Hello John and Doves,

I would like to take another look at Ascension Day.

On this day, 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to many of His followers; He spoke with them about the coming Holy Spirit.  He was then taken up into a cloud.  Suddenly, two angels appeared with them and said to these men of Galilee that Jesus, who was just taken into heaven, will come back in the same way.  (It is interesting that G-d sent TWO angels to convey this message - possibly stressing the importance of the message.)

In the Second Coming, Jesus returns with the armies of Heaven, riding on white horses.

In the Rapture, Jesus comes down from Heaven and with the voice of the archangel and trumpet call of G-d calls the dead in Christ and the living in Christ to be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

So, this comment by the two angels of Jesus coming back 'in the same way He was taken up' - sounds more like the Rapture than the Second Coming.

If this is correct, then this could be a ten day 'warning' period before Shavuot or Pentecost.

Now I would like to take another look at Pentecost.

In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers, the believers went out among the people speaking in various tongues, telling them about 'the wonders of G-d', 'the wonderful things G-d has done', 'the mighty works of G-d' in the various languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem for Shavuot.  They were spreading the news about the great things that G-d had done!

Some of the people in the crowd made fun of these believers, accusing them of being drunk.  Peter addressed these accusations - he wanted to explain this to them - he said 'listen carefully to my words'....these men are not drunk as it's too early in the day.

He goes on and says, after saying 'listen carefully to my words', that what is happening is what Joel the prophet said would happen.  That this was predicted to happen by Joel.

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams...I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 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 2:17-20

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit so what he said to the Jews gathered there were the words from the Lord.  Yet, what was happening there was people speaking in different languages about the great things G-d had done.

They weren't prophesying, or having visions; there were not wonders in the heavens, the sun was not darkened, and the moon was not turned to blood.

But Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, so how could he say this on Pentecost when obviously these things were not happening?

My thoughts are that Peter was prophesying - that on some future Pentecost these things will happen.  So when people see the sun turned dark and the moon turned to blood, when there are signs in the heavens and on the earth, and people are seeing amazing visions and dreams, they will search the scriptures and find Peter's words in Acts 2.

For these things will happen before the great and glorious day of the Lord - the Second Coming.  "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Acts 2:21

Maybe Ascension Day will be the day of the Rapture and there will be a ten day warning....

This year, Ascension Day, 25th of Iyar, Omer: Day 40, is May 29/30...or if using the sighting of the new moon, May 30/31.  Using the chabad.org calendar.

The number 10 has special meaning in the Bible - the ten plagues, the Ten Commandments, the ten virgins, ten generations from Adam to Noah, etc.  Ten symbolizes completion.

Maranatha!

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!

Chance