It seems that in the debate between the timing of the end and the second coming of Christ a lot of the debate hinges on the LORD Jesus’s words in Matthew 24 and 25.
So let’s do a zoomed out look at the arch and timelines while Jesus is having this conversation with his disciples.
Jesus Foretells the Destruction of the Temple
24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:1-2 was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman’s destroyed the Second Temple and exiled the Jewish people into the longest exile of their history.
Matthew 24:3-14 Fulfilled 33 AD-Present also known as The Church Age. This is where people start to get confused with their interpretations. Take a second and imagine the LORD trying to summarize 2,000 years of history for his disciples and the Church. The LORD is seeing these things happen as he is telling his disciples of what is to come. Not everything in these verses are for the very end church before the Tribulation or for the church of Acts. Yes Jesus uses the word tribulation, that is not in reference to the 7 year Tribulation at the end. If you study church history you will find the greatest time of tribulation and persecution for the church started after Pentecost was 33 AD and lasted until 313 AD.
During the persecution of the early church is when Christians were crucified, beheaded, fed to lions in the colosseum in Rome. Culminating in the Great Persecution from 303 AD – 313 AD and ended with the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Continuing on in Matthew 24:3-14 we have what I call the generalizations. Jesus is telling us what he is seeing looking into the long future of the church and the world. You will be persecuted and put to death. Many false prophets will arise like Muhammad with the Quran 632 AD and Joseph Smith with the Book of Mormon 1830 AD and all the false prophets and false teachers before during and to come. Many will fall away over time, lawlessness will continue to increase, wars and global political conflicts, famines and earthquakes, but remember all of these things are the BEGINNING of Birth Pains, the end is not yet. These events that Jesus is seeing and foretelling are so generalized they cannot be tied down to specific fulfillment in of themselves. That’s because it represents the whole of the church age, 2,000 years. Reread Matthew 24:3-24 now with this lens.
Signs of the End of the Age
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
“And then the end will come…” Which means Matthew 24:1-14 is not about the tribulation period but about what leads up into it.
So Jesus set the stage, these are the things that will lead up to the Second Coming of Christ. Then He jumps right into the middle of the 7 year tribulation at the Abomination of Desolation.
The Abomination of Desolation had a foreshadow in Antiochus IV Epiphanes on December 16, 167 BC he sacked Jerusalem and entered the temple of God and took away the burnt offerings and in it’s place sacrificed an unclean pig. This would have been well known to any Jew around the time of Jesus as it happened only 200 years prior to 33 AD. What Jesus is saying is the confirmation before the the second coming of Jesus to establish His Kingdom will come once there is a rebellion culminating in a man entering a yet unbuilt 3rd temple of God and taking away the sacrifices and installing an image of himself declaring himself to be God. This has mostly been commonly agreed on in Christianity no matter what form of rapture or non-rapture you believe in.
The Anti-Christ man will invade Israel, take control of Jerusalem and eliminate the modern government of Israel. He will occupy the temple mount and in place of sacrifices will put up an image of himself. Perhaps a golden statue, perhaps an AI hologram, either way those on the Earth who are at that moment believers will all understand. This moment comes at the middle of the Tribulation and starts the Great Tribulation. The second half of the 7 year tribulation, a 3.5 year time period where all 7 of the bowls of Gods WRATH are poured out on mankind. The only believers on Earth at this time will be those who entered the tribulation as unbelievers but believed afterward. Much of prophecy is for them so that they might endure until the end.
Matthew 34: 15 – 28 15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
What the LORD is telling them, the Second Coming to establish the Kingdom of Christ on Earth for His millennial reign cannot begin unless first the Anti-Christ man enters the temple of God and declares himself God.
The Second Coming of Christ
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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 out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Matthew 24:29-31
After the abomination of desolation there is 3.5 years of wrath, where in 1/3rd of all life on earth perishes. All water is turned to blood. All the bowls of God’s wrath that Christ absorbed on the cross for us is poured out on the world for those who entered the tribulation as unbelievers, unmarked by the Angel of Life but not excluded from possible salvation if they endure until the end and do not receive the mark of the beast. At the end of this Great Tribulation, the last sign of the imminent return of Christ and the end of the 7 year Tribulation and 3.5 year Great Tribulation is that the sun moon and stars, all of space will disappear and the Earth will be left in darkness waiting. Then Jesus Christ will send out his angels to gather the elect from the four directions, from one end of HEAVEN to the other. It is important here to understand, this is not the rapture. Most post-rapture people will point to this as evidence of the rapture. However what does God say in His word, from one end of HEAVEN to the other. Which means the elect, those marked for God on their foreheads, those who believed during the Church Age who are the Bride of Christ are in HEAVEN ONLY and need to be gathered to return with the LORD.
