A. Some experts say there’s historical proof of the Exodus, while others disagree.  Remnants of the Egyptian army have apparently been found beneath the Red Sea at a place where the crossing would have been likely, and there’s the 4000 year history of the Jewish people which includes the Exodus.  In the Bible, God has always considered it one of His greatest displays of power.  He repeatedly called Himself, “The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.”

Personally, I don’t see any reason to question the Biblical record.  Aside from God’s word being at stake, it would have taken a conspiracy of monumental proportions to fabricate a story like that and have it survive.  Passover, which memorializes the Exodus, is the world’s oldest continuously celebrated religious event, beginning in the lifetimes of those who experienced it

“Finally, we should note that in this passage the concluding event is the restoration of the Kingdom for Israel. It has nothing to do with the Rapture of the Church which can happen at any moment. Using his calculations and beginning at the Resurrection, Hosea’s prophecy of Israel’s restoration will be fulfilled around 2032, within the window of time I’ve previously established of 2018-2037.”

Does this mean that the rapture wouldn’t happen until 7 years before 2032?  Approximately 2025?  That seems like a LONG ways off!!

And another question:  You have said you don’t think the rapture would occur on a Jewish Holiday, which Pentecost is, but I don’t understand that.   If He didn’t come on a Jewish Holiday, how would they know for sure if He was truly their Messiah?   And the church was born on Pentecost, which is a Jewish Holiday, why wouldn’t it be raptured on a Jewish Holiday?

Thanks for all your wisdom!!  I can’t wait to meet you when we get to Heaven!!

A. As I said in my answer the Rapture can happen at any moment.  The fact that it has to take place at least 7 years before the 2nd Coming doesn’t mean that it can’t happen before that time.

I’ve also said that the Rapture doesn’t have to happen on a Jewish Feast day. In fact, being a secret event it probably won’t come on any day that we could have predicted in advance.  The Rapture is not designed to show Israel that Jesus is their Messiah.  It’s designed to remove the Church from Earth before the End Times judgments.

Each Jewish feast day has both a historical and prophetic fulfillment.  The historical fulfillment of Pentecost was the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.  The prophetic fulfillment was the birth of the Church.  Only the Fall Feasts have yet to be prophetically fulfilled.  But remember, they’re for Israel, not the church.  I think they’ll be fulfilled after the Church is gone.

A. In the Bible, the Second Passover was a kind of make up session for people who couldn’t participate in the first one due to ceremonial uncleanness or travel schedules. It was conducted one month later on the 14th day of the 2nd month. (Numbers 9:6-13)

Some say that not all of the Passover was prophetically fulfilled in the Lord’s death.  They say the blood of the Lamb was shed and applied to the door posts of our hearts, but the destroying angel has not come to take the first born of the world.   This will happen at the End of the Age and will fulfill the prophetic meaning of the Second Passover.

If this is so, it would be in a different context than was intended in the Biblical Second Passover.  Jewish sages interpret the meaning of the Second Passover as a manifestation of God’s willingness to offer a second chance to His people.  Therefore it should be seen as an act of mercy on God’s part, not judgment.

In the prophetic fulfillment of Passover, Jesus is our Passover Lamb.  Applying His blood to our hearts saves us from the destroyer and frees us from the bondage of sin, represented by Egypt.  Those who don’t apply the blood will suffer spiritual death, not just physical, and it will apply to everyone, not just the firstborn.

A. Pentecost comes 7 weeks (49 days) after First Fruits (Lev. 23:15-16) The confusion comes because the first day after the Sabbath that follows Passover is First Fruits, and the 50th day after the same Sabbath is Pentecost. That makes the two feasts 49 days apart, both being on Sunday.  First fruits was fulfilled in the Resurrection and Pentecost was fulfilled in the birth of the Church.  Each Levitical feast is fulfilled on the day of its occurrence.

My question is – given how God’s ordained Holy Days are directly related Jesus… and how it is likely that the Autumn Holy Days also relate to His second-coming….  Wouldn’t the Rapture likely occur during one of these God-ordained Holy Festivals in autumn? That still wouldn’t be pin-pointing a day or an hour if it occurred “some time” within, say, an 8 day festival – right?

