It is literally so simple, a child can understand it. As I have stated elsewhere, I had my little 12-year-old daughter read through the Olivet Discourse (the Matthew 24 version). It took her fifteen minutes and afterwards she clearly understood all the pertinent aspects of the end times that every believer needs to understand.
It was amazing to me that someone here chided me for thinking my daughter could actually read the Bible and understand it. An amazingly medieval mindset. The priests back in the 1200's and 1300's kept the Bible translated only in Latin because it was thought that the "little people", the common people like you and I...were 'unqualified to read and study the Scriptures.
So the irony here is...while many of these PreTrib proponents are off in their artificially constructed jungle of unnecessarily complex pseudo-doctrines...with their fourth bowl, fifth horn, third whistle, twelfth Jews Harp, concocted/fabricated Jewish virgin evangelists...on and on and on...
...meanwhile, there is this little child who has a thousand times the understanding of these poor lost PreTrib souls.
Stay out of the jungle. Take fifteen minutes to see Jesus answer the simple questions of Peter, James and John...and who heeded Jesus' words to them throughout the remainder of their lives.
Brother you seem a bit condescending here, as if people that believe in a pre-trib rapture are dummies, that your daughter is somehow smarter then them. You never gave a break down of Matthew 24 and it seem you forgot or didn't know, that Matthew 25:31-46 is answering one of the disciples questions. That's great of your daughter understood it. She understood that the second verse is the prediction of the destruction of the Temple, that the disciples asked three question in verse 3?
Here's what my studies have brought me to believe about the Olivet discourse, this is not what I've come to believe about the time of the gathering together of the saints, because I've been a pre-trib, but now I am not sure, it seems like the more you study the more yo don't or realize you don't everything.
Here's what I've come to understand about the Olivet discourse. verse 2, Jesus predicts the distortion of the Temple. That the disciples ask Jesus three question in verse 3, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Verse 15 is the key to understanding what Jesus says next, with this referring to Daniel 9:24-27. Now verses 15-22 are about the Abomination of Desolation, to fully understand this we need to look at Luke 21:20-24, with 21:20 coming before, Matthew 24:15, Luke 21:22 helps clarify Matthew 24:16. Luke 21:24 would be between Matthew 24:21 and 22. Luke 21:24 give the complete meaning of Matthew 24:27, it adds, "in His day" to the end of the verse. Matthew 5-13 is talking about the times of the disciples. Jesus said, "they will deliver you up" "put you to death", all the Apostles were beaten, imprisoned and put to death. The epistles have much to say about false teachers, John said there were many anti-christs in the world, was he referring to false christi, very possible. Jesus adds an interesting part to this in Matthew 24:14, about the Gospel going out to the whole world and all nation. He adds to that then the end will come. Which makes me wonder if the next verses have a double fulfillment. Because He talks about false christ and false prophets again, but these will perform great signs and wonders, in Matthew 24:21-26. Then in verse 27 He says "so will be the coming of the Son of Man, He does talk about lighting as well. Luke 17:25 adds something to this discourse, "First He much suffer many things and be rejected by this generation".
Luke 21:26-27 add more detail to Matthew 24:29, Luke 21:28 gives more information between Matthew 24:31 and 32. These verses are the answer to the question, "what will be the sign of your coming". We know these things have not happened yet because of Luke 17:22, "Then He said to His disciples, you will long to see one of the days of the coming of the Son of Man, but you will not see it". With what Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 and what He's going to say in 24:29, makes me wonder if the next verses have a double fulfillment. Remember Daniel's prophecy, part of 9:24, "
To bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy,". We haven't experienced everlasting righteousness yet and vision and prophecy has been sealed or as some translation have it, "fulfilled", which at the coming of Christ to judge and set all things in order or as Paul put it, "when that that is perfect comes". All prophecy will fulfilled and the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 will be completed.
24:29-31. Luke 21:25-26 adds more information to Matthew 24:29 and Luke 21:28 adds more information to the end of Matthew 24:31. What's interesting about these verses is this is not talking about the second coming of Christ, it's talking about the sign of His coming. Yes, it says and they will see the Son of Man coming. If you add Luke 21:25-26 with Matthew 24:29. It sounds like verse in the book of Revelation, which would mean this is the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The phrase, get tribulation in verse 29 can also be translated, great distress, so it's not referring to the Great Tribulation, when God's wrath is upon the world. With a gathering of the saints, doe this mean pre-trip, not really, but it could. Here's why I think it could be the beginning of the Great Tribulation, because of what Luke 21:28 adds, "
Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Which means that those people that see the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, will see His coming and it sounds like it will be after the Great Tribulation, if this is true. That would make it seem as though the rapture would take place after the GT. Don't know if it will or not, I don't have all the information. We always get more as the years go on.
Matthew 24:32-35, here's where lots of people get the date setting. They translate the word, generation, as just that, then add the birth of Israel to the equation and came up with a 1981 or 1988 rapture. The word can be and should translated, race or nation, as wee all know the Jewish people survived over 1800 years without a country or flag. Yet the kept their culture, language and religion, no nation in the history of man has survived more then about 300 years. Before they were completely assimilated into the culture they were living in. For the die harder generation means a group of people in time, they went to Israel wasn't complete until 1967 and the rapture would happen in 2000 or 2007. Why do you think all those Christians were all worried about Y2K, because they thought the GT was going to be starting.
Matthew 24:36-44, here it speaks of His coming. Luke 17:28-30 adds more to the discourse in Matthew 24:39. Luke 17:31-35 adds to Matthew 24:42. Jesus answered the second question, "what's the sign of your coming" in Matthew 24:29-31.
Matthew 25:31-46 He answers the third question, "the end of the age". The final judgement, here Luke adds nothing to the discussion and Mark just followed Matthew, more of an abridged version. As far as a rapture goes Matthew 24:31 sure sounds like one, He is gathering together the saints or the elect, which just about every epistle calls us at the introduction.
Guys this information came from a book that has the synoptic Gospels paralleled and it was done by one of the editors of the Greek New Testament. So this guy is no fly by night dispensationalist and there is no commentary in the book, just footnotes on original text. If you can make anything out of what I wrote it will change your mind on something that you believe about the Olivet discourse. I used to follow the DTS thought line on the end times, once I did a study using that book it changed my view. Do I believe in a rapture, yes, do I believe in a pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib, yes. 
