Hello John and Doves,
We know that the
apostle Paul was well trained and educated in rabbinic
teachings; his rabbinic training came under, according to
Paul himself, the "ranking rabbi of the era,
Gamaliel." Gamaliel was one of the 'premier'
teachers of the Law during Paul's time. Gamaliel was
a Pharisee. Pharisees were strict legalists.
"They stood for the rigid observance of the letter and
forms of the Law, and also for the Traditions."
Jesus
and the Pharisees (Bible History Online)
They knew all about the High Holy Days that God told them
about in Leviticus. And how to follow them. The
Pharisees considered Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) the
holiest day of Judaism.
So when Paul was
telling the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:52) about the
'last trump'...I believe he was referring to a specific
trumpet blast - not the 7th trumpet of the Revelation as
some think because this was written after Paul - but to a
trumpet blast he and others had known about in their
Jewish teachings. Possibly the last trumpet blast on
Yom Kippur.
According to some, like Mark
Biltz, this Jewish New Year is a Shemitah year. And
this Yom Kippur may also be a Jubilee year! Jubilee
years are declared on Yom Kippur and no other day according
to the Lord.
Many have done research trying to
find out where we are in terms of Jubilee years...Edwin
Thiele, Rodger Young, David Rohl have all tried to find
various Jubilee years in Jewish history. Extrapolating
their research puts us in the time period of a Jubilee now
through four years or so?. God tells us He will only
put up with man for 120 years - that's 120 Jubilees.
We could very well be at the last Jubilee. To fit with
the 80 year generation...the Jubilee would fit nicely with
this year.
When it is a Jubilee year, the
trumpet is blown. Is this the last trumpet?
In Leviticus 25:8-12 "And
thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven
times seven years - and the space of the seven sabbaths of
years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to
sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of
atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all
your land."
"And you shall consecrate the
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land
to all its inhabitants. ....For it is a Jubilee; it shall be
holy to you."
"At the conclusion of the Neilah
service the shofar is sounded."
"The final service of Yom Kippur
is the Neilah service. Neilah literally means
"closing" and refers to the symbolic closing of the gates of
Heaven ...The Neilah service builds in intensity until it
concludes with a final Tekiah Gedolah, or great blast of the
Shofar, the ram's horn. This blast, usually blown as
soon as the stars come out, signals the conclusion of the
Day of Atonement."
Yom
Kippur Neilah Service via Streaming | Conservative
Synagogue Palm Beach, FL
Yom Kippur could be the day of the
'last trump' that Paul was referring to. He would have
been very familiar with the Neilah service. The
Rapture is often pictured as an 'open door'. On Yom
Kippur, the door/gate closes at the end of the day.
Yom Kippur starts at sunset on one
day but ends at actual nightfall on the next, so this day is
actually 25 hours long.
On the 'corrected' Hebrew
calendar, Yom Kippur is on approx. October 17 to October
18. (Again, we don't know which calendar is
'correct'.) I do believe that the current Israeli
calendar is one month off.
October 17 is Sunday.
"Yom Kippur became known by the
phrase "face to face." "Face to face" is an idiom for
Yom Kippur. On this day the high priest was "face to
face with the mercy seat of God."
Will we soon be "face to face" with
God? Will we soon walk through Heaven's gates?
As in Rapture.
I hope we soon hear that "last
trump" - Tekiah Gedolah!
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance
If the Rapture does not come on Yom
Kippur this year, Feast of Tabernacles, Shemini Atzeret are
coming up next - for the 'one month off' calendar.
Feast of Tabernacles starts four
days after Day of Atonement.