Sunday, April 10, 2011

Is Spring the Season of the Rapture?

Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son."
Genesis 18:14 RSV


What's your favorite season? You know, I enjoy all of them for one reason or another, but if I had to pick one for my favorite, it would be the spring. Now I do enjoy the winter, sort of, but as I sit here and look out the window in my study I can see just a little bit of snow left on the mountain tops, my tulips blooming, and quail, songbirds, robins and doves eating out of my feeder. I like to call spring the time of new beginnings, because so much happens in so short of a time. I can see buds appearing on my trees, the robins have returned from wherever it is they go in the winter, the ground is turning green, and of course it looks like today I will have to see if the lawn mower survived the winter because the grass on my lawn is growing again.

If one was to do a study of the events listed for us in the Bible, it would appear that God ordained many events to occur in the spring as well. It is especially interesting to see how many of those events could be identified with the idea of a new beginning. In the passage above, God has visited Abraham and Sarah and told them that Sarah was to have a son. He also tells them that He will return to see them when that happens, and even tells them the season; spring! If you look closely at the Hebrew you will find that in this particular case, the RSV translates it best, because if you take the two words mowed and chay together in the same phrase you understand spring is identified as the season this event will occur.

mow`ed : 1) appointed place, appointed time, meeting

chay : 1) living, alive, a) green (of vegetation), b) flowing, fresh (of water), c) lively, active (of man), d) reviving (of the springtime)

Since Abraham is told he would become the father of the nation of Israel, the birth of Isaac began the fulfillment of that prophecy and as we see, it began in the spring.

We also find in the book of Exodus that the deliverance of the nation of Israel from bondage in Egypt occurred in the spring. The first three feasts of Israel, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits all occur in the first month on the Jewish calendar which normally begins around the end of March or the beginning of April on our calendar, and is called Nisan or Abib.

And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. "On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.
Exodus 13:3,4 NKJV


Of course, of greater interest to us as believers is the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred at the time of these three feasts as well. If you recall, Jesus celebrated passover with His disciples, was then arrested, crucified, and then rose again on the third day which was the Feast of Firstfruits.

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
Matthew 26:1,2 NKJV


Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Matthew 28:1,2 NKJV


Now you talk about the idea of spring being a time of new beginnings, how important could the fact be that our deliverance occurred in the spring? Do you really think so many things happening in the spring is just coincidence? If you think it may be, why not look at another event that is certainly significant to all believers. Just fifty days after the resurrection, on the Feast of Pentecost, something else rather important happened as well; the birth of the Church.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:1,2 NKJV


Do you begin to see what I mean about the spring being the most interesting season? The Bible is full of “new beginning” type events which occur in the spring. Is it possible then that the rapture of the church could occur in the spring season? If it did, it would certainly fit in with the idea of a new beginning type event happening the same time as so many others have. So in light of this, I saved the best for last. You remember the children of Israel being delivered out of Egypt? What did God have planned for them? That's right, they were headed to the promised land. Do you know when they got there?

And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
Joshua 4:18,19 NKJV


Here we are again! Back to the first month, the spring, the time of new beginnings. God delivered the children of Israel into the promised land on the tenth day of the first month. Is it possible this is also a picture of when the church will enter her “promised land”? Could spring be the season of the rapture ? If you know me by now you understand I believe the rapture of the church could happen at anytime, so I would never attempt to predict a certain “day” for it to occur. As far as choosing a “season” though, I would be very comfortable choosing the spring as the season where it might happen. Am I looking up? Oh you bet I am! With everything else that is happening in the world right now you have to believe we are so very close. That nearness, however, prompts me to ask you this question. If you have come to this point in your life and not made a decision to accept the free gift of salvation offered to you by our Saviour Jesus Christ, don't you think it would be a good idea to do it now?.

One last thing. I know many of you who follow this blog are curious about the subject of numbers and how they are used in the Bible. You also know by now that while I find that subject intriguing, it's not something I am led to pursue. But for those of you who are, here is a “freebie”. If the children of Israel entered the promised land on the tenth of the month, then their first full day of their new life was the eleventh. If the church were to be raptured following this example, then our first full day in heaven would be the eleventh as well. According to the Jewish calendar, this year that could be written 1-11-11. Since many believe that the Bible uses the number one as the number signifying new beginnings, isn't it interesting that this year all those “ones” could line up? Oh, and if you are wondering, the eleventh day of the first month would be Wednesday/Thursday of this week. No, again I'm not predicting anything, but isn't it fun to study the Word of God? I hope to see you soon.

Keep watching.