While it is becoming more and more widely accepted or believed that the rapture will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, there is another possibility to consider. I must state here that I also have believed that the rapture could occur on the Feast of Trumpets; but I cannot (now) rule out the possibility of the rapture taking place on the Feast of Pentecost. I hope to show you here that there is sufficient evidence for this to be considered a real possibility as well.

We must start by considering Enoch and the fact that he is considered by many theologians and biblical scholars to represent, typify, or be a reflection of the church. Here is an excerpt related to this association (Enoch and the church) -

With this in mind I offer the following facts -

1. Enoch was born on Pentecost (date on calendar).
2. Enoch was translated (raptured) to heaven on Pentecost (again - the date on the calendar).
3. The church was officially born on the day of Pentecost - with the empowerment of the Holy Ghost.

The relationship of these facts is not difficult to see and understand in that Enoch was born and raptured on Pentecost and the church was born and could be raptured on Pentecost. I believe this is certainly worth considering.

There is one more item to mention that may or may not tie the church to Enoch - The church as a whole goes (mainly) by the gregorian calendar (modern day calendar) of 365 days. So it's interesting to note that Enoch's life on earth was exactly 365 years!!

Genesis 5:23...And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

As always, I went back to the Bible to see if there was any more information that might support this possibility. Surprisingly enough there are several items that seem to support this theory as follows -

The first item has to do with the layout of the chapters of Revelation. I am currently studying Revelation more in depth and will be writing about my findings soon. For now, I will give you a brief overview of the first six chapters and how they seem to relate to this particular subject.

The first chapter of Revelation (to me) is an explanation and basically sets the stage for what is to come; just as the time before Christ's first coming was a time of instruction, setting the stage, and preparing Israel for what was to come (Christ's first coming).

The next two chapters (Revelation 2 and 3) are all about the seven churches - which represents the church age. What I would like for you to notice is that there are 2 chapters just as the church age is 2 thousand years - a definite relationship in numbering.

Chapter four in Revelation is a perfect description of the rapture. What I would bring to your attention here is that we have chapter 4, Pentecost is feast number 4 (in order), and it is 4 months from this feast to the month when the last three feasts begin on Tishri 1. Again we have a definite relationship in numbering.

To take this one step further we go to Revelation, chapter 5 and we have the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) taking the book/scroll with seven seals from the hand of God in preparation for the breaking of the seals and the start of the tribulation. Now consider this - it is exactly 4 months and 5 days from Pentecost to the Day of Atonement. So we have chapter 4 and chapter 5 covering the rapture and bringing out the scroll, and we have 4 months and 5 days from Pentecost to the Day of Atonement. Another direct relationship in numbering.

For those who may be wondering about the count going from Pentecost to Atonement and bypassing The Feast of Trumpets I offer the following brief explanation (to understand this more fully I recommend studying the sabbatical year cycles). This goes back to the biblical traditions concerning the Jubilee year. First it is important to know that the 6,000 years will end with a Jubilee year. The Jubilee year is a year of restoration, just as the tribulation period will be the beginning of the restoration of the nations and kingdoms of the earth to being the kingdoms and nations of Christ. That understood - I have found that while the Jubilee year technically begins on the Feast of Trumpets - Tishri 1 - it does not officially begin until the Day of Atonement - with the blowing of trumpets. One other thing to know is that in biblical times any property or items sold during the first 49 years of the cycle were written on a scroll and the scroll was sealed with seven seals (seven seals indicating its importance). The scrolls were opened in the Jubilee year with (again) the restoration (of land etc.) officially beginning on the Day of Atonement. I hope you can see how that this directly parallels the opening of the seven sealed scroll by Christ to begin the tribulation (restoration). This is why the direct parallel of the chapter numbers with the number of months and days may be important.

You may be wondering, well what about the Feast of Trumpets? If what I have outlined above is correct then the Feast of Trumpets will be the deliverance of Israel from the hands of Gog, Magog and the beginning of the redemption of Israel as described in Joel, chapter two. This chapter (Joel 2) clearly shows the blowing of the trumpets to announce that the day of the Lord is at hand, calls the people of Israel to repentance, describes the invasion and defeat of Gog, Magog by Christ, and is followed by the outpouring of His spirit upon all flesh. Again, this chapter begins with the blowing of trumpets, and then calls Israel to repentance - just as the 9 days of awe between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement - and ends with the sun being darkened and the moon turned into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Basically this chapter describes the tribulation period following the blowing of the trumpets. The very next chapter (Joel 3) describes the battle of Armageddon upon Christ's return.