Quick intermission from Matthew 24 to Revelations 19 to prove the evidence that the elect are in Heaven already and return with the LORD Jesus for His second coming. Revelations 19:1 starts off right where Matthew 24:31 leaves off
The Wedding Supper of the Lamb
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
So this is very important you understand this timeline correctly. Matthew 24:31 Jesus commands that the elect be gathered from every part of Heaven they are in at the end of the tribulation. Revelations 19:1-9 shows us where the elect are, they are in Heaven. They are at the Wedding of the Lamb. The Wedding of the Lamb is the culmination of Christ’s relationship with His Church, His Body, His people. It is the moment the union is consummated. In other words, the wedding night. The celebration of the LORD Jesus with those who believed during the Church age between 33 AD and 202? when the pre-tribulation rapture takes place. The point being, the wedding of the lamb with His sealed Church is taking place at the time of the Great Tribulation on Earth. And when the great tribulation culminates, the Wedding of the Lamb culminates and it ends with the LORD Jesus breaking through the barrier of the Earth with His bride the Church. More evidence, AFTER the Wedding Supper of the Lamb we see in Rev. 19:11-21
The Rider on the White Horse.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”
So the timeline so far in Matthew 24, you have the fall of the temple in 70 AD, you have the troubles of the Church age 33 AD – Present. Then you have the middle of the Tribulation as the Abomination of Desolation which starts the Great Tribulation on Earth. This culminates when the Sun Moon and Stars and all space disappears on Earth, the wedding of the lamb is going on in Heaven as we see in Rev 19 and then in Matthew 24:31 we see Jesus commands the elect be gathered from everywhere they are in Heaven then in Rev 19:11-16 we see Jesus returning WITH His Bride the Church for His Second Coming at the conclusion of the Tribulation time period to establish His millennial reign on Earth. Those who endured the tribulation and believed in Christ will be saved and will reign with Christ and His Bride. They will be adopted into the family although having missed the wedding day, they enter the marriage covenant.
Now in Matthew 24:36-51 is where the Post-Trib believers really lose their way. Jesus brought the disciples through all of the church age of History and all the way to the Second Coming. The post trib crowd love Matt 24:31 because they say that is the moment of the rapture. However look at this, Jesus told them exactly what they would see before the second coming taking out the mystery of it’s immanence. When y0u see the Abomination of Desolation, that is the midpoint of the tribulation, when you see space disappear then the Second Coming is imminent. If Jesus were talking about a Post-Trib rapture maybe all that would make some sense minus the Wedding of the Lamb taking place at the time of the end. Look what Jesus does next.
In Matthew 24:36-51 Jesus describes a different event while at the same time describing it as the coming of the Son of Man. This time he says, no one knows the day or hour, it will be a sudden surprise. The people will be living life as normal, weddings will be taking place, no one will know the Flood aka the Tribulation is about to take place. And what does he say, before the tribulation and the confirmable signs I just gave you of my second coming with the Bride, something else will take place. Two will be in the field, one left one taken. Two women at the mill, one taken one left. Which means, people will be living their lives as normal, working their jobs as normal. Then he says, stay awake, you do not know when this is going to take place. So he established, this is how you know the second coming is imminent, but be watchful because there will be a moment before the tribulation when a rapture (being caught up) takes place. Post-Trib believers will say this is speaking about the end of the tribulation. Brothers, I ask you go read about the great tribulation. Be honest, look at the bowls of God’s wrath poured out in the great tribulation and you tell me if you think people are still going to be doing their day jobs when the rapture happens.
1. First Bowl – Painful Sores
Revelation 16:2 – “So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.”
- Afflicts only those who worship the beast.
2. Second Bowl – Sea Turns to Blood
Revelation 16:3 – “The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.”
- Total destruction of marine life.
3. Third Bowl – Rivers and Springs to Blood
Revelation 16:4–7 – “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood… for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink.”
- Drinking water sources turned into blood.
- Seen as divine retribution for persecuting believers.
4. Fourth Bowl – Scorching Sun
Revelation 16:8–9 – “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues.”
- Intense heat from the sun burns people.
- Instead of repenting, they blaspheme God.
5. Fifth Bowl – Darkness over the Beast’s Kingdom
Revelation 16:10–11 – “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores.”
- The Antichrist’s kingdom is plunged into tormenting darkness.
6. Sixth Bowl – Euphrates Dried Up / Armageddon
Revelation 16:12–16 – “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east… and they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”
- Euphrates dries up, allowing eastern armies to march west.
- Demonic spirits gather the world’s kings for the final battle.
7. Seventh Bowl – Final Judgment: Earthquake & Hail
Revelation 16:17–21 – “The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’… and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake… And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people.”
- A global earthquake, splitting Jerusalem into three parts, leveling cities, and reshaping the earth.
- Massive hailstones bring further destruction.
- This is the climactic judgment.
