Rapture Dates - Based On Feasts, A Treaty, Mathematics And Two Asteroids

There are 4 possible ways to determine the date of the rapture. The first way is based on the probability of the rapture occurring on one of two annual Jewish feast dates. The second way is based on the signing of a Middle East peace treaty. The third way is based on mathematical formulas. The fourth way is based on math equations that involve two earth bound asteroids.

Jesus satisfied the first four Jewish feasts with His death during the Feast of Passover, His burial during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, His resurrection during the Feast of First Fruits and His giving of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers during the Feast of Pentecost (John 14:6 Acts 2:1-4). Therefore, the most reasonable date for the rapture to occur would be on the next or 5th feast known as the Feast of Trumpets. This is when the trumpet or shofar sounds and the people of Israel go throughout their fields gathering up the crops and taking them into the silo for safe keeping. This Feast is a prophetic shadow concerning the end of the 2,000 year old Church Age. At the rapture, a trumpet will sound from Heaven and a voice will command, “Come up here!” and in the twinkling of an eye, the shortest amount of time that cannot be divided, all believers throughout the world will be gathered up or harvested and taken into Heaven for safe keeping (I Thessalonians 4:16-18).

The 6th Feast is Yom Kipper and is the shadow prophecy of the tribulation period when the Jews repent of their sins and fervently pray to God for their Messiah to appear and save them from the armies of the antichrist. And the 7th and final Feast is the Feast of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, which has always been a shadow prophecy concerning the Second Coming of Christ the Messiah who will be sent by God to destroy not only the armies of the antichrist but also all the wicked of the earth. His arrival saves a small remanent of Jews who will be brought to Israel to live and serve in the Temple during the millennial reign of Christ (Matthew 24:22).

Scripture is clear that the rapture of the Church will take place at some time before the start of the tribulation period. And that the Second Coming of Christ will occur immediately following the end of the 7 year tribulation period.

The first possible date of the rapture in order of the 7 feasts would be on the Feast of Pentecost which occurs 50 days after Passover. Because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost in 33A.D., most scholars believe that this Feast or prophecy has been satisfied. However, we are told in the Book of Genesis that Enoch was the first person to be raptured and the Jews believe this event happened on his birthday which was also on Pentecost (Genesis 5:24). Many scholars believe that the official beginning date of the Church Age occurred on Pentecost 33 A.D. (Acts 2:1-4). So, it seems possible and appropriate that the church may be raptured on the anniversary of the first recorded rapture and the Church’s 2000 year birthday or May 15th 2033 A.D.

The second possible date of the rapture would be on the Feast of Trumpets. The Apostle John heard the sound of a trumpet, and was raptured up into heaven with Christ and there the accounts in the end of the age were revealed to him (Revelation 1:10). The first three chapters of Revelation are focused exclusively on the seven churches, or seven dispensations of the church age over the past 2,000 years. Then starting with Chapter 4 and the rapture of John into heaven, the Church is not mentioned again as it pertains to the unveiling of the tribulation period. This would strongly suggest that the Church is not mentioned during the accounts of the tribulation period because the Church is not present during the tribulation period. We do not read of the Church again until the very end of Revelation with the Second Coming of Christ and the saints returning with Him (Revelation 19:7-9, 14).

The third possible date of the rapture may be just before or immediately following the ratification of a 7 year peace agreement between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The treaty is slated to be in effect for 7 years in order to have the time needed to reach an agreement concerning who will control Jerusalem. The Palestinians want the city to serve as their capital as do the Israelis.

The fourth possible date of the rapture is based on a mathematical assumptions. For example, after Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels appeared and told the disciples that Jesus would return a second time to this exact spot (Acts 1:11). So, we are repeatedly assured that Jesus will return and now we know the place where He will return. The timing of His return might be based on the date that He ascended. Jesus was crucified Friday April 3rd, 33 A.D. He arose three days later on Sunday April 5th. He was on the earth for an additional 40 day or until May 15th when He ascended. So now we know the date He ascended but what about a possible anniversary date for His return?

Some scholars believe the Church Age will end on its 2,000 year anniversary. This is based on a theory that the total time period for the rule of man on earth is 6,000 years. This idea is based on several scriptural verses. First, God created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day (Genesis 2:2-4). Man was created on day 6 and the number of man is also 6. Next we have the verse, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years…” (II Peter 3:8). Some scholars believe this statement could be taken to mean that the total number of years for the rule of man on earth is 1,000 years for each day of creation or a total of 6,000 years. Then will come the final and restful thousand year millennial Reign of Christ for a total of 7,000 years. Seven is the Biblical number of completion. Also, the 6,000 year rule of man can be divided into three time periods. First, there was 2,000 years from the creation of Adam to Abraham. Then there was 2,000 years from Abraham to Jesus. And last, there is the 2,000 Church Age. So now all we need to now know is exactly when did the Church Age began and when will its 2,000 year mission end.

