pre-tribulation – Resounding Shophar Ministries

Rapture – Part 4

In my last blog we covered the seven feasts that God established for Himself, feasts that were to mark future points in time in God’s plan of redemption for mankind. While these feasts were God’s feasts, they were given to the Jews to keep and observe every year, and the Apostle Paul told us in Colossians 2:16-17 that they are a shadow of things to come. It hasn’t been until recent years that the Christian community has even stopped to consider the possibility that in these feasts Biblical end-time prophecy can be found, much less that it had anything to do with us. In these feasts we can not only see the rapture of the church, but also that the rapture is a pre-tribulation event.

Of the seven feasts that God established for Himself, one of them clearly represents the rapture of the Church, and that is the fifth feast known as the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. It is in learning more about this feast that the words of the Apostle Paul regarding the rapture of the Church begins to make more sense.

So, what do we know of the Feast of Trumpets? The Feast of Trumpets represents a day of the blowing of trumpets. On that day the shofar, a trumpet made from the horn of an animal, is sounded 100 times. There are four distinct sounds it makes, and three of those sounds are blown 33 times each, with the fourth sound only being blown one time after all others have sounded. Each of the four sounds represent something different. The first is called Tekiah, a long single blast, which represents “the sound of the Kings coronation”. The second one is called Shevarim, three short wail-like blasts, which represents “repentance”. The third sound is the Teruah, nine staccato blasts of alarm, which represents “to awaken the soul”. The fourth, and final, sound is the Tekiah Ha-Gadolah, a great long blast, which represents “for as long as you can blow”.

Here is a list of some of the things this feast represents.

– The day of the blowing of trumpets

– The day of the awakening blast

– The day of the resurrection

– The day of the coronation of the King

– The day the King takes His bride

– The day of the King’s wedding

– The day God divides mankind into three groups, the wholly righteous, the wholly wicked, and the intermediates (those in between)

Do you see the parallels between this feast and the rapture of the Church? The resurrection of the dead, Jesus receiving His bride, the Church, and the wedding between Christ and the Church? Or, what about God dividing mankind into three groups, taking the wholly righteous while leaving the wholly wicked and those Christians unprepared for His coming for them?

There are two phrases from both Jesus and the Apostle Paul that alludes to this Feast of Trumpets. The first one is by Jesus in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, “but of that day and hour no one knows”, referring to the rapture of the Church. Of all the seven feasts, it was only this one that no one knew when it would take place. Oh, they knew it would be within a 48-hour span of time, but when exactly they did not know. There would be at least two witnesses set to observe the phases of the moon, and when the moon reached a certain phase they would report to the priests what they had seen. Once the priest got word from the witnesses that they had seen the specific moon phase, then the priest would declare when the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah would begin. Until that moment, they never knew when it would start as it was dependent upon the “new moon”, and as a result ancient Jews identified this feast as “the day and hour no one knows”.

The second phrase alluding to this feast was by the Apostle Paul, referring to the rapture of the Church in 1 Corinthians 15:52. It was the phrase “last trump”, or in some translations “last trumpet”. Some people argue that the trumpet Paul is alluding to is the last of the seven trumpets sounded in the book of Revelation, but this is not the case. To begin with, the book of Revelation was written about 35 years after Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and there is no indication that people questioned what he was even talking about. However, ancient Jews in Paul’s day were well aware of the phrase “last trump”, and that was in direct connection to the Feast of Trumpets. Remember I mentioned there were four distinct sounds on Rosh Hashanah, and the first three were blown 33 times each, and that the fourth sound was only blown once and after all the others had been sounded? That fourth sound, the final blast of the shofar on that day, was known by all Jews as the “last trump”, or “last trumpet”. A definite connection to the Feast of Trumpets.

Another facet of this feast that corresponds to the rapture is what is called the Teshuvah season. The Teshuvah was a period of time that spanned 40 days, starting 30 days before the Feast of Trumpets. Teshuvah is translated “repent” or “repentance”, and it is believed to stem from the third time Moses ascended Mt. Sinai for 40 days and nights to get the second set of tablets. The theme of this season is repentance, and Isaiah 55:6 is considered thematic of the season.

The first 30 days of this season of repentance are set aside for soul searching, repentance, and forgiveness, and it ends on Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. This is a period of time when people are to repent of sin in their life, give and seek forgiveness of those we’ve wronged seeking to make things right with them, and finally to prepare for judgement. The primary motivation for them is to be found worthy to be resurrected and called up by the King so they won’t have to go through the remaining ten days of this season. We can see the scriptural parallel with this period of time in Luke 21:36 and Mark 13:32-33, where we are told to watch and pray to be counted worthy to escape that which is coming to the world, knowing that the day He returns will be the “day and hour no one knows”. Other scriptures that should be noted with this time are Matthew 24:36-38 and Luke 17:26-30.

