Popeye, I won't quote your entire post, but it is an example of what I stated on the 1st page of this thread.
Those verses tend to 'appear' to point to a pre-trib rapture, but, as is often the problem when verses are taken out of context, they are slightly misleading to the scripture there, as a whole.
In the very same Book AND chapter that you quote from is this:
Matt. 24:29-31
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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:
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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.
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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."
And, someone mentioned before that the 'elect' could be the remnant of the Jews. Upon 'my' understanding/research of scripture, the 'elect' are not a physical/DNA/blood hereditary descendant of anybody, but they are those whom God FOREKNEW.
Meaning they are those devout believers who obey the laws of God, regularly do Works through Faith and truly have the Holy Spirit. That is the recipe for a Whole, Complete Christian. That is whom God FOREKNEW before the creation of the world. All the rest will not be gathered.
1 Peter 1:2 (those who have the Holy Spirit)
"
elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied."
2 Peter 2:6 (Jesus or the Holy Spirit)
"Therefore it is also contained in the scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion A Chief Cornerstone,
elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
Romans 11:7 (This verse contrasts the '
elect' with the rest of the Israelites)
"What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the
elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded."
1 Peter 1:10-11 (How to become 'elect.')
"Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and
election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Furthermore, we are all, as true believers in Christ, appointed to suffer and nowhere does the Bible state that any of us will be saved from tribulation.:
John 16:33 (Jesus speaking)
"These things I have spoken unto you so that you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Acts 14:22 (Paul & Barnabas speaking)
"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must
through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
Phil 1:29 (Just as Jesus suffered GREATLY, we as the 'elect' must suffer greatly)
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for Him,"
We are not appointed to WRATH, but that is NOT the Great Tribulation:
Romans 1:18 (The Wrath comes from God, the Trib comes from man/Antichrist)
"For the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
1 Thes. 5:9 (We, the 'elect,' will be saved from the Wrath)
"For God did not appoint us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Sorry for the long post. As stated earlier, this is a very complicated topic that can only fully be understood through much Bible study, analysis, reflection and prayer. I have found no clear, 'convincing' scripture to prove an opposing perspective other than that which I've presented here.