Since I started studying Bible prophecy in the late 90's, I have always believed in a pretribulation rapture that will occur on Rosh Hashanah.  Jesus fulfilled the four spring Jewish festivals with His First Coming on the day of the festival. He died on Passover. He was buried on Unlevened Bread. He rose on First Fruits. He gave us the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.  It makes perfect sense that He will fulfill the fall festivals on the day of the festival as well, with the Rapture on Rosh Hashanah, His Second Coming on Yom Kippur, and the Millennial Kingdom beginning on Tabernacles.

The meaning of Rosh Hashanah lines up perfectly with the Rapture.  It is known as "the day of the awakening blast", "the day the books are opened", "the day the gates of heaven open", "the last trump", and "no one knows the day or hour".  Because Rosh Hashanah is the only festival that begins on the first day of the month, no one knows ahead of time on which day it will begin because it can't be determined until two witnesses see the new moon.  When Jesus said that "no one knows the day or hour", He wasn't saying that we can't know when the Rapture will occur.  He was indicating that the Rapture will be on Rosh Hashanah.

Another theme of Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish wedding ceremony.  In this tradition, after the betrothal the groom says that he is going to his father's house to prepare a place for his bride (John 14:1-3).  He then prepares a wedding chamber in his father's house that must be approved by his father.  If anyone asks him the date of his wedding, he says "no one knows except my father" (Mark 13:32, Matthew 24:36).  The bride, not knowing the day of the wedding, must be ready at any time.  The groom could be gone for as long as two years.  On the day of the wedding, the groom goes to the bride's house and calls for her (he doesn't go into the house).  They then retire to the wedding chamber for seven days.  Jesus left almost 2000 years ago.  He will come for his bride on Rosh Hashanah and take us to heaven where we will remain in the wedding chamber for seven years before we return with him.  When Jesus said that "no one knows except His Father", He was indicating that the Rapture will be on Rosh Hashanah.

I may be wrong about the Rapture occurring on Rosh Hashanah.  If it occurs on any other day, I will be happy to admit that I was wrong.  I don't understand why so many people refuse to admit that their views on when the Tribulation began are wrong despite mounting evidence against them.  If the Tribulation began in 2008 or 2009, where are the two witnesses preaching in Jerusalem or the 144,000 Jewish evangelists?  Where is the war, famine, and pestilence killing over one billion people?  I thought that surely, once their mid-tribulation date passed, they would admit that they were mistaken.  When was the Jewish temple desecrated by the Antichrist?  When did the Antichrist declare himself God?  When were the two witnesses murdered and resurrected?  When did many in Israel flee to Petra?  Not only do those holding this view refuse to admit that they are wrong, some use their discredited theory to claim that the pretribulation rapture has been disproved.

Every year at Rosh Hashanah, I am very hopeful that this will be the year and disappointed if it proves not to be.  I then resign myself to another year on this earth.  After Rosh Hashanah last year, I watched a video recommended by someone on fivedoves that gives me great hope for 2013.  I strongly recommend this video by Scott Clarke (http://www.youtube.com/eternalrhythmflow) titled "The Most Logical RAPTURE Theory on YouTube, PERIOD!!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW17ZP0shv0&list=PL390C08B1C7D6B698&index=4). All of the reasons that have been true for the last 15 years that I have been watching for the Rapture are still true.  Scott Clarke's video points out two additional strong factors pointing to 2013: a tetrad in 2014-2015 and a Revelation 12 sign in September, 2017.

In the last 2000 years, there have only been seven tetrads that fell on Jewish festivals.  A tetrad is two lunar eclipses (blood red moons) in consecutive years.  In 2014 and 2015, lunar eclipses occur on Passover and Tabernacles.  The last two Jewish tetrads occurred in 1967-68 (when Israel gained control of Jerusalem) and 1949-1950 (right after Israel was reborn).  It is reasonable to expect that something major will happen to Israel in the very near future. The next tetrad after the one in 2014-2015 will not occur for 500 years.

Scott Clarke discovered a sign in the heavens that exactly matches the description in Revelation 12:1-2.  The sign occurs on September 23, 2017 (on Rosh Hashanah).  Revelation 12 describes events that occur at mid tribulation.  Counting back 3.5 years, the tribulation would begin around March 2014.  If you believe (as I do), that the Rapture will occur on Rosh Hashanah and that it will occur before the tribulation, then the Rapture would occur on Rosh Hashanah, 2013.  I am very hopeful.