“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
A question I am often asked about the rapture of the Church is one you probably have thought of yourself, and that is do I have any idea of when it might occur? I would hope that from my articles it would be apparent, but to state plainly, I believe that it could happen at any time without any warning. That belief is called the doctrine of imminence, to which I agree and also subscribe to fully. Yet that does not mean that there are not particular days on God’s calendar that seem to lend themselves to that event. There are many which would seem to be clues or appropriate times because of other events which have occurred on the same day in the past. The Feast of Pentecost is one of those days, and it will occur this year just one week from now. Although I have spoken much about it in the past, I thought today I would share an article with you from T.W. Tramm that he has posted on his website, https://www.theseasonofreturn.com. My hope is that you will find it as informative as I did.
25 Ways Pentecost Foreshadows the Rapture
T.W. Tramm – (05/18/23)
THE BIBLE teaches that no one knows the day of the Rapture (Matt. 24:36–51). However, there is a day on God’s calendar that foreshadows this awesome event.
Here are 25 ways Pentecost points to the rapture of the Church:
1. A Harvest Festival
The most telling feature of Pentecost is that it is one of three harvest festivals, during which all Israelite males are required to appear before the Lord:
(Ex. 23:14–17).
A harvest–gathering before the Lord denotes a resurrection (Matt. 13:30, 39; 2 Thess. 2:1; Rev. 7:9–14). What’s more, the three annual harvest festivals correspond to the “order” of resurrections mentioned by Paul:
The harvest at Unleavened Bread corresponds to Jesus’ resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20).
The harvest at Pentecost corresponds to the Church’s resurrection–rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–17).
The harvest at Tabernacles corresponds to the resurrection of tribulation saints at the Second Coming (Rev. 20:4–6).
2. The Firstfruits of the Wheat
Pentecost celebrates the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Ex. 34:22). The Rapture is when the first of the believers, symbolized by wheat, are harvested and brought into God’s “barn” (Matt. 13).
“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me. ‘Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread ....
the Festival of Harvest [Pentecost] ... and the Festival of Ingathering [Tabernacles] ... Three times a year all
your males are to appear before the Lord God’”
“But each [will be resurrected] in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who
belong to Christ” (1 Cor. 15:23).
3. A Gathering from Every Nation
4. A Time of Rejoicing
Pentecost is a time to rejoice before the Lord:
5. A Time of Accountability
When the Israelites appeared before the Lord at Pentecost, they were required to bring an offering proportionate to the blessings He had bestowed upon them (Deut. 16:16, 17). The requirement to bring a proportionate offering recalls how one’s fruits will be judged at the end of the age: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required” (Matt. 25:14–30; Luke 12:48).
6. The Wave Offering
The wave offering of the grain sheaf during the Festival of Unleavened Bread is a picture of Jesus’ resurrection (Lev. 23:10; 1 Cor. 15:20). Thus, the wave offering of baked loaves seven weeks later, at Pentecost, is a picture of the Church’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:23). The ripening of grain during the seven weeks symbolizes the growth and maturation of the Body of Christ during the Church Age. The grain transformed into bread at Pentecost represents the Church in a state of fullness, or completion, at the Rapture.
7. Seven-Weeks Connotation
Pentecost is the harvest festival preceded by a count of “seven weeks” (Lev. 23:15, 16). Seeing how God repeats numbers and patterns to show a connection or relationship, it is significant that seven weeks also precede the year of redemption (Jubilee) and Messiah
At the Church’s first Pentecost, devout people from every nation, tribe and language were gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:5, 6). At the Rapture, devout people from every nation, tribe and language will be gathered in heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 7:9).
“Celebrate the Festival of Weeks [Pentecost] ... and
rejoice before the LORD your God” (Deut. 16: 10, 11.) The ultimate time of rejoicing before the Lord will
be immediately after the Rapture (Rev. 7:9–12;
1 Thess. 2:19).
the Prince (Lev. 25:8–10; Dan. 9:25). Thus, all
things that occur after a period of seven weeks—harvest, redemption, and Messiah’s coming—point to
the Rapture.