The last ten days of the Teshuvah season are called “Days of Awe”, which ends on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. These last ten days directly correspond with the tribulation period, and it’s a time of serious introspection and opportunity to change the books your name is written in. This is a period of time Jews know they do NOT want to go through because it will be that bad. Only the righteous who are resurrected and called up on the Feast of Trumpets will escape this period of time. Jesus mentions this in Revelation 3:10-11. Those who were not wholly righteous or are wholly wicked that are left behind are given an opportunity during this period of time to solidify their eternal destination in heaven or hell by their works during this time. Even those who were wholly wicked will have an opportunity during this time to get their names in the Book of Life by works starting with repentance, works that will probably include giving their very lives for the name of Jesus Christ.

In the middle of the judgments being poured out in the book of Revelation is a scripture that almost seems out of place, Revelation 16:15. It’s like Jesus is popping in for a quick news flash making sure people know that they are blessed who are watching for His return and keep their robes of righteousness, otherwise they will be found walking naked and people will see their shame. This is also why it is so important for us to consider what the writer of Hebrews tells us in, Hebrews 12:1-2, to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily trips us up. This is not the time to playing with eternity nonchalantly. If you haven’t been taking your walk with Jesus seriously, now is the time to start as His return is imminent as the signs of the times are so clearly screaming out to us. Even the Jews, and I’m not talking about Messianic Jews who accept Jesus as the Messiah, know that the period of time between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are not anything anybody in their right mind wants to go through. If they recognize that, how much more should we when we see God’s plan of redemption for mankind unfold before our very eyes?

John Johansson (Pastor John)

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Rapture – Part 3

In a previous blog I briefly touched on what is the rapture. We covered where the word “rapture” came from, and some of the reasons why some discount it as a Biblically sound teaching. We also touched on the three primary views surrounding its timing; pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. Among the three different views, I believe that the pre-tribulation position is the strongest of the three, and I want to cover why that is.

As I stated in the first blog of this series, there are some who discount the rapture as a Biblically legitimate view. They either take the position that there is no Biblical evidence of a rapture, which we’ve already proved to be incorrect, or they take the position that all Biblical end time prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. Those that take the position that all end time prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. also believe that God has been done with Israel since then, and that the law found in the Old Testament is null and void, completely done away with for all mankind. This is a scary position to take. We’ve already showed in the Old Testament individuals that had been raptured to heaven, a shadow of what God has in store for the Bride of Christ. What about the other references in the Old Testament to a rapture yet to happen?

In Leviticus 23, God lays out to Moses feasts that he is to proclaim to be holy convocations, feasts that are Gods. Many people tend to view the seven feasts that God instructs Moses on as feasts for Israel and the Jews to abide by, but this is incorrect. While it is true that the Jews are instructed to keep and observe these feasts, God makes it clear that they are His feasts and not theirs. God established these feasts in part so the Israelites would remember what He had done for them in times past, but they were also set up to mark future points in time relating to His plan of redemption for humanity. When we take a look at these feasts we see that Jesus fulfilled the first three feasts on the actual day of each feast, and then the birth of the Church on the day of Pentecost marks the fulfillment of the fourth feast. If what God laid out in the Old Testament was done away with and made null and void with Christ and the subsequent destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., then when and how were the last three feasts fulfilled? If these feasts were not fulfilled prior to 70 A.D., and now they are of no importance to us, then does that mean God didn’t know what He was doing when he established them? Or that He made a mistake in His calculations of time, which seems rather odd to think considering He’s the creator of time itself. To say that those feasts are of no relevance to us, especially if they hadn’t been fulfilled, that is to say God is not all knowing or in control of times and events, especially ones that He has established for Himself.

Are these feasts something that we don’t need to be concerned with, or is there something about them we do need to be aware of? The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia that he is concerned about them and how they were becoming legalistic in their observations of the days, months, seasons and years (Galatians 4:9-11). Paul isn’t saying it’s wrong to keep the feasts, as he even told the Corinthian church to keep the feast in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, but that we shouldn’t be in bondage to them. Later in Colossians 2:16-17 Paul tells us that they are a shadow of things to come. This would indicate that future prophetic events can be identified through the feasts, and that it is important for us to be aware of them to properly discern what is and will be happening in the future.

