The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-14, titled "Questions and Answers--Part 42."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 1993 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

I understand all of the Old Testament feasts have had a New Testament fulfillment, except for the Feast of Trumpets. Aside from the caution against date setting, could that be the Rapture?

Answer

You know, I’m not really very good on all of that approach. Could the Feast of Trumpets be a parallel to the Rapture? Possibly, I don’t want to be dogmatic about that. Could it be a parallel to the return of Christ to set up his kingdom? That could be part of the image in that. Certainly the intention of those feasts is to look back. But, we can also assume there could be a forward look as well. Some people would say, obviously the Great Feast of Pentecost, which is the gathering in, and there you have the church being gathered in, and the harvest and all of that, and then the Feasts of Trumpets being the culmination, and the celebration of glory. I can see that.

There are some Bible teachers that I’ve read in years past who equated that with the Rapture and others who equated it with the Second Coming of Christ, as certainly the ultimate fulfillment of the trumpets, and the glory of Christ and all of that. But, I’m not much of a symbolic guy. So I haven’t spent a lot of time on that. But whether or not that is the intention of God with the imagery of the Feast of Trumpets, it’s going to happen. Whatever you call it. And of course I think in the Old Testament there is no separating the Rapture from the return. So I hesitate to think that the Feast of Trumpets would be associated only with the Rapture, rather with the whole, perhaps, coming of Christ.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986