The Mystery Of The Rapture
Pastors Leslie & Adeline Chua
“Behold! I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
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“Behold, I tell you a mystery,” the apostle, Paul, excitedly told the Corinthian believers.
He was referring to the mystery of the rapture, where both the dead and believing saints will be caught up to meet with Jesus in the clouds, and then be taken to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55).
The rapture is a mystery to the church just as the Person of Christ, the entity of the church, and the gospel were mysteries to the Jews during Jesus and Paul’s time.
A mystery in the Holy Scripture refers to a truth that is hidden until God gives the revelation. These truths are found in the Scripture, but they are not clearly understood.
Many Christians might be surprised to learn that the realities of Christ, the church, and the gospel were hidden from the Jews in Jesus’ times. They had the Old Testament Scripture, but they could not discern these realities without God’s revelation.
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A mystery in the Holy Scripture refers to a truth that is hidden until God gives the revelation.
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In his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, Paul wrote concerning these mysteries that were hidden from the past generations (Ephesians 1:9, 3:1-9, 5:32, 6:19; Colossians 1:26-27, 2:2, 4:3). God had revealed these mysteries regarding His redemptive plan to Paul.
So, it is not surprising that the mystery of the rapture was also revealed to Paul because it is a critical part of God’s redemptive process. The rapture is the moment when the saints receive the promised inheritance of salvation and eternal life. At that time, we will be clothed with a new body that is fit for glory and eternity.
The Timing of the Rapture
The timing of the rapture is the subject of much discussion and endless debates among the students of eschatology.
Simply put, there are three schools of thought. Some people, including me, believe that it will take place before the 7-year Tribulation begins. Some believe the rapture will take place midway through the Tribulation while others believe it will happen at the end of the Tribulation.
So, while the reality of the rapture is clear, the timing is not explicitly stated in the Bible.
Do We Know the Timing of the Rapture?
Jesus added to the mystery of the rapture when He told His disciples - “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
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While it appears that Jesus was speaking plainly, it is likely He was also alluding to the Feast of Trumpets, which was known to the Jews as “a festival that no one knows the day or hour.”
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Jesus also said His return would be like a thief coming in the night (Matthew 24:43), which means that it will be a surprise. It has an element of unpredictability.
While it appears that Jesus was speaking plainly, it is likely He was also alluding to the Feast of Trumpets, which was known to the Jews as “a festival that no one knows the day or hour.”
Unfamiliar with the ancient Jewish culture, Christians today do not catch the allusion, but the Jews during Jesus’ time understood Jesus perfectly. They also knew that this festival was also known by a few other different names. Of interest to this reflection is another name, “The Hidden Day.”
So, the Feast of Trumpets has an air of mystery surrounding it. Here is the reason.
Among the seven God-ordained biblical festivals, this is the only festival that is celebrated on the day of the new moon. It is scheduled to begin on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, which follows the lunar cycle. However, sometimes, the new moon cannot be seen due to a cloudy sky or bad weather. If that happened, the celebration would be held back until the thin sliver of the new moon is sighted.
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For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night… But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:2,4
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So, nobody knows the exact day and hour of the Feast of Trumpets. However, the general timeframe is known. It is on the first or second day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.
Now, this fit with Paul’s comment about the day of rapture – “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night… But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, 4-5).
Paul seemed to be contradicting himself. While that day will come like a thief in the night, those who are in the light, which refers to believers, ought to know the time. Not the exact year, day and hour, but roughly the season.
Will the Rapture Happen on the Feast of Trumpet?
Will the rapture happen on the Feast of Trumpet?
I believe so if the spring feasts, which had already been fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ, serve as a guide.
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Paul told the Colossians that the festivals or a new moon are shadows of the things to come, but the reality is found in Christ
(Colossians 2:16-17).
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Jesus, the Passover Lamb of God, was crucified and died on the day of the Passover (14th of Nisan, the first month). The Feast of Unleavened Bread (15th Nisan) points to Jesus who was buried without sin. Three days after His death (17th Nisan), Jesus rose from the grave. Fifty days afterwards, God gave the Holy Spirit to the church on the Feast of Pentecost.
We should not be surprised. Paul told the Colossians that the festivals or a new moon are shadows of the things to come, but the reality is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).
Notice that Jesus fulfilled the prophetic significance of the spring feasts on their exact dates. How amazing and precise are the words and works of God!
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We do not know the exact year, day, and hour. But it certainly appears that the rapture will take place on one of the two possible days when the Feast of Trumpets is celebrated.
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Therefore, in all likelihood, Jesus will return to rapture His church on the Feast of Trumpets. Interestingly, this feast is also known to the Jews as the ‘day of the awakening blast.’
Didn’t Paul also say to the Corinthian believers that the trumpet will sound, and the dead would be raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:53)?
We do not know the exact year, day, and hour. But it certainly appears that the rapture will take place on one of the two possible days when the Feast of Trumpets is celebrated.
Note: This pastoral reflection was written during the Feast of Trumpets, which was celebrated by the Jews a few days ago. The festival began at sundown on 6 September and ends at nightfall on 8 September.