2. Day of the Lord

3.  36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, [f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.f

4.  40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

5.  Is it the Rapture, when Jesus gathers His Church to Himself in the clouds of the air?  1 Thess. 4 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

6.  This does not fit the context of Mt. 24. The text deals with the Jews and Jerusalem. It involves the great tribulation and the return of the Lord to the earth. No where is there a mention of a catching away or a gathering of believers. Jesus’ response is to a question as to when the temple would be destroyed and what would be the sign of His return and the end of the age. The rapture is neither the return of Christ nor the end of the age.

7.  Is it the 2 nd Coming, when Jesus descends from Heaven with His armies and steps on the Mt of Olives?  Rev. 19 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” [a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.a

8.  While this is more likely since it fits within the context of the text of Matthew 24, it does not fit the scenario of an unexpected event. Prior to the 2 nd Coming there would be great upheaval during the tribulation period. Verse 39 states that they would know nothing that was about to happen.

9.  Matthew 24:36-39 presents a strong and convincing argument in favor of a pre- tribulation rapture. Although the earth would experience many birth pangs prior to this period, life would continue to go on pretty much as normal a people were able to ignore these signs from God and explain things away. During the tribulation, people would know that God’s wrath had come.

10.  15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us [f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their [g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”fg

11.  Although the 2 nd Coming fits within the context of Matthew 24, it does not fit with verses 36- 39. When Jesus speaks of a day and hour that no one knows, it has to fit the context of Mt. 24:1-35 along with verses 36-39. The Day of the Lord seems to fit the events of verses 15 to 35 with verse 1-14 referring to the period of birth pangs

12.  1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

13.  Notice how 1 Thessalonians 1-3 corresponds well with Matthew 24:36  36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, [f] but only the Father.f  1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

14. The Day of the Lord is a prolonged period of time that includes the Tribulation, 2 nd Coming and the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. It explains very well verses 29-31 in Matthew 24

15.  29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ [b]b

16.  30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth [c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. [d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.cd

17.  Some have suggested that verse 31 is a reference to the rapture 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. especially in light of verse 36 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, [f] but only the Father.f

18.  16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

19.  A comparison between Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians reveals some distinctions. In Matthew 24, the angels are sent to gather His elect while in 1 Thessalonians the believers, both alive and dead go to meet Jesus in the air.  In Matthew’s gospel, the people on earth will be made aware of His coming, whereas the rapture happens in a moment.

20.  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

21.  When Paul refers to “We” he is talking about the Church. The believers would be gathered up from the earth, both alive and dead and would be united with their glorified bodies as was Jesus when He was resurrected. The believers would then be forever with the Lord.  Notice that no reference is made in Matthew 24 to a resurrection or to the transformation of a believer.

22.  In addition, notice that no reference is made of the Elect being gathered to Jesus as in 1 Thessalonians 4.  So what is Matthew 24:31 referring to?

23. Verse 31 of Matthew 24 is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. The Old Testament prophecies would have been known to the disciples and they would have known to what Jesus referred.

24.  13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

25. 14 Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south,

26.  4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.  God’s Word repeatedly refers to a gathering of Israel from the world at the 2 nd Coming.

27.  And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

28. 24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

29. Here we see that the 2 nd Coming of the Lord will be accompanied by the sounding of a trumpet, a flash of lightening and the gathering of the elect(i.e. the people of God namely Israel).

30.  The Day that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:36 is open to speculation. Some people use this verse to refer to the unpredictable nature of the Rapture. While the Rapture is considered to be imminent and could possibly happen at any time, Matthew 24:36 most likely refers to the Day of the Lord. Since the Day of the Lord will not happen until the Rapture occurs, the day of the Rapture is also uncertain.

31.  Since the Day of the Lord fits very well within the context of Matthew 24 and, since Old Testament prophecy describes a trumpet call, a flash of lightening and the gathering of the elect from the world, Matthew 24 does not contain a reference to the rapture of the Church but rather, a gathering of the “Elect” which occurs within the Day of the Lord at the time that Jesus returns to earth and saves Israel from destruction.