Dear Doves,

Although the Rapture could occur at anytime, I must admit that I am always on "high alert" whenever the Jewish holidays roll around. This current season finds me on even higher alert because of the 40 year anniversary from the 1967 Six Day War. I figure that something prophetically significant is going to happen this year.

I just want to encourage those who may be disappointed because another Rosh Hashanah has come and gone without us being raptured. I realize that there are excellent reasons for connecting the Last Trump to the Feast of Trumpets, but I think that we should not dismiss this holiday season until it is completely over. Couldn’t the Last Trump simply be the final trumpet that is sounded at the end of the annual 7 Biblical feasts? If so, we need to pay special attention to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Take a look at Psalm 81:3-4: "Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast; this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob." (NIV). We have a verse that talks about sounding a trumpet on 2 different occasions – like bookends. Perhaps, we have been given a clue to the identity of "the Last Trump." According to my study Bible, this verse is referring to the Feast of Trumpets, which is a new moon festival, and the Feast of Tabernacles which is a full moon festival. Throughout the Bible, the Feast of Tabernacles is referred to as the feast or festival. (See 1 Kings 8:2, 65 and 12:32; 2 Chronicles 5:3 and 7:8; Nehemiah 8:14, 18; and Ezekiel 45:25.) Tabernacles is the last in a series of Levitical feast days that span over a period of 7 months. So, chronologically speaking, it makes sense that the blowing of the Last Trump will occur on Tabernacles as opposed to the Feast of Trumpets which is celebrated earlier. More importantly, the passage in Psalms states that the blowing of the ram’s horn on these two feasts are a decree and an ordinance of God. This is important. This is something that God requires to be observed. The Feast of Tabernacles also signals the end of the harvest. See Deuteronomy 16:13-15. Thus, it would be fitting for the Rapture of the Church to occur at the end of the harvest season because it had its start at Pentecost, which occurs at the beginning of the harvest season. See Exodus 23:16. There is a period of 4 months between Pentecost and Tabernacles. "Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together." John 4:35-36. Spiritually speaking, the Church is currently existing between these two feasts. So maybe the Rapture, which is a type of harvest, will occur during the harvest celebration of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7 day celebration in which the Jews are supposed to dwell in temporary booths or tabernacles in order to memorialize the time that they lived in temporary shelters during their 40 years in the desert with Moses. (There is also an 8th day where there is to be a sacred assembly and no work is to be done.) See Leviticus 23:36. It is to be a joyful festival. See Deuteronomy 16:14. We should note that the Bible compares our mortal bodies to tents. "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." 2 Corinthians 5:1. Thus, we all live in temporary structures or tabernacles while we are here on earth. Who knows? Maybe we will receive our immortal bodies (i.e. heavenly structures) during or at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles.

But, even if we are still here in a few weeks, just remember that we will be that much closer to the time when we will be gathered to the Lord. I know that when the Rapture finally does take place, God’s timing is going to make perfect sense to us. Until that time, keep watching!

Maranatha.

– Lisa Taylor