Can We Know the Time of the Rapture?

I’ve noticed a lot of mockers who mock the coming of the Lord. They do this by mocking those who try and search for dates. In essence they say, “Where is the promise of His coming” 2 Peter 3:4? Especially when a date goes by and nothing happens. These mockers revile in their attitudes saying, “All continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” 2 Peter 3:4! These mockers are not the people of the world, they are those from the church saying, “for ever since the Fathers fell asleep”; thus indicating their association with the truth. The world could care less when Jesus comes, matter of fact, they don’t even believe there is a Jesus. We must be diligent in our search and research the facts. Take hold of the “knowns” and use them to weed out speculation. By doing so, we will be more accurate and less in error.

Looking back at the Olivet discourse in Matthew chapters 24 & 25, Jesus gives us signs to look for. In the parable of the ten virgins we see “date setters and watchers”. Jesus says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” Matt. 25:1. If they were only waiting they would not have went out to meet the bridegroom! Being that they did go out to meet the bridegroom suggest that they had figured out the time of his appearing. They knew that he was coming. The difference between the 5 prudent and 5 foolish is the oil. We’ll come to that later.

How did they know to go out and meet the bridegroom? They calculated his coming!!! Indeed he did delay and those who had prepared for his delay brought extra oil. There is only one feast of the Lord that can be delayed by one day; the Feast of Trumpets. This feast is celebrated by the first appearing of the moon. In Scripture the day of its observance was on the 1st of Tishri (Numbers 29:1). However, Jews would not celebrate it on the 1st unless the new moon was visible; hence that is why it is called a new moon festival. If it could not be seen by the end of the 1st day sundown around 6 P.M. then they celebrated it anyway. The two days were celebrated as one day.

What would impede the moons visibility, overcast and cloud cover? If you know that the feast is to be celebrated on the 1st of Tishri, yet it is a new moon festival, the moon would need to be seen to verify the day. With overcast a prudent observer would know the day of celebration yet would go out with extra oil anticipating a delay from cloud cover to move on and thus revealing the moon. They knew regardless of the delay. The feast would still be celebrated shortly!

The foolish would never consider the day to be delayed. An observant Jew would have prepared. It appears that many will be foolish on this day of the rapture. Five will go into the wedding and five will be left behind. Not all will be raptured!!!! I’ll leave that for another day.