Again, most scholars believe that the Church Age officially began on the Pentecost of 33A.D. This is when the Holy Spirit arrived and 3,000 Jews were baptized by the Apostles. We know that Jesus ascended on May 15th and that Pentecost arrived 10 days later or May 25th A.D. This means that the Church Age would end 2,000 years later or on May 25th, 2033 A.D. It is also believed by some that the Church Age will end with the rapture of all believers both dead and alive off the earth. This will occur in order to save the Church from experiencing the following 7 year tribulation period also known as Jacob’s trouble and the wrath of Satan (Jeremiah 30;6-8; Revelation 12; 7-9,12). It is thought that the rapture of the Church will be the event that actually triggers both the tribulation period which will in turn cause the necessity of a one-man world leader to restore law and order. If we add the 7 year tribulation period to the year 2033, we have the Second Coming date of 2040. Biblically speaking, the number 40 represents a time of testing. Jesus’ Second Coming may coincide with His first ascension 10 day before Pentecost or on the Feast of Pentecost. But because the prophetic Feast of Pentecost was realized with the appearance of the Holy Spirit in 33 A.D., the following fall feast date of Yom Kipper 2040 is most probably the time of His appearance. The 6th annual Jewish Feast of Yom Kipper is a time when Jews repent of their sins and pray to God that He will allow them to live for another year. In this case, the armies of the antichrist will have surrounded Jerusalem and they will literally be praying for their lives (Zechariah 14:2).

The fifth and most intriguing possible date of the rapture has the Church age ending in 2033 or 6,000 years from the time of Adam. If we subtract 7 years to allow for the rapture and the tribulation period. This gives us the date 2026. This date presents two intriguing possibilities. If the tribulation starts in 2026, then half way through that 7 year tribulation period or 3.5 years later, we are facing the exact time of the arrival of the asteroid Apophis on Friday April 13th, 2029. And it is half way through the 7 year period that scripture tells us Satan is thrown out of heaven and down to the earth. It is then that he, or a demon spirit indwells the world leader who becomes the antichrist and declares himself a god (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13;4,8,15). This is then the beginning of what is called the Great Tribulation and the arrival of Apophis will greatly exacerbate an already terrible time for the people of the earth.

The sixth and final possible date of the rapture concerns asteroid 2018 LF16 which could possibly strike the earth on August 8th, 2023. It may be that Christ will rapture out the Church right before it makes impact. Then 6 years later, again the number of man, the earth may once again face a final asteroid strike when Apophis arrives Friday April 13, 2029. Jesus told His disciples that this period would be the worst the earth had ever experienced since its creation (Matthew 24:21). The loss of 2.5 billion Christians combined with two asteroids striking the earth 6 years apart would certainly be a tragic blow to the remaining remnants of the human race.

While most astronomers are currently certain these asteroids will not actually strike the earth, there are two important considerations to be made. First, they may be correct in their mathematical calculations that the current asteroids trajectories will not be altered by the gravitational forces they encounter as they travel through deep space. The second and most troubling idea is that there may be an understanding that if it were to be determined that an asteroid will hit the earth, governmental organizations may not inform the public as it would immediately create worldwide civil unrest and panic the likes of which has never occurred since the civilization of mankind (Luke 21:25, Matthew 24:21-22). The world would experience an immediate and overwhelming degeneration from civility to mob rule. And the chaos that would ensue would be so large and so pervasive as to be well out of the control of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. However, due to the ever-growing number of amateur astronomical enthusiasts, word of the strike would most probably still be disseminated by them only to have governmental sources declare it as fake news. Sensing the future possibilities of massive civil unrest, many people have purchased military grade assault weapons in order to protect their families. They have done this believing that governmental security forces will be unavailable to provide them appropriate protection. The United States has a population of 330 million people. It is estimated that there are approximately 390 million firearms currently owned by American citizens (Swiss Small Arms Survey 2018).

And last but not least, it must be noted that absolutely nothing needs to happen prophetically for the rapture to occur. While it could literally happen at any time, God will most likely use its timing for the greatest good concerning His chosen yet spiritually blind people. Therefore, it is highly probable that He will command the event to take place relative to the fall Feast of Trumpets. This would have a tremendous psychological effect on the Jewish people of the world and the scales of spiritual blindness will surely begin to fall from their eyes (Acts 9:1-19). While the tribulation period is meant to spiritually awaken all the unbelieving people of the earth, it will be primarily focused on the Jews of the Middle East. This is why the tribulation period is called, “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). Jacob was by nature a pleasant hardworking man and yet, at the same time, he was a deceiver. He spiritually struggled with God for most of his life. But eventually he came to realize that without God in his life he was lost. It was then that he repented and God, in return, gave him a new name. He called him… Israel (Genesis 32:28)!