I'm presuming (hoping) when we get Upstairs those people will be told to knock it off. This is the calendar we use, the only calendar we use, so like it or lump it, stop changing it to suit yourselves. Or stay in your room without a calendar and call it whatever day you like, but stop bothering the rest of us. (Boy, don't I sound crabby lately.)
I don't know who is right with the calendar. I think all the people who make these videos have good intentions and make good point. It gives me great encouragement to know that so many people are watching and expecting Jesus any time now. I love to have watch dates and I think it is great that I can have two months in the spring and fall with high expectation. This spurs me on to good works. Even if you do not like a date, these videos have great content that can be used in witnessing to the unsaved. I visit my unsaved mom in a nursing home every Sunday and talk to her about the Lord. Every week she says no to accepting Jesus. But, others at the facility hear me talk and they learn from and are encouraged by what I say. There are two people there that talk to me every week about the Lord now. It is the same way with a cashier at Price Chopper. I talk to her every week when I go. She is already saved, but we have a good friendship now where we talk about the Lord while I am checking out, and everyone in line can hear the conversation. I can start a conversation with something like, "Did you know there was a sign in the night sky last week that describes what John saw in the book of Revelation?" Even the evil of halloween can be used since it is coming up. Say something like, "Some people say that halloween began in remembrance of all those who died in the Great Flood." Try it. People are willing to talk if you just speak up and be friendly. People are really lonely and wonder what is going on in the world.
Also, I said that about halloween because I have followed Youtuber Repoman 64 for years and that is something he talks about because the day of the flood on his calendar falls on halloween. Of course, he thinks his is the correct calendar too. His calendar is a couple days off from the Essene calendar because his is based on the day of equal parts instead of the spring equinox. I consider what all these people have to say. It is interesting to me that when you overlap the calendars what is Tabernacles on one calendar might be Feast of Trumpets on another as Dave pointed out above.
@blue Thanks for sharing that. I just watched Repoman 64's recent video. I am a novice with calendars, but I followed along and Repoman says a lot of things are pointing to October 31st, give or take a day. He has a couple of good high watch dates coming around October 17th and 31st.
I was looking for any article that would mention if the Apostle Paul did any teaching about the 7 Feasts. I found an article that talked about what Paul did for work. He made tents. He taught people about how a true belief in Jesus would save our souls. Also how a true belief would result in the Holy Spirit sealing us and dwelling in our heart. Our body would be a temporary tent or booth for the Holy Spirit. It seems like the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths could be a good time for our corruptible bodies to become incorruptible.
I will try and find the article and if I find it I will append another message to this one with the URL.
@rickjones427 Hey Rick, yes, I've also always been intrigued by Tabernacles, because it features strongly when Jesus and His three disciples are on the mount of transfiguration (Peter suggests that they should build booths/sukkot for Jesus, Moses and Elijah).
The fact that Jesus is bodily 'transfigured' in this mysterious passage could be a pointer to the rapture (when our bodies will be changed). Also, this passage starts in Matthew 17 with the words: "After six days..." That's always tickled my curiosity; why after six days? We know there are no insignificant details in the Bible. It's like saying: "After six thousand years" if you apply the 'one day is like a thousand years to the Lord' rule. It's like saying: "when the time had come at the end of the appointed time', they WENT UP a high mountain.
At this time (before the cross) the mystery of the rapture had not yet been revealed, therefore it had to be shrouded in symbolism.
Dave Dave, I wasn't going to post this unless we made it past October, but Youtuber Ricardo Garcia has even another view that Feast of Trumpets doesn't begin until around November 3. It seems way far out there considering he is so far off from the folks that say the year began in September, but he makes some good points too.
THE most joyous festival on God’s calendar, the Feast of Tabernacles, begins October 17–18 this year.
While Tabernacles foreshadows generally the Millennial Kingdom and beyond, when God will dwell, or “tabernacle,” with man, there are at least 17 ways that it points specifically to the Rapture:
1. WHEAT GATHERING
Tabernacles, also called the “feast of ingathering,” is when the wheat that has been processed—cut, dried, threshed, winnowed, sifted and ground—is gathered into barns or granaries (Ex. 23:16; Deut. 16:13). The gathering of wheat into barns is a picture of the “gathering” of believers into the Father’s house at the Rapture (2 Thess. 2:1; Matt. 3:12; John 14:2).
2. REJOICING WITH PALMS
Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing before the Lord with palm branches (Lev. 23:40). In Revelation 7, the newly raptured saints are seen rejoicing before the Lord with palm branches (vv. 9–12). What’s more, it is said that God will spread His “tabernacle” over them (v. 15).
3. FEAST OF NATIONS
Tabernacles is called the “Feast of Nations.” The Rapture is when people from every “nation tribe, people and language” stand before God’s throne (Rev. 7:9). Moreover, Tabernacles will be celebrated by the nations throughout the Millennium (Zech. 14:16), indicating that it has special importance to Gentiles.
