The
Rapture on Rosh Hashanah
By Carl
Worline
Rosh Hashanah, also known as
the Feast of Trumpets (and by many other names as we shall
soon see) is the
fifth of seven Jewish holy days known as moedim (plural for
moed). It is also
the next moed to be fulfilled.
Rosh Hashanah is unique
because there is no explicit
reason given in the Torah for its observance, other than to
“rest” and to
sacrifice. It was
a “mystery” that was
only revealed in the Bible much later when Paul said:
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We
shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in
a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. 1
Corr. 15:51-52. NKJV.
Rosh Hashanah is a day
of rest where no ordinary labor
is to be performed. It
is considered to
be the day to rest in the finished work of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit in
our lives. It is
the day when all of our
earthly struggles are over.
The
three main
Jewish themes of Rosh Hashanah suggest the Rapture of the
Church. They are:
·
The
resurrection of the righteous dead.
·
The
Kingship of the Lord.
·
The
marriage of the King.
All of those who have
placed their faith in the Word
of God are deemed righteous on this day and will not be judged
by God on Yom
Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Rosh Hashanah is the
only Jewish feast where the moon
is hidden. The
moon is an allusion and
represents the Bride of Christ.
Additionally,
it is the only feast where the blowing of trumpets is a
central theme.
Why are Jewish feast
days significant to Christians?
Technically, the Jews do not even believe
that Jesus is the Messiah.
The answer is
that God declared the Jews to be His chosen people for all
eternity. Jesus
was a Jew. Jesus
also told us that He came to the world
for the Jews first and then for the Gentiles.
Therefore, Jewish customs and beliefs are very
important as we search
for clues on rapture timing.
After all,
Jesus patterned the rapture after the customs and traditions
of a Jewish
wedding.
Rosh Hashanah marks the
beginning of 10 days of
intense spiritual preparation for Yom Kippur, the holiest day
of the year in
Judaism. Jewish
tradition holds that the
Gates of Heaven open on Rosh Hashanah and close on Yom Kippur
so that the “Righteous
Nation” might enter. Could
the term
“Righteous Nation” also be a reference to the Church, the
Bride of Christ?
One of the ways God
speaks to us is through signs in the heavens.
14 Then God said, “Let there
be lights in the firmament of
the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them
be for signs and seasons,
and for days and years; Genesis 1:14.
NKJV,
The heavens declare the glory of God,
And the firmament shows His
handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night
reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not
heard. Their line has
gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end
of the world. In
them, He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber And rejoices like a strong man to
run its race. Its
rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the
other end; And there
is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6.
NKJV.
On September 23, 2017,
the Revelation 12 Sign took place in the heavens for all the
world to
witness. This
alignment of the stars in
relation to the planets, the earth, and other heavenly bodies,
has never
occurred in the past and will never again occur in the future. Ever. It
happened exactly as the scripture said it would.
Now a
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, with the moon
under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve
stars. 2 Then
being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain
to give birth. 3 And
another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great,
fiery red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his
heads. 4 His
tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and
threw them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready
to give birth, to
devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She
bore
a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod
of iron. And her Child
was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the
woman
fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared
by God, that
they should feed her there one thousand two hundred
and sixty days. Revelation
12:1-6. NKJV.
The “child” (whom I am convinced is the Church
or Bride) is “snatched
away” (harpazo – Strong’s 726) at the moment of birth and
flees to heaven with
the dragon (Satan) in hot pursuit. We
know that Satan is going to be incredibly enraged if the
Church makes it safely
to God’s Throne in heaven.
Likewise,
Revelation 12:4 tells us that the Dragon is so infuriated
that he sweeps up a
third of the stars with his tail and flings them to the
earth.
Ten days is a very long time for the Gates of
Heaven to remain open,
especially if it involves getting the child of Revelation 12
through safely
with an angry Satan and a horde of his demons in hot
pursuit.
Amazingly, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are
celebrated on the same day
in a Jubilee year, which many believe we are now in. This means that
during a Jubilee year (this
year) the Gates of Heaven open and close on the same day. How long do they
remain open?? Perhaps
only for an instant. Or
maybe just long enough for the child of
Revelation 12 to slip through and avoid being captured and
devoured by the
pursuing Dragon and his hordes of demons.