8. The 50th Day
The Greek word translated Pentecost, Pentēkostē, means “fiftieth.” Fifty is the number of redemption, pertaining to the Jubilee (Lev. 25:9, 10). Also, wherever the number 50 appears in Scripture, it denotes fullness and completion, as in the “fullness of the Gentiles” at the Rapture.
9. Payday for Redemption
The sending of the Holy Spirit on the Church’s first Pentecost is called the “down payment” or “first installment” on our redemption (Eph. 1:14). Since the initial payment for redemption occurred at Pentecost, it is logical for the final payment, the redemption of our physical bodies at the Rapture, to also occur at Pentecost (Rom. 8:23).
10. A Wedding Day
Pentecost is a wedding–betrothal day for Israel and the Church (Ex. 19; Acts 2; Eph. 4:30). This is significant because, according to the ancient wedding tradition, the bridegroom comes to gather the bride around the anniversary of the betrothal.
11. The Third Day
Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments on the “third day,” corresponding to the Day of Pentecost (Ex. 19). In John chapter 2, Jesus attends a wedding on the third day and alludes to the fact that He will be resurrected on the third day (vv. 1, 19–21). Thus, Pentecost is symbolically a “third day,” a day of weddings and resurrections.
12. Ruth
13. Rapture Allegory in Song of Songs
In the Book of Ruth, a Gentile bride marries a Jewish redeemer—a picture of the Rapture—at the end of
the wheat harvest, around Pentecost (Ruth 2:23; 4:9–10).
In the Bible’s epic love poem, Song of Songs, the shepherd–king comes to gather and spirit away His
beloved Gentile maid—a picture of the Rapture—in late spring, around Pentecost (Song 2).
14. Enoch’s Rapture
According to Jewish tradition, Enoch, a prophetic type of the Church, was taken up to be with God, or raptured, at Pentecost (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5).
15. A Time of Sealing
Pentecost is when the first Church members were sealed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Around the time of the Rapture, 144,000 of the Children of Israel will likewise be sealed by the Holy Spirit (Rev. 7:3, 4). If the sealing of the Church at Pentecost is the model, the sealing of Israel may also occur at Pentecost— perhaps as a result of their witnessing the Rapture.
16. The Short and Abrupt Harvest Festival
The first and last harvest festivals, Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles, are both observed for seven days (Lev. 23). In contrast, Pentecost is a one-day harvest festival, short and abrupt like the rapture of the Church.
17. The Festival With No Set Date
Pentecost is the only harvest festival with no assigned date in Scripture. Its timing must be calculated by counting seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath (Lev. 23:15). That the date of Pentecost is not specified in Scripture means “no one knows the day” (Matt. 24:36).
18. An Hour We Think Not
19. The Festival of God’s Trump
(Ex. 19). If the model holds, the
Jesus warns His followers that He is coming at an hour they “think not” (Matt. 24:44). Because there is
disagreement concerning which Sabbath to count the seven weeks from, the correct date of Pentecost is
always in question. It is therefore possible that God’s true Pentecost is on a day many would “think not.”
The first time God’s trumpet was sounded was at Pentecost, when He descended in a cloud on Mount
Sinai
next time God’s trumpet is sounded, at the Rapture, may also be at
Pentecost.
20. Positionally, Pentecost Denotes the Church Age
Pentecost’s parenthetical placement between the first and last harvest festivals, Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles, is suggestive of the Church Age.
21. The Festival of New Beginnings
Pentecost marks the beginning of new dispensations in Scripture, namely the Age of Law and the Church Age (Ex. 19; Acts 2). Also, the Book of Jubilees states that the two previous dispensations—the Age of Human Government (post-Flood) and the Age of Promise, from Abraham to Moses—began at Pentecost (Jub. 6:15–20). If the pattern holds, Pentecost may mark the beginning of the final dispensation, the Day of the Lord.