So now that we have a glimpse of the bowls of God’s wrath, let me ask you. Do you believe people are going to be getting married during this time? Do you believe life will be going as normal just as Noah’s time before the rain started? Will people be going to their day jobs? Will Jesus let His bride go through the seven bowls of WRATH during the Great Tribulation period even though He already paid her bridal price on the Cross and paid the punishment of God’s Wrath? The seven bowls of wrath are for those who entered the tribulation unmarked by God, unraptured and unrepentant at the beginning of the tribulation. The word rapture comes from the word Raptura which is Latin for “Caught Up” and comes from 1 Thess. 4:16-17
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be “caught up” (Raptura or Raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” – 1 Thess. 4:16-17
So there is a rapture, a catching up of believers and it is sudden, when life is normal and people are living normally aka before Tribulation. Back to Matthew 24.
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So what is the LORD describing, back to the timeline. The temple will be desecrated in 70 AD, 2,000 years will pass of trials and persecutions and wars, famines, earthquakes. Then at a time that is sudden and unknowable, the LORD Jesus will blow a Trumpet and make a call gathering the believers to himself. Where does this gathering take place? On earth, one will be working and then is raptured, one will be getting married and then is raptured or caught up to the LORD in the air. This is before the tribulation, and then the two witnesses will testify from Jerusalem for the first 3.5 years of the tribulation because the Church will be gone from the world. And only the two witnesses are there to preach and prophesy. At the midpoint of the tribulation, the abomination of desolation. The Anti-Christ invades Israel as shown in Daniel 11, he enters the third temple and declares himself god. This starts the Great Tribulation for 3.5 years. During this time, the elect in Heaven are celebrating the Wedding Supper of the Lamb as seen in Rev 19. Then as also seen in Rev 19 they come down FROM HEAVEN with the LORD Jesus riding horses, wearing their new clothes in their new resurrected bodies. The Bride of Christ the Church then reigns with Jesus and also with those who came to belief during the tribulation for 1,000 years. After the thousand years Satan is let free to fool the nations into rebellion once more, mainly those of the East and they gather in Megiddo Israel and are destroyed by Jesus and His army of Saints at the battle of Armageddon. Then Jesus brings down New Jerusalem and creates a new Heaven and a New Earth where God dwells with man forever.
Now why is it, for me a pre-trib believer to effortlessly flow through the prophecies all the way to the conclusion tying them all together? And why is it impossible for post-trib believers to do the same? Instead they tend to disregard portions of prophecy or diminish their impact. In order to maintain a post-trib rapture you must disregard entire sections of prophecy such as Revelation 19 or the suddenness of no one knows the day or hour from Matthew 24. Wedding Supper, then Return.
Also now to appeal to logic. What sense does a post trib rapture make? What is Jesus rapturing the believers from, why would we go up to the clouds while coming down from the clouds? Why would Jesus let the church his bride go through the 7 bowls of God’s Wrath? We know the number 7 for God marks completion. So the seven bowls of wrath from Revelation 16 are the complete wrath of God. Jesus took the cup of our wrath, our transgressions were nullified and pierced to the cross. Our punishment was on His body, he was wounded for our iniquity. He took the wrath that was meant for His bride. Jesus is not making His bride go through the complete wrath that he already paid. That is Gospel 101. That is the milk we need as baby Christians, Jesus paid it ALL. Jesus said on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED.”
I understand the hero complex, I understand the heart that wants to suffer for Christ. The heart that looks at martyrdom as idealistic and beautiful, because those things are true and in the history of the church age those things have been realities. But this belief in a pre-tribulation rapture is not “escapism” friends, its just the truth.
I think sometimes also we tend to be led by men in the Church who have something established on Earth and see no need to let it go. As pastors and leaders of people men like to think of themselves as authorities. Sometimes even we have seen where Church leaders and pastors act as little tyrants in little kingdoms of which they rule and reign. In that environment, it doesnt pay to listen to the women who interpret the marital love story that is playing out in scripture. We dismiss the dreamers, and think nothing of the prophesy’s of children. And that is exactly why I believe in this hour if you want to know about prophecy, ask a women. If you want to hear prophecy, listen to the children.
The great falling away is of pride. One thinks his nation is best, the other thinks his moral standard is best. MAGA and WOKE, the twin demon of deception in our age. One wants you to listen to the men who rule with power, the other to those fight for justice. These doctrines of demons have worked their way deep into the churches of America. One wears a MAGA hat, another a Kamala shirt. Either way, they view the world threw political lenses and through temporal vision. They think only of the now and soon to be with no expectation of Christ’s imminent catching up of believers. They do not entertain prophecy at least not as it applies to the modern and now. They say it all happened in 70 AD or it will all happen at the end and it wont be a surprise. My friends, review the scriptures for yourselves and do not be led away by any leader, any pastor or any politician especially the devil in the white house. Repent, the day and hour no body knows may soon be upon us, do not enter it unprepared, enter the wedding supper of the lamb and return with Christ on that final day.
"the stars of the sky fell to the earth..." 
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