Matthew 24:29-31
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
By holding to a "pre-tribulation" rapture, what is implied is that those elect who will be gathered in the Matthew 24:31 scripture are people who got saved after the people who were saved before the tribulation were already gathered out in the rapture.
So then, where does the rapture happen before this Matthew 24:29 passage?
Let's consider some relevant scriptures where Jesus is warning his people about what is to come in the end times:
Matthew 24:9-13
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
If there was a rapture for the elect as a way to escape tribulation, why does not Jesus mention it? What is the point of giving warning to his followers about the terrible times that they will face and that they will need to endure through to the end?
Matthew 24:20-22
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:23-25
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
Then it is also fitting to ask, "Why is the saving of Noah and his family from the flood being compared to the saving of the elect at the time of Jesus' second coming?"
Matthew 24:36-39
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Once Noah and his family were safe in the ark he built, no one else was going to get saved out of that flood. Being in the ark was the only way to not be destroyed by the flood once it came. Getting into the ark was not like being part of a kind of pre-flood rapture. The ark went through the flood and the raging waters, but it was the safe place for the few who were God's servants. Flood or not, that is where those who would be saved needed to be. And they had to exercise their faith every moment that they were in that ark, even as the waters were rising all around them. They were saved by grace through faith from the waters of the great flood. They experienced the flood as much as the servants of God will be aware of the fire that will "melt the elements" upon Jesus' return or "take vengeance" on the wicked (see 2 Peter 3:10 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8). But the fire won't hurt them.
Now Jesus is the safe "place" for God's servants to be in. They are already suffering trouble in the world (John 15:18-20). But they are safe "in Jesus." Being "in Jesus" does not mean not facing any kind of trouble because of being raptured out of the world to avoid tribulation. The mindset that would go with that is not from the Bible. Jesus has promised to keep his faithful servants from the hour of trial (see Revelation 3:10); and all his servants are exhorted to watch and pray to be counted worthy to escape the trouble that He announced for the whole world (see Luke 21:36). But that is not what is being called "rapture." And the greatest concern is that the promise of a pre-tribulation rapture is being presented to people who won't be diligent (because of what they believe) about being ready to stand before the Son of Man.
Luke 21:36
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Revelation 3:10
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Doesn't the mindset of expecting to be raptured out of tribulation undermine having the mindset of making sure one is ready for the day of Jesus' coming, seeing to it that one is found by Him blameless on that day?
Matthew 24:44
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
1 Corinthians 1:4-8
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is that "day of our Lord Jesus Christ" that the apostle Paul ministered to Jesus' followers so that they would be "blameless" on it (1 Corinthians 1:8)?
They are certainly "waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). Is their mind then on a rapture to escape tribulation? Can that be inferred from the scriptures?
The moment of the “rapture” is described like this in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Note the trumpet of God and the gathering together of the saints in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Compare Matthew 24:31:
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Note the trumpet sound and the gathering together of God’s elect in this passage also. One must decide if the two passages describe the same event and have the idea of leaving people (unbelievers) behind to face tribulation while escaping it oneself and putting Jesus’ return, “the day of the Son of Man,” further into the future. If that idea is not in the scriptures, it has been injected into the relevant texts that are read on these topics by people who are led by their doctrines that they want to teach and not by the Holy Spirit.
Suffering tribulation in the world is a reality that servants of God must intimately be acquainted with. And as it may come for them to face a “great” tribulation, their faith is what will sustain them through it and keep them faithful to God to the end.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Acts 14:21-22
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
See also:
1 Thessalonians 5:21-23
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:9-14
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
2 Thessalonians 1:3-12
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. 11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