In addition to being a truly unique event in
all of human history, the
Revelation 12 Sign took place on the Feast of Trumpets in
2017. Maybe God
is telling us to look for the
Rapture of the Church to take place on some future Feast of
Trumpets.
On the Feast of Trumpets in 2022, it will be
precisely 5 years since the
Revelation 12 Sign took place.
In the
Bible, the number 5 symbolizes God’s grace, goodness, and
favor toward
humanity. It is
mentioned 318 times in
scripture. I
believe God gave us a
5-year warning.
The Bible speaks about a
7-year period of time known
as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, which lasts 2,550 days. Coincidentally. this
also happens to be
exactly equal to the time from Rosh Hashanah in 2022 to Yom
Kippur in 2029. Many
Biblical eschatologists see
Yom Kippur (on some as-of-yet-to-be determined year) as a
logical and
appropriate time for this period of tribulation to end.
Many Biblical scholars also agree that we are
in a Jubilee year and it
would appear that we are in the 70th Jubilee year
since Israel
entered the Promised Land.
I am
profoundly struck by the thought that the 70th
Jubilee year from
Israel entering the Promised Land could be the segway, or
lead-in, for us
entering Daniel’s 70th Week.
Seventy, as we all know, is a number with very
special significance in
the Bible. It
signifies the completion
of the natural order and also signifies fullness,
restoration, and an endpoint.
Jewish tradition also
holds that Adam and Eve were
created on Rosh Hashanah, which is Tishrei 1.
Some also believe that this was the day on which Jesus
was born.
Rosh Hashanah is known
as the birthday of the world
since the world was created on this day according to the
Talmud (Talmud, Rosh
Hashanah 11a). The
first words of the
Book of Genesis (Bereishit), “in the beginning,” when changed
around reads,
Aleph b’ Tishrei, or “on the first of Tishrei”.
Therefore, Rosh Hashanah is known among the Jews as the
birthday of the
world.
There are 4 New Years on
the Jewish calendar:
1– The
1st of Nisan: New Year for new for Kings and Festivals
2 –
The 1st of Elul: New Year for animal tithes
3 – The 1st of Tishrei: New Year for
sabbatical years and
jubilees, for planting and sowing
4 –
The 1st of Shevat: New Year of Trees for renewal and
redemption
Rosh Hashanah occurs on
Tishrei 1 and is the New Year for
Years. Rosh
Hashanah is also the New Year for Sabbatical Years
and Jubilees, as well
as for the sowing and harvesting of crops.
Rosh Hashanah came to be
known as the Feast Where No
Man Knows the Day or Hour because it commences on a new moon
rather than a full
moon. A new moon
is when the moon is totally
dark, giving off no illumination. With
anything less than an absolutely clear sky it is impossible to
tell when the
moon is at its darkest and it takes at least 2 visual
sightings of the first
thin crescent to confirm the new moon. Therefore,
it is difficult to predict when this actually takes place.
The new moon was
sanctified when two witnesses saw the
first sliver of the new moon and attested to it before the
Sanhedrin in the
Temple. This
sanctification could happen
during either of two days, depending on when the witnesses
came to the Temple.HHH
Rosh
Hashanah is observed over the two days
of Tishrei 1 and Tishrei 2 due to uncertainty about
celebrating it on the
correct day. These
two days are regarded
as yoma arikhta (one long day).
If you were to say to
any good American “Come on over
on Turkey Day and we will watch the game together on TV,” he
would immediately know
you were referring to Thanksgiving.
Mention the Day that Nobody Knows the Day or Hour Of to
any good Jew and
he would instinctively know what day you were referring to as
well. That day
would be Rosh Hashanah.
Jesus referred to the
day that no man knows the day or
hour of 4 times during the Olivet Discourse about His return:
·
Matthew
24:36
·
Matthew
24:42-44
·
Matthew
24:50
·
Matthew
25:13-15
Since Jesus repeatedly
used variations of the phrase that
no man knows the day or hour in connection with His return,
many believe that
the rapture will occur on Rosh Hashanah of some year.
Jesus also repeatedly
used the analogy of the Jewish
wedding to the Rapture of the Church. In
Jewish wedding tradition, it is customary to respond to a
question of when the
wedding will occur with “I do not know the day or the hour. Only my father knows.” This is because the
bride’s father sets the
date of the wedding when he is satisfied that all things are
ready. When the
wedding day approaches the father
gives the all-clear and the groom comes with a shout
and a trumpet
blast to claim his bride.
