It’s OK to try and guess the date of the rapture!
With Christmas coming up in a couple months, many of us turn to that (pagan) tradition of exchanging gifts with each other. Often times we “drop hints” to loved ones of what we would love for Christmas – and so we hope for certain things to come during the gift exchange. I don’t think that there’s any issue with trying to guess what you might be getting for Christmas.
It’s a similar position as we look to Jesus’ returning for His bride (the Church) – The bible has many clues that help us to see when Jesus may come for us. Books of the bible like the book of Daniel and Revelation were books that God commanded to be “sealed” at the time they were written, to be “unsealed” (or reveled/make sense) in the end times, the very time we are living in now, the last of the last days. One thing that the bible does NOT seem to say is that we should NOT look for our King’s return. In fact, it says the opposite in several passages – that we should be watching for His return, and be ready. Since I’m commanded to watch, then attempting to put possible dates together for Christ’s return would seem to be part of that, and not prohibited by the bible.
Now, if I were to offer a date and follow it by “Thus Saith The Lord” then that would be me claiming to speak prophecy – and since I am not a prophet, then that would be false prophecy. But to offer ideas to other brothers and sisters, and spur more interest in digging into scripture to find the real truth does nothing but improve our knowledge of God’s word!
Remember that in Matthew 24:36 Jesus says “No one knows about the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Please remember that Jesus was speaking to Jews at this time (not the Church), and it is before the time of Jesus’ ascent to the Father – and so Jesus was still limited in his carnal body. Jesus tells us later in His ministry that we can know, consider 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6:
4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
OK to Watch
So now that I’ve convinced myself it’s OK to watch, I’ll share with you a very quick observation that came to me when I took a step back this week… Several of the prominent hypothesis being spoken of right now, all target about the same time (within about four days of each other.) We won’t know until the day, but doesn’t it seem like something God would do – that if He wants us to find his date of return, that he would make it so that several different theories arrive at the same point? Maybe it’s a stretch, but I’m extremely hopeful. And if He does not come shortly, then we will keep looking and keep hoping – with every day that passes, we are one day closer to His return!
Here’s some of the prominent theories right now on Rapture Dates:
Oct 29/30 or 30/31 – Heshvan 10 – This date comes from believing Matthew 24:37 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. And then studying some of the dates from the time of noah, such as Heshvan 10 – the day that Noah was sealed into the ark by God. The latter part of this article by Daniel Matson covers it well – as it “delays” all of the fall feasts by 30 days, and results in several other interesting “date math” results. Note that depending on which Hebrew calendar you use, this is either the 29/30 or 30/31 October.
Oct 30/31 – Barley Harvest – (Nov 12/13 also an option) – There is a Hebrew custom of checking the Barley Harvest on a certain date – and if the Barley is not ready, a 13th month is added to the calendar for that year, effectively pushing the fall feasts out an extra 30 days. Since the first time around, the Feast of Atonement and Shemini Atzeret were good possible dates, and since in the event of a late barley harvest, those dates are still ahead of us. This is also covered in Daniel Matson’s recent article.
Nov 2/3 – Vayera – a date in the hebrew calendar that literally means “And He Appeared.” Reading Leviticus 12, an exact “cleansing” procedure/timeline is given for a woman that has given birth to a male child. Here’s a nice condensed page of many date alignments- and this date is discussed on this page at about the halfway point of the document. Interestingly, November 2 is 100 days to the day of the 1917 Balfour Declaration – essentially declaring the need for a Jewish homeland.
Halloween conjecture: So isn’t it interesting that these dates are all pointing to times right around the date of the pagan holiday Halloween, where the dead are celebrated? Regardless, I see several predictions coming to this same approximate time, using different data – so I’m taking notice.
And so children of the light: Are you ready? Are you watching?
More importantly dear friends, do you have eternal security? The rewards for accepting Christs death, burial, and ascension are beyond compare – it’s truly the deal of a lifetime. Please consider accepting Christ’s offer.. Not much more that I can say about that other than I hope we get to spend eternity together. Please join me!