Dear Ted,
Your recent posts have been a great blessing to me and I appreciate the amount of effort that you have put into them. Your posts on Christ’s conception on the Eighth Day of Hanukkah (http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/dec2007/tedp1210-1.htm ), the connection between the Eighth Day and resurrection (http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/dec2007/tedp1210.htm), and the connection between the 90 year age of Sarah when she gave birth to Isaac and the 90 yearanniversary of the 1917 capture of Jerusalem(http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/dec2007/tedp121.htm) have been of great interest to me.
I believe that the Rapture will actually be a conception event. I believe that there is a specific parallel to the physical birth process and the spiritual birth process. Since we end up with a body after the first birth, we should end up with a body after the second birth. Since we do not have our new bodies yet, the process of the second birth is not yet complete. I explain this in more detail in a December 5, 2006 post which also links to an earlier May 9, 2006 post: http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/dec2006/lisat125.htm
What excited me about your posts is that I have also been thinking about various Rapture models where a "Rapture type" occurs on the Eighth Day: (1) Christ was raised on the Eighth Day and he is the Firstfruits of all who will be resurrected to eternal life. Since the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, Sunday could be seen as the eighth day. Jesus also revealed Himself to be the Messiah on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday – so Resurrection Sunday would also be eight days from that.
(2) Although Noah was directed to board the ark, the rains did not begin until after 7 days. Therefore, Noah’s protection from the judgment of God started on the Eighth Day. "The Lord then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation …. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.’ And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him …. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth." Genesis 7:1,4,5,and 10.
(3) In the passage concerning Joshua and the City of Jericho, the people are instructed to march around the city once for six days. On the seventh day, they are told to march around the city seven times while the priests blew their trumpets. "When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." Joshua 6:5. The late Zola Levitt believed that this is a foreshadowing of the Rapture because it tracks the language of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After than, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." Here, there were the sound of a blast and a shout before the people went up. It should also be noted that the people were in the possession of the bones of Joseph, which were later buried in the Promised Land. "And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants." Joshua 24:32. So, both the dead and the living would have been present. Now, I don’t know how long it took the Israelites to march around the City of Jericho for seven times, but I do not think that it is a stretch to think that they must have been bearing close to the Eighth Day which would have been at sunset. According to Joshua 6:15, they started to march at daybreak.
(4) The Transfiguration contains so many elements connected with the Rapture that I believe that it is a type of the Rapture. The account of the Transfiguration in the Book of Luke states: "About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.’ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen." Luke 9:28-38. Here, we have a representation of the Old Testament saints in Moses and Elijah and the Church in Peter, John and James. We should also note that Moses had died but Elijah had not. It can be said, then, that they collectively represented the dead in Christ and those who are still alive at the time of the Rapture. There is a transformation in the appearance of Christ and Moses and Elijah appear "in glorious splendor." We too will be changed in the Rapture. They meet the Lord up on a mountain, and we will meet the Lord up in the air. A cloud envelopes everyone and the voice of God is heard. We will also be caught up in the clouds and hear the voice of God. Author David Lowe has made an interesting observation concerning the voice of God. He believes that the voice of God is actually the Trump of God – the same trump that was heard on Mount Sinai.
I cannot help but wonder if the 90 year anniversary of the 1917 capture of Jerusalem, which occurs during Hanukkah this year, is prophetically significant. It has occurred to me that if Jesus was conceived during Hanukkah, perhaps the Church will also be conceived or raptured then. If Sarah had her miracle conception at the age of 90, perhaps the Rapture of the Church will also occur at a significant 90 year mark.
I personally think that there will be a 10 year window between the Rapture and the Second Coming. Your posts made me study the passages concerning the promise of Isaac’s birth and I was thrilled to find another confirmation for this. There is a 10 year age gap between Abraham and Sarah. "Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’" Genesis 17:17. We also see that the timing of Isaac’s conception is connected with the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. It is widely thought that the Rapture will be connected with a judgment of God on the earth. Jesus also compared the last days to the days of Lot. See Luke 17:28-35. The Lord tells Abraham that he will return when Isaac is born – when Abraham will be 100 years old. "Then the Lord said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son …. I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.’" Genesis 18:10, 14. I always thought that it was strange that the scripture does not actually memorialize his return at the birth of Isaac. But, God puts things in the Bible for a reason; he established a pattern – connecting His return with the timing of a birth. I think that it will be the birth of the Church. We will be changed (i.e. conception) at the Rapture and hidden (i.e. gestation) from the world like a child is hidden in a womb. At the appointed time, we will be revealed (i.e. born) to the world when Christ returns. Perhaps, we will be "born again" at a significant 100 year mark.
If so, we will know soon enough if the year 1917 is the correct starting point.
Maranatha.
– Lisa Taylor