Just wanted to pick up where I left off yesterday. Matthew 24:29-31 says:
"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. 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. 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."
Okay, this is the rapture, and it says this will happen "after the tribulation." Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
"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."
This is also the rapture. Note the similarities: "angels" and "voice of an archangel"; "loud trumpet call" and "sound of the trumpet."
Another reason this is clearly the rapture is because in this scenario Christ is calling His elect to Himself. The second coming is totally different. See Revelation 19:11-14:
"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. 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. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses."
Here He's riding a white horse and returning with his elect—who are arrayed in fine linen, white and pure.
"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. 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. 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."
Okay, this is the rapture, and it says this will happen "after the tribulation." Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
"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."
This is also the rapture. Note the similarities: "angels" and "voice of an archangel"; "loud trumpet call" and "sound of the trumpet."
Another reason this is clearly the rapture is because in this scenario Christ is calling His elect to Himself. The second coming is totally different. See Revelation 19:11-14:
"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. 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. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses."
Here He's riding a white horse and returning with his elect—who are arrayed in fine linen, white and pure.