Then the
groom takes his bride away to their new home for 7 days of
rejoicing. This
7-day period of rejoicing parallels the
7 years we will spend in heaven between the rapture and our
return with Jesus
to the earth for the final battle.
In Jewish tradition, the
groom comes for his bride
around midnight when all are sleeping and do not expect his
arrival. In the
Bible, Jesus tells us that He will
return at a time when we are not expecting Him.
I plan to be outside looking toward the East when it is
midnight in
Jerusalem (5 PM EDT in the United States) on both nights of
Rosh Hashanah this
year.
Rosh Hashanah is the
only Jewish feast (moed) where
the moon is hidden. The
moon is an
allusion and represents the Bride of Christ.
The moon does not give off any light of its own. It only reflects the
light of the sun.
As I mentioned earlier,
God speaks to us through signs
in the heavens. Over
the past several
months the 5 planets that we can see without the use of a
telescope have moved
through the stars, which are fixed in their position, in a
manner that warns of
the imminent start of the 7-year Time of Jacob’s Trouble and
of the Rapture of
the Church, which I fully believe occurs before it. I also believe this
was God’s final warning
to mankind. The
Bible tells us that God
does nothing without first revealing it to His servants, the
prophets.
Surely the
Lord God does nothing unless He
reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7.
NKJV.
The masterfully
choreographed movement of these
heavenly bodies reminds me in many ways of a Broadway Play. When the
presentation ended during the second
half of June 2022, all 5 of the planets formed an exceedingly
rare alignment in
a straight line (and also in order) across the sky, just like
actors do when
they come out on stage at the end of the play to take a bow. Likewise, the moon,
which represented the
Bride of Christ and was the “star” of the play, visited each
one of the planets
(in order) while they were lined up across the sky and taking
their bow for the
audience on the earth.
Rosh Hashanah is the
only feast where the blowing of
trumpets is a central theme.
During Rosh
Hashanah trumpets are blown for 30 days leading up to the
feast, and finish
with the blowing of the “Last Trumpet.” On
each of these 30 days, the shofar is blown 100 times (3
distinct sounds blown
in sets of 9 and repeated 11 times, for a total of 99). Then the last sound
is one long blast, and is
always referred to as the “Last Trumpet.”
Paul told us very
clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
that the rapture will occur “at the Last Trumpet.” In the Bible,
Pentecost is known as the First
Trumpet. Yom
Kippur is known as the Great
Trumpet. Rosh
Hashanah is known as the Last
Trumpet.
Behold, I tell you a
mystery; we shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the
last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead
will be raised
imperishable, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians
15:51-52).
Because the Last Trumpet
is only blown on Rosh
Hashanah and because the apostle Paul specifically mentions
that the rapture of
the believers in Christ will take place at the Last Trumpet,
Paul was giving a
clear understanding (I believe) that the Rapture of the
Believers will happen some
year on Rosh Hashanah.
Another name for Rosh
Hashanah is “The Day of the
Awakening Blast” which awakens the righteous dead. In other words, the
Rapture. Here,
the word “blast” is referring to (I
believe) the blast of the “Trumpet of God.”
16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
And the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and so we will
also be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with
these words. 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18.
NKJV.
In addition to blowing
trumpets on this day and each
day leading up to this day, Jewish beliefs, customs, and
traditions also include
shouting on Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah
is also known as Yom Teruah, The Day of Shouting. Notice in the verses
above from 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18 that the Lord will descend from heaven
with a shout and
with the voice of an archangel.
As I mentioned above,
Rosh Hashanah is known by many
names. One of
these traditional names is
“The Day of the Resurrection of the Righteous Dead.” I find the idea of
the Jews believing in a
day for the resurrection of the righteous dead to be very
interesting. They
know that this day will come.
They just do not realize that it will also be
that of the Rapture of the Church.
Another traditional name
for Rosh Hashanah is The
Hidden Day, The Day of Concealment, or The Day of Hiding (as
in hiding the
bride from the tribulation).
Your dead will live;
their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for
joy, for your dew is the dew of dawn, and the earth will
give birth to the
departed spirits. Come,
my people,
enter into your rooms, and close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little
while, until indignation runs its course.