A. I think it’s reasonable to assume that since the spring feasts were fulfilled in the Messiah’s first coming, then the Fall feasts will be fulfilled in the 2nd coming. But keep in mind that these feasts are Jewish and concern Israel.  The Lord’s fulfillment of these feasts relates more to His relationship with Israel than to anything else.

The Rapture, involving only the Church, is a separate event and doesn’t belong to Israel. (Galatians 3:26-28) Besides, the Rapture is a number specific event, not a date specific one, and will happen as soon as the Church receives its full number (Romans 11:25). That’s why no one can know the time of its occurrence in advance.

I love your ministry and what you do for our Lord, may He continue to richly bless you.

A. I helped found and for over a year was the pastor of a Messianic Fellowship.  We celebrated all the feasts because they all point to Jesus.  He fulfilled 3 of them in His first coming (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits), birthed the Church in the 4th one (Pentecost) and will fulfill the remaining three in the 2nd Coming (Trumpets, Yom Kippur and Tabernacles) It’s hard to find a clearer picture of the Messiah than the Feasts of Israel and every Gentile believer would gain much from celebrating them from a Messianic perspective.

Q.I enjoy your answers to many questions as they are word and wisdom based. In Leviticus the Lord gave the Israelites various feasts to observe. There is the first feast which a lamb is offered. Second feast is a wave offering of first fruits,then the feast of Pentecost 40 days later and so on.

What I would like say is I believe Christ has fulfilled some of these feasts exactly and the next feast is to be observed is to be celebrated with the blowing of trumpets,which I think is sometime in September.

We don’t know which September but could I be correct in my theory?

A. There are three feasts in the Spring (Mar-Apr), Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. These were fulfilled in the 1st Coming of the Lord. Then there’s Penecost, which is fulfilled in the Church. Finally there are three fall feasts (Sep-Oct), Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles. These will be fulfilled in the Lord’s 2nd Coming.

“Don’t try to use the trumpet reference in verse 52 to pin the timing down. There are several “Last Trumpets” in the Bible and in Jewish tradition. This verse just means it’s the last trumpet we’ll hear before we’re changed. ”

Could you provide some backup to this please?

A. The Last Trump was the trumpet blast that closed the Feast of Trumpets each year. It’s called “Teki’ah Gedolah” in Hebrew. It was blown by a priest in the Temple.

The 7th angel’s trumpet blast of Revelation 11:15 is sometimes referred to as the Last Trump, though never called that in the Bible. In all of Scripture the actual phrase “Last Trump” appears only in 1 Cor. 15:52.

In 1 Thes 4:16 the reference to a trumpet is called “the trumpet call of God” a phrase used only there but which recalls Exodus 19:16 where God is said by Jewish commentators to have also blown the trumpet mentioned there. Some theologians say the two trumpets of God recall the two horns of the ram caught in the thicket when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. They call the Exodus Trumpet the left one, or First Trump, and say that God will call the Israelites back to the Land in the End Times by blowing the right one, or Last Trump. If this is the case then the Last Trump will most likely be blown at the close of the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39, placing the Rapture at the time of Ezekiel’s battle as I believe.

In any case these are trumpets blown by God, not by man, which would seem to eliminate Rosh Hashana as a possible rapture date. And there is neither Biblical nor traditional support for linking the 7th angel of Revelation 11 to the Last Trump mentioned by Paul.

All these opinions being frought with conjecture, I believe my view of the Last Trump as simply being the last one we’ll hear before being changed is the safest.

Q. I’ve written to you a couple of times before and have found your answers to be wise and biblical. So, I want to ask you something concerning my Messianic Jewish belief. I am aware that you were a part of a Messianic congregation from one of you posts.

My question is this: Are Jews still required to keep the feasts, eat kosher, and observe the Sabbath or were all these things done away with when Jesus died on the cross? My congregation still observes all the feasts and Holy days. Many eat kosher(some more strict then others), and they have services on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Lately, I have been searching for a new congregation because my Messianic one is so far away from me and it’s getting expensive. Not to mention if I try to make Torah studies and prayer meetings. Most of the Christian congregations tell me it’s no longer required to do these things(other then attending services). I just want to do what is right.

