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 incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, NKJV
"Wait a minute!" I can hear you say, especially after that last post. "Did you just say the Rapture is going to happen on Rosh Hashanah? Jesus said NO ONE knows the day or the hour, not himself nor the angels in heaven, but only the Father knows when! How can you say the Rapture will happen at the Feast of Trumpets?"
First of all, I didn't say the Rapture is going to happen at Rosh Hashanah. Paul did. He is revealing a mystery here: we won't all die, but we will all be changed. It will happen in a moment, taking no longer than the quickest blink of an eye. We will be instantaneously transformed into our eternal existence. And Paul says it will happen at The Last Trumpet. In future correspondence, no one ever asked Paul to clarify what he meant by The Last Trumpet. He didn't have to, because his readers would have automatically understood the cultural reference. In fact, the letter of First Corinthians is filled with such terms. Paul refers to Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost in those 16 chapters, none of which he had to explain. Why should trumpets be any different?
Secondly, when Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows," he was actually making a direct reference to Rosh Hashanah. It was a common saying among the Jews that "no man knows the day nor the hour" when the Feast of Trumpets would begin. And why? you might ask. Because alone among the Jewish feasts, Trumpets starts with the New Moon. And the New Moon was a little unpredictable.
In the modern age of astronomy, we can track the movement of the planets and the courses of the stars by computer. We know to the minute when the sun will rise and set each and every day. I even have an app on my phone that will tell me the present phase of the moon in numbers and decimal points I don't claim to understand. With all of our satellites and telescopes and computer models and technologies, hardly anything is a surprise anymore. But 2000 years ago it was a different story.
In 28-30 day cycles, the moon goes through four major phases--New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Third Quarter--waxing (becoming fuller) before the Full Moon, waning (becoming less) afterward. At the end of the cycle, the Moon is completely dark because it is rising and setting at roughly the same time as the sun, therefore the side of the Moon which reflects the sun's light is facing away from us. But as the Moon continues to revolve around the Earth, a sliver of light appears in the early morning sky. It is the New Moon. The New Moon marked the beginning of each month on the Jewish Calendar, and it could appear after either the 29th or 30th day of the month.
The entire preceding month had been dominated by the blowing of trumpets for Teshuvah, calling the people to repentance and turning back to God. On the last day of the month, the trumpets fall silent and mood begins to turn from grief to joy in anticipation of the New Moon and the Last Trump. And then they wait, because the New Moon might appear the next morning, or it might appear on the morning after that.
Because Rosh Hashanah was of such significance to the Jewish people through Israel, the priests in Jerusalem responsible for announcing the New Moon devised a means of mass communication. In the darkest hour before dawn, two witnesses would ascend to the pinnacle of the temple and watch for the rising of the moon. And when the first sliver of light was discerned in the sky by both of them, they would hurry to the awaiting Sanhedrin (the Jewish council of elders) and give their testimony. Then the Last Trump would be blown, announcing the New Moon, the New Year, and the beginning of the Days of Awe. As soon as the the trumpets were blown, signal fires were lit, and across the nation other watchfires were set ablaze to announce to the Jewish people that it was Rosh Hashanah.
Because of the inexact nature of the New Moon, and because of the time and effort involved in getting the word out as the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, it was determined that Rosh Hashanah should actually be celebrated over two days--a 48-hour period which would certainly cover the rising of the New Moon. On one of those days, the New Moon would appear, but no one knew the day nor the hour.
When Paul said the resurrection of the dead and the transformation of the living will happen at The Last Trump, he was giving the Corinthians a "when" revelation. It will happen on Rosh Hashanah. Of course, we don't know which Rosh Hashanah, so we must always be ready.
First of all, I didn't say the Rapture is going to happen at Rosh Hashanah. Paul did. He is revealing a mystery here: we won't all die, but we will all be changed. It will happen in a moment, taking no longer than the quickest blink of an eye. We will be instantaneously transformed into our eternal existence. And Paul says it will happen at The Last Trumpet. In future correspondence, no one ever asked Paul to clarify what he meant by The Last Trumpet. He didn't have to, because his readers would have automatically understood the cultural reference. In fact, the letter of First Corinthians is filled with such terms. Paul refers to Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost in those 16 chapters, none of which he had to explain. Why should trumpets be any different?
Secondly, when Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows," he was actually making a direct reference to Rosh Hashanah. It was a common saying among the Jews that "no man knows the day nor the hour" when the Feast of Trumpets would begin. And why? you might ask. Because alone among the Jewish feasts, Trumpets starts with the New Moon. And the New Moon was a little unpredictable.
In the modern age of astronomy, we can track the movement of the planets and the courses of the stars by computer. We know to the minute when the sun will rise and set each and every day. I even have an app on my phone that will tell me the present phase of the moon in numbers and decimal points I don't claim to understand. With all of our satellites and telescopes and computer models and technologies, hardly anything is a surprise anymore. But 2000 years ago it was a different story.
In 28-30 day cycles, the moon goes through four major phases--New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Third Quarter--waxing (becoming fuller) before the Full Moon, waning (becoming less) afterward. At the end of the cycle, the Moon is completely dark because it is rising and setting at roughly the same time as the sun, therefore the side of the Moon which reflects the sun's light is facing away from us. But as the Moon continues to revolve around the Earth, a sliver of light appears in the early morning sky. It is the New Moon. The New Moon marked the beginning of each month on the Jewish Calendar, and it could appear after either the 29th or 30th day of the month.
The entire preceding month had been dominated by the blowing of trumpets for Teshuvah, calling the people to repentance and turning back to God. On the last day of the month, the trumpets fall silent and mood begins to turn from grief to joy in anticipation of the New Moon and the Last Trump. And then they wait, because the New Moon might appear the next morning, or it might appear on the morning after that.
Because Rosh Hashanah was of such significance to the Jewish people through Israel, the priests in Jerusalem responsible for announcing the New Moon devised a means of mass communication. In the darkest hour before dawn, two witnesses would ascend to the pinnacle of the temple and watch for the rising of the moon. And when the first sliver of light was discerned in the sky by both of them, they would hurry to the awaiting Sanhedrin (the Jewish council of elders) and give their testimony. Then the Last Trump would be blown, announcing the New Moon, the New Year, and the beginning of the Days of Awe. As soon as the the trumpets were blown, signal fires were lit, and across the nation other watchfires were set ablaze to announce to the Jewish people that it was Rosh Hashanah.
Because of the inexact nature of the New Moon, and because of the time and effort involved in getting the word out as the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, it was determined that Rosh Hashanah should actually be celebrated over two days--a 48-hour period which would certainly cover the rising of the New Moon. On one of those days, the New Moon would appear, but no one knew the day nor the hour.
When Paul said the resurrection of the dead and the transformation of the living will happen at The Last Trump, he was giving the Corinthians a "when" revelation. It will happen on Rosh Hashanah. Of course, we don't know which Rosh Hashanah, so we must always be ready.
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