4. WEDDING COVENANT
Tabernacles is when the Law, or ‘wedding covenant,’ is read annually as a reminder (Deut. 31:10, 11; Neh. 8–10). The Rapture is when the wedding covenant is consummated.
5. SEVEN-DAY FESTIVAL
Tabernacles is celebrated for seven days, corresponding to the seven-day bridal week (Gen. 29:27). The bridal week foreshadows the seven-year wedding celebration in heaven, after the Rapture.
6. HARVEST COMPLETE
Tabernacles is when the harvest is complete. The Gentile Ruth married the Jewish redeemer Boaz, a picture of the Rapture, when the harvest was complete (Ruth 2:21, 23 DRB).
7. FULL MOON
Tabernacles begins at the full moon, signifying the fullness of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:25). The full moon is also when the proverbial “husband,” or “goodman,” Jesus, returns (Prov. 7:19, 20).
8. SUMMER’S END
Tabernacles is observed after summer, when the harvest is past. After the harvest is when the Jews lament not being saved: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved” (Jer. 8:20).
9. TIME OF RELEASE
Tabernacles is the appointed time of release, or debt forgiveness (Deut. 31:10 AMP). The Rapture is the ultimate release from earthly concerns.
10. SUKKOT
After departing Egypt, the Israelites first camped at a place called Sukkot, the Hebrew word for Tabernacles (Ex. 12:37). The departure from Egypt is a picture of the Rapture.
11. NEW DWELLINGS
Tabernacles is when the Jews remember how they previously lived in temporary dwellings (Lev. 23:42, 43). The Rapture is when believers receive new and permanent ‘dwellings,’ i.e. glorified bodies, and mansions in heaven (1 Cor. 15:53; John 14:2).
12. LIMITED APPEARANCE
In John chapter 7, Jesus attends the Feast of Tabernacles in partial secrecy because His time had not yet fully come, and even His Jewish brothers did not believe in Him (vv. 5, 6). Similarly, the Rapture is a limited appearance at a time of Jewish unbelief.
13. TRANSFIGURATION
Jesus’ transfiguration “after six days” occurred during the Feast of Tabernacles (Matt. 17:4). The transfiguration after six days foreshadows the Church’s glorification after 6,000 years.
14. TEMPLE DEDICATION
The First Temple was dedicated to God at the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:65). The ultimate Temple, the Church, or Body of Christ, will be dedicated at the Rapture (Eph. 2:20–22).
15. LAST TRUMP
Since Tabernacles is the last festival of the biblical year, the seventh festival of the seventh month, it is when the “last trumpet” is sounded (1 Cor. 15:52).
16. LAST DAY
John chapter 6 states four times that the resurrection will occur at the “last day” John 6:39, 40, 44, 54). In the following chapter, the phrase “last day” is applied to the Feast of Tabernacles: “In the last day, that great day of the Feast [of Tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).
17. EIGHTH DAY
Tabernacles is the festival with a special eighth day that is observed afterward (Lev. 23:36). The number eight signifies a putting off of the flesh, a new beginning, and rescue from judgment (Gen. 17:12; 1 Pet. 3:20), themes that describe the Rapture.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The Feast of Tabernacles is a time of:
• Ingathering.
• Rejoicing with palms.
• Fullness and completion.
• Gentile celebration.
• Transfiguration.
• Temple dedication.
• Jesus appearing in part.
• The last trumpet.
• The last day.
With the tabernacles–rapture correlations in view, it is important to keep in mind that no one knows how the fall festivals will be fulfilled. Since the Second Advent is essentially a two-phased event that occurs over the course of years, and includes two groups, the Church and Israel, there may be multiple fulfillments. That said, here is an outline that shows how a Tabernacles Rapture would make sense relative to the other festivals:
• The Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, in late spring marks the beginning of the extended harvest period called the Church Age.
• The Feast of Trumpets at summer’s end is an awakening blast that the harvest period is drawing to a close.
• The “Days of Awe” leading up to the Day of Atonement represent the final opportunity to be sealed for redemption before the judgment is set.
• The full moon at Tabernacles signifies the fullness of the Gentiles and the conclusion of the Church Age—the time when the ‘wheat’ is gathered into God’s ‘barn.’
• The post-rapture judgment could begin immediately, or a few weeks after Tabernacles, around the anniversary of Noah’s Flood. Scripture says it will be like the “Days of Noah,” and that people will be saying “peace and security” (Mat 24:37; 1 Thess. 5:3). The fall is when the UN, the organization founded on the anniversary of Noah’s Flood, meets to discuss matters of "international peace and security." This year, the call for peace is amplified as Israel is embroiled in a spiraling war that began, coincidentally, the day after last year’s Feast of Tabernacles.
Having outlined a possible scenario, we understand that no one knows the day of the Rapture, not even the angels (Matt. 24:36). While it could occur on a festival day, there are Scriptures that suggest it may not (Matt. 24:42–44; 1 Thess. 5:1, 2). Nonetheless, the “festival of ingathering” is a time of heightened hope and anticipation for those who long to be with the Lord, and to inhabit a new and perfect tabernacle.