So, what are the feasts we are referring to, and how did Jesus fulfill the first three? Can we find evidence within them not only of a rapture, but also a pre-tribulation rapture? Let’s take a brief look at them.

1) Passover (Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover at the same hour that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening (John 19:14). 2) Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6) – Pointed to the Messiah’s sinless life (as leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible), making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life. 3) First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10) – Pointed to the Messiah’s resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in 1 Corinthians 15:20 as the “first fruits from the dead.” 4) Weeks or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16) – Occurred fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and pointed to the great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile, who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age (see Acts 2). The Church was actually established on this day when God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to Peter’s great sermon and his first proclamation of the gospel. 5) Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24) – The first of the fall feasts. Many believe this day points to the Rapture of the Church when the Messiah Jesus will appear in the heavens as He comes for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:52). 6) Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27) – Many believe this prophetically points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the Day of Atonement for the Jewish remnant when they “look upon Him whom they have pierced,” repent of their sins, and receive Him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36). 7) Tabernacles or Booths (Leviticus 23:34) – Many scholars believe that this feast day points to the Lord’s promise that He will once again “tabernacle” with His people when He returns to reign over all the world (Micah 4:1-7).

We can see from above that the first four feasts have already been fulfilled through Jesus and the birth of the Church. We can also see that those feasts were fulfilled in the order that God established them. If God continues to fulfill the feasts in the order that He gave them, then it only makes sense that the next feast to be fulfilled would be the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashanah, is the feast that represents the rapture of the Church to Christ. Everything about this feast and what it represents screams rapture. I’m not going to go into all the details of this feast in this blog, but the period of time between it and the sixth feast, the Day of Atonement, represents a seven-year period of time that we identify as the seven-year tribulation period.

I will go into more depth regarding the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah, in the next installment of this rapture series of blogs. In the meantime, no matter what your position is with the timing of the rapture, the most important thing is that you are ready for it no matter when it takes place. If you’re not ready for it, today is the day to get ready. Time is short, and the rapture is just around the corner.

John Johansson (Pastor John)

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Rapture or No Rapture

I grew up in church and with the awareness of a soon coming rapture of the church, the bride of Christ. The only argument I ever heard never questioned if there would be a rapture, but rather when the rapture would take place, pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I had even heard of those who don’t believe in the rapture. I have heard some of the arguments used in defense of their assertions for there being no rapture, but it’s hard for me to find much substance to them. It’s not like they have a lot of scripture to support their views with, because they don’t, but it seems that in order for them to take the position that they do requires them to discount other scriptures which would support the rapture position.

Those who don’t believe the Bible speaks of a rapture are of the opinion that the rapture is a fairly new line of thought, and that it originates from the early 1800’s. This is not so. According to Chuck Missler, if we were to look outside of the scriptures found in the Bible, we would find that the earliest writings referring to a rapture, especially a pre-tribulation rapture, were as early as A.D. 100 in the epistle of Barnabas. This is followed by four other writings leading up to the fourth century writing of Ephraem, the Syrian.

It is believed by some that the basis for the idea of a rapture hinges upon two scriptures, I Thessalonians 4:15-17 and I Corinthians 15:51-53. While it is true that these are well used scriptures in defending the position of a rapture, we can find that the Bible has a lot more to say on the subject than just that. We see it not only in the words of the Apostle Paul, but also in the words of Jesus. We see it in the Jewish feasts, the marriage customs of the ancient Jews, and in some of the historical records found in the Old Testament. As I mentioned earlier, to discount the idea of the rapture as from God requires one to discount various aspects and sections of the Bible. I know that none of us truly want to do that, so let’s take a quick look at some of what I just mentioned.

To begin with we need to see that the idea of a rapture is seen in the seven feasts God gave the Jews to observe each year. It is commonly believed that the feasts were only for the Jews, but that is not the case. In Leviticus 23:2, God makes it very clear that these are His feasts that they are to observe. That same passage refers to these feasts as convocations, also translated as “rehearsals”. In other words, God established these feasts as rehearsals for an appointed time to come. Many believe that with Jesus and the subsequent dispensation of grace, the Old Testament has no real value to a Christian outside of historical information and to help us understand the plan of God leading to salvation through Jesus. Seeing how that none of the feasts were fulfilled until Jesus came, and that there are still three of the seven feasts left unfulfilled, it could be argued that the Old Testament is still very relevant to us as Christians in this day and age.