If things do happen as I have described here then it would not surprise me if the peace covenant entered into between the Antichrist and Israel would occur on the Day of Atonement - thereby making it exactly seven years (one week) from the signing until the second coming of Christ on the Day of Atonement seven years later.

In case you are wondering about chapter six in Revelation, here is the way I look at it. First we must understand that all year numbers are inclusive. By that I mean that when we reach the year 6,000 it means that 6,000 years are completed. The best example that comes to mind is the fact that we don't call a child one year old until they have lived for one year. In other wards, the number of a year is actually a measure of the amount of time that has already passed. With this in mind, Chapter six of Revelation is the breaking of the seals on the scroll/book that begins the tribulation. I believe that the chapter number 6 relates directly to the end of the 6 thousand years and the start of the tribulation and the 7th millennium. I do not believe it is a coincidence that the first seal is broken in chapter six.

There is much more to be said about the chapter numbering and the layout of the chapters in Revelation; but the rest will have to wait until one of my next articles - "Revelation - by the Numbers".

Another item that I find interesting enough to consider about the feasts and the timing of the rapture is that the first three feasts were fulfilled by Christ at His first coming, the last three feasts will be fulfilled by Christ in events surrounding His second coming, and the one feast left (in the middle - Pentecost) is mainly associated with the church. We should further note that Pentecost is a celebration of the wheat harvest and consider the parable of separating the wheat from the chaff. Could Pentecost be the time of that separation - taking the wheat (the believers/church) away and leaving the chaff (sinners/unbelievers)? All I can say is that only time will tell.

The first six chapters of Revelation -

The Feast of Pentecost -

1. The parallel of Enoch and the church - Enoch's life beginning and ending on the date of Pentecost and ending with rapture. The church beginning on Pentecost and possibly ending on Pentecost with the rapture.
2. If the church age is to indeed be 2,000 years then two thousand years from Pentecost would end on Pentecost.
3. Pentecost is the fourth feast and is described in chapter four of Revelation.
4. The rapture being described in chapter four of Revelation before the start of the tribulation in chapter six could be an indication of the rapture occurring on Pentecost - which is four months prior to the start of the last three feasts.
5. Pentecost celebrates the wheat harvest and the parable of separating the wheat (believers) from the chaff (unbelievers).
6. The first three and last three feasts appear to be the "bookends" for the time and events between Christ's first and second coming with Pentecost being alone in the middle and associated mainly with the church.

I will leave you with one last thing to consider. In James, chapter five we can find a description of a total economic collapse. In the very next chapter (I Peter, chapter 1) we find a description of Christ's second coming in verses 7 through 9. Also note that verse seven and verse eight each end in a colon and verse nine ends with a period. Keep in mind that by ending the first two verses (7 and 8) with a colon and ending the last verse (9) with a period would indicate that verses eight and nine are a continuation or further expansion/explanation of verse seven. What does all this mean? Here is my view -

The economic collapse described in James 5 could be the current world economic crisis. If it is, then I find it interesting that seven verses later (I Peter 1:7) talks about the rapture and seven months from the U.S. stock market crash of 777 points (on the 29th of September) is the month of Passover (the first feast). The ninth verse (I Peter 1:9) speaks of receiving the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls and nine months from the initial stock market crash is the month of Pentecost. There is more to be said about the 777 point market crash; but for now let me just give you one item that I have noticed - Hopefully, everyone already knows that we have been told (in the bible) that the last days would be "as in the days of Noah". Would it be a coincidence then that Noah's father (Lamech - see Genesis 5:31) lived for 777 years? Could the 777 point drop be a sign that we have officially entered the last days that are "as in days of Noah? While I cannot say that this is what it all means, I will say that it certainly should get our attention and cause us to be watching everything that is happening very closely! As always, only time will tell for sure.

One thing I will be watching for (based on this last item) is for the possible appearance of a sign of some sort on or at least in the month of Passover of this coming year. Allow me to ask you this - is it also a coincidence that there are three verses here (I Peter 1:7-9) concerning Christ's coming - just as Jesus lay in the grave and was resurrected on the 3rd day?

As for me, and I can only speak for myself, there are far too many parallels here to be ignored, I don't believe in coincidence, and I serve a God who does not pour out His wrath without warning. For me the warnings have been growing in number, intensity, and clarity to the point that it is now almost like handwriting on the wall. If these things indeed do come to pass then we must prepare now and resign ourselves to the fact that the months ahead are going to be extreme and will strike fear in the hearts of men. We must, as Christians, comfort ourselves and each other with the "Blessed Hope" that is ours. We must also share that hope with as many as we can before it is too late!! As for me - the more I see coming together the more excited I get!!

For now - Keep looking up and may God bless and keep you in the days ahead!!! -- Bob