Verses 29-31

Matt 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(KJV)

Finally, we come to the climax of the Olivet Discourse. This is what the disciples wanted to know. Everything prior to this pointed to the main event, the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory. The final sign just before Jesus comes will not be missed by a single living soul. The sun and moon will be darkened, stars [meteors] will fall from the sky, and the powers [or normal cycles] of the heavens will be shaken. This is THE SIGN of Jesus' coming. When this occurs, it will be imminent.

This sign is found frequently in the Scriptures. It is seen repeatedly in Old Testament prophecy, announcing the "Day of the Lord."[See: Isaiah 13:9,10, Isaiah 24:23, Joel 2:10, Joel 2:30,31, Joel 3:14,15]. Revelation expands on this scene in chapter six.

Rev 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
(KJV)

Jesus said all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will finally realize that they accepted the false messiah, that the true Messiah is arriving, and they are about to be destroyed. The best they can do is try to save their own skins by hiding among the caves. How will all the nations of the world see Jesus' arrival? Verse 27 said that His coming will be like lightning, that goes from east to west across the sky. Well, you can go from north to south and arrive at the extreme poles. But, you cannot go from "the east, even unto the west" without going around the entire earth. The sun and moon will be dark, and no stars will be seen. Only Jesus will appear with his angels, in blazing glory, streaking across the sky, from east to west, encircling the entire earth, and stopping above the Mount of Olives, while the armies of the Antichrist below, surrounding Jerusalem, watch in horror.

Next, Jesus will sound the trumpet, and dispatch His angels to gather together His elect. Here is the rapture. Notice that the elect will be gathered from one end of the sky to the other. In other words, the whole sky will be filled with glorified saints. This is probably as viewed from the battle scene, the Jerusalem area. The landscape will be lit entirely by Jesus, the angels, and glorified saints.

I have no idea how long this "gathering" will take, but I doubt it will be instantaneous. Paul said the dead would be raised, and we will be "changed" instantly, at the last trumpet [1 Cor. 15:52]. But, he did NOT say we would be caught up in the same instant.

1Thess 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(KJV)

Now, if the dead are raised, and we are changed incorruptible, instantly when the trumpet is sounded, but, the dead are raised BEFORE we are "caught up," we must be changed while still on the ground, and caught up later. That's right. We will see the sun and moon darkened, and Jesus streaking through the sky from the eastern horizon to the western horizon. We will hear the shout and trumpet blast, and instantly we will be "changed" right where we stand. At the same instant, the angels will be dispatched from the sky above the Mount of Olives to pick us up. We will know exactly what is happening, as we wait for the angels to arrive at our location to gather us together. That's why Jesus said in Luke 17...

Luke 17:31-34
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
(KJV)

When you see these things, and you hear that trumpet sound, when you are instantly changed, don't bother going back to your house. Don't bother checking on your stuff, or your loved ones. The angels are already on their way, brother. You are going for a ride! The wicked will try to hide to save themselves, but to no avail.

Go to: Matt. 24:32-36
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