For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His
place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth
will reveal her
bloodshed, and will no longer cover her slain (Isaiah
26:19-21).
Rosh Hashanah is
sometimes referred to as The Day of
Remembrance, The Day of the Opening of Books, and The Day of
Judgement. All of
these Jewish beliefs and customs fit
perfectly with the Christian idea of a yet future Rapture of
the Church.
Lastly, there is one
more aspect of Rosh Hashanah that
strongly implies a rapture on this Jewish holy day (moed). Rosh Hashanah is
known among Jews as The Day
of the Wedding of the Messiah (Ha Kiddushin/Nesuin) and The
Day of the
Coronation, or Crowning of the Messiah (Ha Melech). Likewise, Jesus and
Paul both likened the Rapture
of the Church to a Jewish Wedding.
So, why is it that we
are only now beginning to put
all of the pieces of the puzzle together?
Why are we only now beginning to understand this End
Times mystery? It
would seem that nobody before us was
clever enough. Even
the prophets who
were the first to record them did not fully understand. For example, the
prophet Daniel complained about
this to the angel Gabriel, who was the one who revealed them
to Daniel:
As for me, I heard but
could not understand; so, I
said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?” And he said, “Go
your way, Daniel, for these
words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Many will be
purged, purified and refined;
but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked
will understand, but
those who have insight will understand.” (Daniel 12:8-12).
Daniel’s words (and I
believe the words of many
others) were concealed and sealed up until the End Time. We are now in the
End Time.
I believe that Jesus and
Paul told us both directly
and indirectly, to look for the Rapture of the Church, the
Blessed Hope, to
occur on Rosh Hashanah of some year.
Will it be this year?
I dearly
hope so. There
are so many signs of an
imminent rapture in front of us at this very moment that it
has become
practically impossible to see the road ahead of us. Every indication
says we are in the very Last
Days of the End Times.
The most prominent
sign that we are in the very Last Days of the End Times is the
convergence of
all of the other signs. The
deepening
and darkening grip of End Time insanity and delusion has
reached a crescendo
never before seen by humanity.
Matthew
23:36 tells us that the Last Days of the End Times have an
expiration date and
we are now there.
The period in history
known as the End Times, or Last
Days, does have a shelf life.
The End
Times began when Biblical prophecy was fulfilled and Israel
was reborn as a
nation and, as God had promised, in a single day. That day was May 14,
1948, at 4 PM local time
when David Ben-Gurion stood up in Israel’s Independence Hall
(as it is now
known) and proclaimed Israel’s independence.
In Matthew 24:34 and Luke 21:32, Jesus told us that all
of the End Time
Events will take place within a single generation.
34 Verily I
say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be
fulfilled. Matthew
24:36. NKJV
32 Assuredly,
I say to you, this
generation will by no means pass away till all things
take place. Luke
21:32.
NKJV.
Psalm 90:10 tells us
that a generation can be as much
as 80 years if we are strong and healthy.
If we add 80 years to 1948, we get the year 2028. Additionally, we
have to remember that a
person (or a nation) is not 80 years old for a single day. They (or it) are 80
years old for an entire
year (until they turn 81) So, we need to add 1 year to 2028. That gives us 2029. We also know that
there is a 7-year period of
tribulation known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble that occurs
immediately after
the Rapture of the Church.
If we
subtract these 7 years of tribulation from 2029, we arrive at
the year 2022.
If God gave us an
81-year (maximum) window for all End
Time events to occur, why would He wait until the last
possible day for Jesus
to return in the rapture?
The answer to
this question seems quite obvious to me.
According to my research on the internet, approximately
178,000 people
die each day on the earth.
When the
rapture happens the Age of Grace comes to an end and a new
dispensation
begins. I think
that God, in His
infinite mercy, wants to get that last possible soul through
the Gates of
Heaven before those gates slam shut.
Rosh Hashanah for 2022
begins at sundown in Jerusalem
on September 25th and it ends at sundown in
Jerusalem on September 27th.
Are
you ready??
Therefore if you will not
watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will
not know what hour I
will come upon you. Revelation
3:3. NKJV.
Carl
Worline
Paladin3168@gmail.com
August
14, 2019
June
6, 2021
(Revised)
August
18, 2022
(Revised)