As I read it, Jesus and the disciples followed the laws and kept the feasts. Wouldn’t this mean, that everyone who considers themselves a follower of Jesus to do the same? I know in Acts the issue of circumcision was brought up for Gentiles. They basically said to keep some of the laws but not all of them, not the ones that applied to Jews anyway.

So where does a Messianic Jew stand? I sort of feel I’m in between two drawn swords, the Christian community on the one side, and the Torah observant Jews on the other. Any guidance you can offer will be appreciated.

A. This is an issue that has plagued the Messianic movement all along. Many who were formerly observant Jews insist on keeping the Law, while Gentile members often don’t see the need. I think the Messianic movement has an identity crisis of sorts. Though as followers of Jesus they’re part of the Church, there’s a concerted effort on the part of many to try and maintain a separate identity. Often it results in this “stuck in the middle” feeling you describe.

The Bible clearly teaches us two things. First, the Law was a shadow of things to come, not the reality which is found in Jesus (Hebr. 10:1 & Romans 3:19-24). Second, attempting to keep the Law can be a dangerous flirtation with legalism, because while no one can actually do it, we can fool ourselves into thinking we are, and that can lead to the same spiritual arrogance that so offended the Lord (Matt. 23). I know that some Jews believe that even after accepting the Lord as their savior, they’re still under the Law, but in my opinion the writer to the Hebrews believed otherwise and went to great lengths to persuade his readers as well.

In the Messianic Fellowship I led, we celebrated only the Erev Shabbat (Friday night) service. Some of us also attended Sunday services in a Gentile Church. We observed the Feasts and Holy Days to learn about their traditions and the incredible spiritual and prophetic significance of each one. I think this contributed to a growth in our Biblical understanding that would have been impossible to achieve in any other way.

The spiritual and physiological benefits found in keeping the commandments and kosher laws are well documented and beyond dispute, but turning them into a works-centered religion is what got the Jews in trouble in the first place.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Col. 2:16-17)

Q. Is the Church bound by Jewish Feast Days? When it comes to Prophecy, can the Rapture really be just any old day? Pentecost and Feast of Trumpets are the 2 most popular Feasts that most Experts debate over. In light of the current situation in Lebanon,this thing could Spiral out of control tonight. I love Feast Days because it allows believers a target to anticipate for the Rapture. Jesus says”I come at an hour you think not.” Some say that means Christ’s Appearing on a Sabbath which the Jews would never allow. Could it just mean He is coming just any old day out of the blue?

A. The Church is not bound by Jewish feast days, although each Feast has both historical and prophetic fulfillment. For instance Passover both commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, and prophesied the Messiah’s deliverance of the world from the bondage of sin. The spring feasts were fulfilled in the first coming and the fall feasts look forward the the second.

But while events of both the first and second advent are foretold in the Jewish feasts, the Rapture is not directly connected to either. It’s an event unique to the Church that is only related to the Lord’s comings in that it has to happen sometime after the first and before the second.

The reason Pentecost, the only summer feast, is a popular date for the Rapture is that the church was born on that day. And in fact if the Rapture should happen to come on a Jewish Feast day Pentecost is the only likely one. Those who choose the Feasts of Trumpets or Tabernacles have confused the Rapture and the 2nd Coming.

But I believe that the historical fulfillment of Pentecost was the giving of the 10 Commandments at mount Sinai, inaugurating the Dispensation of Law, and its prophetic fulfillment was the birth of the Church which brought the Dispensation of Grace.

Further, I’m convinced that the Rapture is a number specific event, not a date specific one. In other words, there is a specific number of believers who will populate the New Jerusalem, and when that number is reached, off we’ll go. So it could happen on any date. Acts 15:12-18 and Romans 11:25-27 support this view.

What makes us believe we’re close to the Rapture is the proximity of post-church end times events pertaining to Israel.