Lately as I have been in thought,grief and prayer over the possiblity of the rapture being on Rosh Hashana , the thought of it is bittersweet for me, because I have so many lost loved ones, and even though I know that everyone is offered mercy and grace today, I have had a lingering question on my heart as to the possiblity of, just before the rapture and the end of the age of grace for the gentiles; our God who is so merciful, if he would pour out a spirit conviction mingled with mercy and grace on the earth, for one last call to come to him before the rapture.. after all he has a pouring out planned for the Jews after the rapture...

When those thoughts started, I had no knowledge of the meaning of the month of Elul, but in the last couple of days I have been lead to search out more about Elul, and wanted to show you what I found out, and how it tells me that if this RH is it , than Elul which starts on August 30th and goes through to Sept 28th, could be a time of outpouring of Conviction, forgiveness and mercy for the remaining Gentiles to come in before the rapture, but somehow I sense that this time frame is also going to be a special time for those who are already the saved bride of Christ... so speaking to the bride first.

Elul is know by the Jews as the month of the bride....

fair use for educational and discussion purposes
http://ajerusalemvoice.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-am-my-beloveds-and-my-beloved-is-mine.html

It is in the month of Elul that we begin again the courtship with the Beloved. The Hebrew letters that make up the name Elul are also the first letters of the verse, Ani Ledodi VeDodi Lee - "I Am My Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine." Songs 6:3

Yet, that verse from that sanctified poem of love and relationship, when literally translated, becomes somewhat confusing. Ani Ledodi Vedodi Lee really translates as, "I am entering into the month of betrothal to their ultimate, Divine Beloved.
That is the deeper meaning of the verse Ani Ledodi VeDodi Lee - "I Am My Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine." The relationship is defined by the constant move towards - "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me".





Now for the divine grace and mercy associated with the month of Elul...

fair use for educational and discussion purposes
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4351/jewish/A-Brief-History-of-Elul.htm

The origins of Elul as a month of special Divine grace and mercy go back to the time of Moses, in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE)--the first year after the Jewish people went out of Egypt.

I did not know that there were three 40 day periods that Moses went up on Mount Sinai,
and the last time he went up, was on the 1st of Elul and he stayed until Tishrei 10th.

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4351/jewish/A-Brief-History-of-Elul.htm

Seven weeks after the exodus, the people of Israel received the Torah at Mount Sinai and entered into an eternal covenant with G-d as His chosen people. But just 40 days later, while Moses was still up on the mountain, they violated their special relationship with G-d by worshipping a golden calf. Upon descending from the mountain and witnessing their transgression, Moses smashed the two stone tablets on which G-d had inscribed the Ten Commandments; he then retuned to Mount Sinai for a second 40 days to plead with G-d on Israel's behalf.
On the early morning of the 1st of Elul, Moses once again ascended Mount Sinai, taking with him the stone tablets he had hewn, by divine command, for G-d to re-inscribe the Ten Commandments. On the mountain, G-d allowed Moses to "see My back, but not My face" (which Maimonides interprets as a perception of G-d's reality but not His essence) -- the closest any human being ever came to knowing G-d -- and taught him the secret of His "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" (Exodus 33:18-34:8).
For the third time, Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days, from the 1st of Elul until the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur), during which time He obtained G-d's whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the people of Israel. Ever since, the month of Elul serves as the "month of Divine mercy and forgiveness."

However when I read this, I got a check in my spirit regarding the extra ten days of Tishrei,
I still don't have the complete understanding about that check in my spirit though.
I only know that those ten days are the ten days of awe and they began as RH was ending and that they were the very last ten days ending on the day of sealing on Yom Kippur. and in Revelation 2:9-10 you will see Jesus referring to the Jews only and telling them that they will have tribulation for ten days...

Could it be that the importance of the thirty day Teshuvah in the month of Elul, is that those who repent during this time (prior to the return of our Messiah) will have their names written in the "Book of Life" and will not have to go through the further repentance during the more difficult "Days of Awe.. the extra ten days beyond Rosh Hashana..

Now I know that some may scoff and say that the times of the Jewish feast's and months of special significance have nothing to do with God's plans for the Gentiles, but let me remind you, these are not the feast or the days of the Jews these are the feast's and the days of God,
And were a foreshadowing of his plans for all mankind.
Then we have the four spring feast that have already seen their fulfillment... where which, we as Gentiles benefited greatly in their fulfillment...

p.s. if anybody has more information or insights about Elul or Teshuvah, please share;)