Q&A When Will the Rapture & Tribulation Period Occur?

Question: What is your best guess on when the rapture and tribulation period will occur?

First, let’s get the standard prerequisite out of the way. Jesus said when asked this question, "…of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Now let’s look at the most probable day the rapture will occur.

I think it most likely that the seven Jewish annual Feasts are the time clock for the rapture event and the seven year tribulation period. The first three feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits are literally feasts but also prophecies concerning the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ. Christ died just three hours before the Feast of Passover began. His sin free or unleavened body was in His tomb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and He arose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits as the first fruit of the resurrection. Thus, He has satisfied these first three prophetic feasts. The fourth prophetic feast called the Feast of Pentecost was satisfied when Christ sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers fifty days after His resurrection. This supernatural act that brought salvation to three thousand Jews that day is considered the official start of the Church Age.

The fifth Fall feast is the Feast of Trumpets or Announcement. I believe it will be on the Feast of Trumpets in September that the Shofar, or trumpet, will sound and the rapture will occur. While scripture does not state the length of time between the rapture and the start of the Tribulation Period, I believe Jesus gave us this answer in the form of a hidden prophecy. He stated that His sudden appearance (to His followers at the rapture) would come during a time similar to the days of Noah. We know that God gave the people in Noah’s day a week to come aboard the ark before the great tribulation of the flood came. When the flood arrived, the passengers in the ark were safely above the tribulation down below. Therefore, I believe that one week after the rapture, the seven year tribulation will officially begin. Three and one half years into the tribulation, the Antichrist or world leader will declare himself a god and demand to be worshiped. This will be the start of the final three and one half years known as the Great Tribulation Period. I believe that this period will end with the armies of the Antichrist surrounding Jerusalem ready to destroy the last remnant of this race. This event will coincide with the sixth Fall Feast of Yom Kippur. Currently, the Jews fervently pray to God to be forgiven of their sins and allowed to live another year. This is the only feast that requires the High Priest to sacrifice a male goat on behalf of the Jewish race. But at the end of the tribulation period, the Jews of Israel will plead with God to send a Messiah before they are annihilated by the Antichrist. This is the trigger event that causes the Second Coming of Christ to save God’s chosen people. The final Fall Feast is the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths in which God comes to live with mankind. I believe the Second Coming of Christ will be on this feast day which will be the final day of the seven year tribulation and the start of the Millennial Reign of Christ or God dwelling with mankind for the next one thousand years.

This said, we have strong reason to believe that the rapture of those deemed righteous by God will occur in September during the Feast of Trumpets. While it is difficult to know the exact year, Jesus stated that the generation that witnesses the rebirth of Israel as a nation will experience the rapture. This astounding event of statehood occurred in May 16th of 1948. The Book of Psalms states that a generation can be as long as eighty years. So, if we add eighty years to the date of 1948, we arrive at a date in the Fall of 2028.

So, if you currently like the Fall because of its beautiful colors, just wait till you view earth while being raptured into the heavens to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and officially become a child of God!