... the Matthew 24:31 verse is the direct parallel to the 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15 Scripture about Jesus bringing the 'asleep' saints with Him when He comes.
But of course one would FIRST have to actually read that Matthew 24:31 verse to understand that, because it shows those saints are gathered FROM HEAVEN, which means they are already there when Jesus gathers those, and He simply brings them with Him when He comes.
You have misunderstood the verse because of the ambiguous KJV translation. The word translated as heaven can also be translated (more apropriately in this case) as sky. It says "from the four winds", an expression that means everywhere on the earth, e.g. :
Jeremiah 49:36 (WEB):
(36) I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come.
Zechariah 2:6 (WEB):
(6) Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,’ says Yahweh; ‘for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the sky,’ says Yahweh.
So the expression used in Matthew 24:31 (WEB):
(31) He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
means that the chosen ones will be gathered from all over the earth. It is not referring to gathering people that are in heaven. The same applies to Mark 13:27, which the WEB translates as:
(27) Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
and the GNB translates as:
(27) He will send the angels out to the four corners of the earth to gather God's chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
The 1 Thessalonians 4 passage is different. There is no sending out of angels to gather people, instead Jesus alone descends from heaven to the earth, the dead Christians are then resurrected, then all the living Christians are instantly snatched up and changed "in the twinkling of an eye " (1 Corinthians 15:52) to join them. There are no angels involved. The Matthew and Mark verses also mention nothing about dead Christians being resurrected. The Matthew passage refers to "(29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days ..." but the 1 Thessalonians 4 passage doesn't mention that.
the Rev.7:11-17 verses are ALL... showing a FUTURE FORWARD VIEW for AFTER Jesus' future return.
The vision of the Great Multitude, who have "come out of great tribulation", occurs after the opening of the sixth seal and before the opening of the seventh seal, when even more tribulation comes upon the earth. Jesus's second coming to the earth, and the outpouring of his and God's wrath, starts with the opening of the first seal. As Paul said concerning Jesus' second coming, 1Thessalonians 4:14 (WEB):
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
so the resurrection and rapture that Paul then describes must precede Jesus' second coming/presence.
The 24 elders of Rev.4 & 5 are NOT shown having been resurrected during this present world time. The view given there is a FUTURE VIEW AFTER Christ's future return, because ONLY THEN will those gold crowns they have be handed out...
Christ's return is detailed in later chapters, which occurs after the 24 elders are said to be sitting on their thrones. They would not be in heaven, in God's throne room, sitting on thrones and wearing crowns if they had not been resurrected and changed. The sealing of the 144,000 and the great multitude being taken up to heaven occurs after that.
So already when you pre-tribbers read in Rev.4 you are already in error, because you have missed what 'timing' that is about. NO ONE receives the rewards from Christ until His future return.
And even in Rev.5, you should have caught this which shows the timeline there is FUTURE after Jesus has returned...
The Church is resurected and receive their rewards before Jesus' second coming. They come with him, and have joint heirship of his kingdom. 2 Timothy 2:11-12 (WEB):
(11) This saying is trustworthy: “For if we died with him, we will also live with him.
(12) If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
1 Thessalonians 3:13 (WEB):
(13) to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Rev 5:9-10
9 And they sung a new song, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
KJV
So the 24 elders are already MADE KINGS AND PRIESTS while the rest of the Church has not? No, no brother, it doesn't work that way, because the kings and priests idea is for the world to come only. One should easily know that (Revelation 20:6).
The "Great Multitude" is not "the rest of the Church". The Church are members of the body and bride of Jesus, the Great Multitude become servants to God. You have confused two different groups of people, which have different eternal destinies. You cannot become a member of the Church after the first resurrection and rapture has taken place. The parable of the 10 virgins tells us that. If you are an unwise virgin and you miss the return of the bridegroom, then you also miss out on the wedding.
Matthew 25:10-13 (WEB):
(10) While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
(11) Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’
(12) But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
(13) Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Your money-grubbing spokesmen like Hal Lindsay and Tim LaHaye don't teach what The Bible actually shows about the time of the "great tribulation".
I don't know who those people are.
So how is it that Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 taught that Jesus returns to gather His Church AFTER... the working of the Antichrist, which HAS to mean the tribulation is going on when that Antichrist is working?
That is an illogical deduction. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 (WEB):
(6) Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
(7) For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.
It is the Holy Spirit that restrains him. The holy Spirit is in the members of the Church. When the Church is raptured then the Holy Spirit is "taken out of the way". The tribulation cannot start until the Holy Spirit/Church is taken away.
That final Antichrist is not here on earth yet.
The Church hasn't been raptured yet either.
As Paul shows above, what ends that Antichrist's false working is Lord Jesus' coming!
And he brings his saints with him! Once again, 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (WEB):
(13) to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
So why haven't you believed Apostle Paul there, since you like to quote him in those other verses?
I do believe the apostle Paul!