When we look at the Jewish feasts, Jesus fulfilled the first three and the birth of the Church fulfilled the fourth feast on the day of Pentecost. The next feast to be fulfilled is Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, a feast that very closely parallels our understanding of the rapture. When we take a close look at this feast, there is a lot about it that screams out that it represents the rapture of the church. This fifth feast is next on God’s prophetic timetable yet to be fulfilled, and when we look at the final two feasts we see that they closely resemble the end of the tribulation period and the start of the 1000 year reign of Christ here on earth. In addition to that, the period of time between the fifth and sixth feasts is known as the “Days of Awe”, a period of time that appears to represent the seven-year tribulation period.

The Apostle Paul alludes to the Jewish feast Rosh Hashanah when he mentions the “last trump” in conjunction with the “catching away” of the Church. The “last trump” Paul talks about is not the seventh trumpet sound mentioned in the book of Revelation. How can we know that? To begin with, the way Paul mentions the “last trump” indicates that the Jews were well acquainted with it and what it was, and that there was no need for him to explain himself. Also, Paul’s mention of the “last trump” was about 40 years before the Apostle John’s revelation of end time events and the seven trumpet blasts of judgment, therefore Paul could not be referring to John’s revelation. The “last trump” he was referring to was the last of 100 blasts of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, a blast that all Jews knew as the “last trump”.

When speaking of His return, Jesus made the statement that it would be at a day and hour no man knows. The phrase “day and hour no man knows” refers to the Jewish feast, Rosh Hashanah. Ancient Jews referred to this feast with that phrase because it was the only one of seven that they never knew when it would begin, but they knew it would be within a 48 hour time frame. When a Jew made this statement, or used it themselves, they were referring to this feast, the same feast that is symbolic of the rapture. In this way it can be argued that Jesus was letting us know His return for the Church would be on this day, though we don’t know which year, day or hour it would take place.

When we look at the marriage customs of the ancient Jews, we see a number of things that closely resemble the rapture and the events surrounding it, including the time of the 7-year tribulation period and the following millennium reign of Christ. In order for us to seriously look at these, we need to first remember that the Apostle Paul tells us that the Church is betrothed and espoused to Christ (I Corinthians 11:2), and that the relationship between a husband and wife models the relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). In the process of an ancient wedding, the bride and the bridegroom enter into a marriage relationship, but they don’t consummate it until later. After entering into the marriage, the groom departs to prepare a place for his bride at his father’s house. During this period of time, the bride has no idea of when the groom will return for her, but her responsibility during this time is to prepare herself for his return and to eagerly anticipate his return at any moment. If she fails to do so, the marriage process will be cancelled with a letter of divorcement and he will return to his father’s house without her. If she has done what is expected of a new bride, the groom will take her back to his father’s house and consummate the marriage, and this will be the start of a 7-day period of time known as the marriage feast. After the marriage feast is concluded, the husband and wife will re-enter public life.

When Jesus told us that He was going to prepare a place for us, and that in His Father’s house are many rooms, He was talking as a groom to His new bride. The fact that we don’t know when He will return is locked up in both the marriage customs of ancient Jews and the Feast of Trumpets. The rapture is Christ’s return for His bride, another piece of the puzzle found in the Feast of Trumpets. Many times Jesus told us He would return as a thief in the night for those who are not watching for Him, and that only those who are watching will not be caught off guard. It is because of that, and because of the example we see in the ancient Jews marriage customs, that we understand why it is so important to be watching and prepared for Him when He returns.

Some argue that no one has ever been raptured up, or caught up, before, but that isn’t true either. Not only can we say it did happen before, but we can also say it happened in the Old Testament. We know that Enoch just disappeared and was never seen or heard of again because God took him (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). Elijah was another one that was “caught up” to heaven (2 Kings 2:11) as a whirlwind pulled him up.

What about the belief of a pre-tribulation rapture? One aspect of the pre-tribulation position is that the rapture keeps us from the judgments to come, and we see this in the lives of both Noah and Lot. God withheld the judgment of total destruction until His people were safe. Noah found his safety in a boat God commanded him to build, also known as the ark, and Lot found safety when he left Sodom and Gomorrah and went to Zoar. If that wasn’t enough, Isaiah 26:20-21 speaks of the rapture of the church, the Bride of Christ, and that God calls her up to be hidden from the judgments He’s about to pour out upon the earth.

As we can see, the argument opposing the rapture position, especially the pre-tribulation rapture, doesn’t have much to stand on, and the argument for a pre-tribulation rapture is pretty strong. So, is there a rapture to come or not? I think it is a very risky thing for someone to argue against the rapture position. In my next blog I will be answering the question, “Does it really make a difference whether or not someone believes in the rapture?” In the meantime, watch and pray so that you are not caught off guard and left behind.