Rapture On The Day Of Atonement?

Q

You once said that if God intends to make the rapture coincide with a Jewish feast day then the most likely by far would be Pentecost(Shavuot).”

I realize we are only speculating here, but I believe that the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) could also be a likely candidate. It is probably the most holy feast of the seven feasts. God told the Jews to spend evening to evening afflicting their souls (fasting, praying, confessing, sacrificing, etc.; Lev. 23:32).

Through Jesus Christ “we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11). Our sins have been covered, carried away and forgotten. Sin must be covered but it must also be removed and forgotten. After sacrificing a goat for the nation’s sins, the High Priest would lay his bloody hands on another goat, which was the scapegoat, and confess the nation’s sins. The scapegoat was sent into the wilderness and no one knew where it went or what happened to it. It just disappeared….kind of like what will happen at the Rapture.

Some scholars believe there will be a 3 year interval between the Rapture and the start of Daniel’s 70th week. Daniel’s 70th week is 7 years long in duration. Seven plus three is ten. Ten is another of God’s perfect numbers of completion. Does this sound logical to you?

A

The reason I mentioned Pentecost is due to that Feast’s connection with the Church. All other Levitical feasts are decidedly focused on Israel.

Your theory is interesting, but as you say it’s just speculation. I believe the Day of Atonement will only be partially fulfilled at the 2nd Coming, and that its ultimate fulfillment will come at the Great White Throne judgment at the end of the Millennium.

In your scenario you seem to be comparing the disappearance of the Church with the disappearance of the scapegoat, which I don’t think is an apt one. The scapegoat was a model of Jesus in that both bore the sins of the people. It’s disappearance was to show that when Jesus died He made our sins disappear.

And finally, there’s no indication in Scripture of a delay between the rapture and the 70th Week. There may or may not be one, and if there is its length would be impossible to determine in advance.