Rapture and Tribulation Dates Revealed

First, let’s get the standard prerequisite out of the way. Jesus was asked by His disciples, " ....what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the Age?" He answered by saying, "…of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:3, 36). Now let’s look at the most probable date the Rapture will occur.

I think it most likely that the 7 annual Jewish Feasts are the time clock for the Rapture event and the start of the seven year Tribulation Period. The first three feasts known as Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits are literally feasts but also prophetic concerning the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Christ died just three hours before the Feast of Passover began. His sin free or unleavened body was in His new unused tomb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and He arose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits as the first fruit of the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:20). Thus, Jesus has satisfied these first three prophetic feasts. The fourth prophetic feast called the Feast of Pentecost was satisfied when Christ sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers fifty days after His resurrection. This supernatural act brought salvation to three thousand Jews that day and is considered by most Biblical scholars as the official start of the two thousand year Church Age dispensation.

The fifth Fall feast is the Feast of Trumpets or Announcements. This Feast begins with the Shofar {trumpet} being sounded. This alerts the people that the crops they have tended are now mature and ripe for harvesting. This is anomalist to the Apostle John saying he heard the voice of Christ which sounded clear like a trumpet saying "Come up!". He wrote that he was suddenly in the sky and saw a door {portal} open. He went through and found himself before the Throne of God (Revelation 4:1-2). The harvest takes place in the Fall just before the terrible storms of winter approach. The precious grain is taken and stored up in siloes where it is kept safe as the storms rage. While the crop field is square, the harvest is conducted in a circular fashion starting in the middle. This literally leaves grain in the corners referred to as the gleanings for the poor to survive on. Symbolically, these are the unrighteous people left behind on the earth. They will now have to endure the storms of the Tribulation Period. But prophetically, some of these people will repent and reach out to God for deliverance. Those that survive will be tasked with repopulating the earth.

I believe it will be on the Feast of Trumpets in September that the Shofar, or trumpet, will sound and the Rapture will occur. While Scripture does not state the length of time between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation Period, I believe Jesus gave us this answer in the form of a hidden prophecy. He stated that His sudden appearance (to His followers at the Rapture) would come during a time similar to the days of Noah. We know that God gave the people in Noah’s day a week to come aboard the ark before the great tribulation of the flood came. When the flood arrived, only eight passengers were safe in the ark floating above the tribulation down below. Therefore, I believe that one week after the Rapture, the seven year Tribulation Period will officially begin. Three and one half years into the Tribulation, the Antichrist or World Leader will declare himself a god and demand to be worshiped. This will be the start of the final three and one half years known as the Great Tribulation Period. This is a time when God begins to pour out a series of plagues on the earth, Satan uses his powers to become the god of mankind, and his son the Antichrist conducts worldwide military campaigns in an effort to control the world and stop the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus said it will be the most horrific time since the creation of the world (Matthew 24:21).

Scripture tells us that this period will end with the armies of the Antichrist surrounding Jerusalem ready to destroy the last remnants of the Jewish race. This event coincides exactly with the sixth Fall Feast of Yom Kippur. Currently, during this feast, the Jews literally fervently pray to God to cover their sins and be allowed to live another year. This is the only feast that requires the High Priest to sacrifice a male goat on behalf of the Jewish race. But this feast is prophetic in that, at the end of the Tribulation Period, the Jews of Israel will plead with God to send a Messiah before they are annihilated by the surrounding armies of the Antichrist. This is the trigger event that causes the Second Coming of Christ to save a small remanent of God’s chosen people (Hosea 5:15) . The final Fall Feast is the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths in which the Jew believe that one day God will come to live with mankind. I believe the Second Coming of Christ will be on this feast day which will be the final day of the seven year Tribulation and the start of the Millennial Reign of Christ. Thus this day will be as a thousand years (II Peter 3:8). Here we see the physical incarnation of God in the visage of Christ literally dwelling with mankind for the next one thousand years.

This said, I have strong reasons to believe that the Rapture of those deemed righteous by God will occur in September during the Feast of Trumpets. While it is difficult to know the exact year, Jesus stated that the generation that witnesses the rebirth of Israel as a nation will experience the Rapture. This astounding event of statehood occurred in May 16th of 1948. The Book of Psalms states that a generation can be as long as eighty years. So, if we add eighty years to the date of 1948, we arrive at a date as late as the Fall of 2028.

On a very interesting note, it was Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D. that Jesus was crucified. Modern astronomy shows that this date was a Friday and that a Blood Moon arose over Israel that evening. Jesus arose on Sunday April 5th. So, 2033 A.D. will be the two thousand year anniversary of these momentous events. Will Jesus arrive on any of these dates? Who can say for sure.

But if 2033 is the Second Coming of Christ, then we would need to subtract seven years to account for the Tribulation Period. This brings us to the date of 2026. So, the Feast of Trumpets in the Fall of 2026 {Friday Sept 11th - Sunday Sept 13th} is a very interesting date to consider. And the years 2026- 2033 are a time period with great prophetic promise. Only time will tell.

So, if you currently like the Fall because of its beautiful colors, just wait till you view earth while being raptured into the heavens to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and officially become an immortal child of God!

A final thought. The largest font size used in print media is called the Second Coming Type.