Rapture and Tribulation Dates Revealed

First, let’s get the standard prerequisite out of the way. Jesus was asked by His disciples, " ....what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the Age?" He answered by saying, "…of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:3, 36). Now let’s look at the most probable date the Rapture will occur.

I think it most likely that the 7 annual Jewish Feasts are the time clock for the Rapture event and the start of the seven year Tribulation Period. The first three feasts known as Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits are literally feasts but also prophetic 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 new unused 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 (I Corinthians 15:20). Thus, Jesus had satisfied these first three prophetic feasts. The fourth prophetic feast, the Feast of Pentecost, was satisfied when Christ sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers fifty days after His resurrection. This supernatural act brought salvation to three thousand Jews on that day and is considered by most Biblical scholars as the official start of the two thousand year Church Age dispensation.

The fifth Fall feast is the Feast of Trumpets or Announcements. This Feast begins with the shofar {trumpet} being sounded. This alerts the people that the crops they have tended are now mature and ripe for harvesting. This shofar sound is similar to the Apostle John saying he heard the voice of Christ which sounded clear like a trumpet saying "Come up!" He wrote that he was suddenly in the sky and saw a door {portal} open. He went through and found himself before the Throne of God (Revelation 4:1-2). The harvest takes place in the Fall just before the terrible intemperate weather of winter approaches. The precious grain is taken and stored up in siloes where it is kept safe as the raging storms. While the crop field is square, the harvest is conducted in a circular fashion starting in the middle. This literally leaves grain in the corners referred to as the gleanings to be gathered by the poor to survive on. Figuratively, the gleanings are the unrighteous people left behind on the earth. They will now have to endure and survive worldwide tumultuous upheavals of the Tribulation Period. But prophetically, some of these people will repent and reach out to God for deliverance. Those that survive will be tasked with repopulating the earth.

I believe it will be on the Feast of Trumpets in September that the shofar 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 or shadow prophecy. He stated that His sudden appearance to His followers at the Rapture would come during a time as it was in 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 began. When the flood arrived, only eight passengers were safe in the ark floating above the tribulation down below. Therefore, I believe that one week after the Rapture, the seven year Tribulation Period 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. This is a time when God begins to pour out a series of plagues on the earth. At the same time, Satan uses his limited powers to become the god of mankind, and his son the Antichrist conducts worldwide military campaigns in an effort to control the world and stop the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus said it will be the most horrific time since the creation of the world (Matthew 24:21).

Scripture tells us that this period will end with the armies of the Antichrist surrounding Jerusalem ready to destroy the last remnants of the Jewish race. This event coincides exactly with the sixth Fall Feast of Yom Kippur. Currently, during this feast, the Jews literally fervently pray to God to cover their sins and be allowed to live another year. This is the only feast that requires the High Priest to sacrifice a male goat {Jesus} on behalf of the Jewish race. But this feast is prophetic because 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 surrounding armies of the Antichrist. This act of true repentance on the part of the proud Jewish race is the trigger event that causes the Second Coming of Christ, who saves a small remnant of God’s chosen people (Hosea 5:15) . The final Fall Feast is the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths in which the Jews believe that one day God will come 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 Period and the start of the Millennial Reign of Christ. Because this victorious day will continue uninterrupted as part of the Millennial Reign of Christ, it will literally be as a thousand years (II Peter 3:8). Here we see the physical incarnation of God in the visage of Christ literally dwelling with mankind for the next one thousand years.

That said, we have strong reasons 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 (Matthew 24: 32-34). This astounding event of statehood occurred in May 16, 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 Rapture date as late as the Fall of 2028.

On a very interesting note, it was Friday, April 3, 33 AD that Jesus was crucified. Modern astronomy shows that this date was a Friday and that a Blood Moon arose over Israel that evening. Jesus arose on Sunday April 5th. Therefore, 2033 AD. will be the two thousand year anniversary of these momentous events. Will Jesus arrive on any of these dates? Who can say for sure.

But if 2033 is the Second Coming of Christ, then we would need to subtract seven years to account for the Tribulation Period. This brings us to the date of 2026. So, the Feast of Trumpets in the Fall of 2026 {Friday Sept. 11th - Sunday Sept. 13th} is a very interesting date to consider. And the years 2026 - 2033 are a time period with great prophetic promise. Only time will tell.

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 an immortal child of God!

A final thought. The largest font size used in print media is called the Second Coming type. It is an extremely large, headline-worthy font size reserved only for truly momentous history changing events. Apparently, to have received this title, the media believes there is no bigger news event than the Second Coming of Christ. And they are correct.