I have been looking up with anticipation throughout this year, and as each suggested date passed, I underlined Rosh Hashanah on the calendar ever more boldly. Now Rosh Hashanah has passed, which has forced a re-think.

     Then I received an aha moment. Thankyou Lord Yeshua!

     In Romans 1:16b, Paul stated that God’s focus would be to the Jew first and then the Gentile.

     Then, in Romans 11:21-24, Paul wrote that God could (would) remove the Gentile Church and replace it with the original recipients of God’s grace; namely the Jews (Israel).

     I think Jesus’ Second Coming, with his specific actions on the three remaining Fall feasts, will occur after the Gentile-based true- Church is taken out of the way, in the First-Fruits Rapture. After this, God’s focus will be squarely on the Jews and the nation of Israel.

     This means that a future Rosh Hashanah would be the time of the Main-Harvest Rapture. This is the Jewish-based “underground” Church Rapture, led by the 144,000 plus the 2 witnesses, and would occur mid-Tribulation, (before the asteroids of Rev 8:8-11 fall), and is predicted in Rev 11:12.

     When Jesus came the first time, he came to the Jews and God’s focus was on the Jews, and the fulfilling of the Jewish feasts was for the Jews to believe in Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah.

     The first part of Acts has Peter preaching to the Jews to repent and to receive Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and Saviour. (See Acts 3:19-21).

     But the turning point came with the Rulers rejecting Peter’s message, and then with the stoning of Stephen. (See Acts 7:54-60).

     The book of Acts, after Stephen, then focuses on Paul and the Gentile Church.

     The stoning of Stephen, I believe, was when the Jews (the natural branch) were removed from the root-stock, and the Gentiles (the wild branch ) were grafted in, as Paul wrote in Romans 11:11-24.

     The first Rapture, the one which rescues the true believers within the Gentile Church, will be the point in time when the focus of God will again return to the Jews/Israel. As Paul wrote, the wild olive branch will be removed, and the natural branch will be re-grafted in. (See Romans 11:24-27).

     With regard to a date for the first Rapture, the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ says that he could come today (or tomorrow).

     But if you are looking for a date, then maybe a Gentile Church date would suffice. October 31^st is All Saints Day and also Reformation Day.

     In the meantime, we wait upon the Lord. It WILL be worth it!

     May Jesus’ love, grace, mercy and forgiveness be with us all as we wait to be rescued.

     Amen!

 

From Andrew B.