22. Peter Proclaims the Day of the Lord at Pentecost
At the Church’s first Pentecost, Peter stood up and quoted a prophecy from Joel:
“Then Peter stood up ... raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you ... this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people .... The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord’” (Acts 2).
It makes sense that Peter would quote the portion of Joel about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as this is what was occurring that day. But why would Peter also quote the verse about the Day of the Lord, which concludes the Church Age? Peter’s quoting of the verse about the end of the Church Age at Pentecost suggests a connection.
23. The Festival Preceding Summer
Pentecost occurs in late spring, just before summer begins. In Matthew 24, summer is a metaphor for the end of the age (Matt. 24:32).
Additionally, summer is when . . .
- The godly people are said to have “vanished” from the earth (Mic. 7:1, 2 NLT).
- The Jews lament not being saved at the harvest (Jer. 8:20).
- Israel is deemed ripe for judgment (Amos 8:1, 2).
24. The Time of Ripening Figs
Pentecost in late spring is when early figs ripen. With this in mind, it is interesting to note that . . .
- Figs represent Jews (Amos 8:1, 2).
- Figs that ripen early are said to be very good, or desirable (Hos. 9:10).
- Early ripe figs, because they are desirable, are quickly “snatched up” (Isa. 28:4 NLT).
Could the figs that ripen early, around Pentecost, be symbolic of believing Jews “snatched up” at the Rapture?
25. The Festival Preceding the Grape Harvest
In Scripture, the harvesting and crushing of grapes symbolizes the judgment of nonbelievers at the Day of the Lord (Rev. 14:14–20). In ancient Israel, grapes were the first major crop to ripen after Pentecost.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
With the above correlations in view, it is fair to say that Pentecost, better than any other biblical festival, embodies the types and themes of the Rapture: harvest, fullness, completion, redemption, resurrection, Jubilee, a wedding, the Church, a gathering before the Lord, a new beginning, a day no one knows, and the sounding of God’s trumpet.
The fact that the Day of Pentecost foreshadows the Rapture begs the question: what did Jesus mean when He said “no one knows the day”? (Matt. 24:36). There are three Pentecost scenarios that can be reconciled with this statement:
Scenario 1: Pentecost began to be fulfilled at the Church’s first Pentecost in Acts 2, initiating a Pentecostal era (Church Age) that will conclude on an unknown day. In this scenario, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 represents the planting of a ‘field,’ the Church-field, which has been growing and maturing for nearly 2,000 years. However, in accordance with Matthew 24:36, only God knows the day that the last believer will be sealed by the Holy Spirit and the Church-field deemed ripe for harvest.
Scenario 2: The Rapture will occur on the Day of Pentecost. However, due to calendar confusion and the controversy around the correct reckoning of the seven weeks, it may not be the day marked Pentecost on our calendars.
Scenario 3: The Rapture will occur on the day marked Pentecost on our calendars, but there is no way to “know,” or be certain, until it happens.
With the above scenarios in view, the Rapture could occur:
- At Pentecost.
- Around Pentecost.
- Any day.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt. 24:42). - https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-35306783/documents/6d197054d35e4b47b0b499fbaab15276/25%20WAYS%20PENTECOST%20FORESHADOWS%20THE%20RAPTURE%202023.pdf
As I said at the beginning of this post, the Feast of Pentecost is only one week away and with the events we have been witnessing lately, it would not surprise me at all if we were to hear the trumpet call to come home. If you have never accepted the gift of eternal life offered to us by the sacrifice of Jesus, simply pray a prayer like this one;
Jesus I know that I am a sinner, and have sinned against you. I believe you loved me enough to send your Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins, and that He rose from the dead so that I can live. Forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep watching.
