His abundant provision for them. Fulfillment - The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came down from Heaven and indwelt believers on that very day. Why did Jesus not go to Heaven immediately after the Resurrection? Why did He tell the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait? Because God fulfills these Feasts. He had to wait 50 days. Then a mass harvest of souls occured. Thousands at a time.

V. Trumpets - When the harvest was over it was time to come in and celebrate. Fulfillment - The Rapture. The trumpet -  "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1Cor. 15:52

The end of the harvest -  "Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in"    Rom. 11:25

VI. Day of Atonement  VII. Booths - Both of these have not been fulfilled yet and since they aren't crucial to the theme of this blog I will let you study those on your own as this is getting lenghty.

              So this is how I know He is not returning on May 21st, that is not Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) Here are the dates He could come back; http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/671869/jewish/When-is-Rosh-Hashanah-in-2011-2012-2013-2014-and-2015.htm etc. I don't know the hour or the day but we are reprimanded for not knowing the season or the signs ; “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matt. 16:2,3

God is anything but random so I truly believe He will meet us in the air on The Feast of Trumpets. Lets live like it is 2011!