Could you explain that a little more please?
Sure. I appologise, this might be a little long: Here are some of the key parts of Matt 24-25:
“Immediately after the tribulation..the sun will be darkened..the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven..the powers of the heavens will be shaken...all the tribes of the earth will mourn..they will see the Son of Man coming... gather his elect...
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows...Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ...the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
...master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect...In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“When the Son of Man comes ... he will sit on his glorious throne... gathered all the nations, and he will separate... into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Alright, these important parts are the parts that link to other passages that talk about Christs return, and how they all, in point of fact, join together.
Despite the surface differences in some of the descriptions of the event itself, when we look at it, we see similar patterns emerging. The Lord will descend from heaven; it's usally described as being accompanied by angels, a trumpet blast or shout, and cosmic distrubances. We are also told we cannot know when this time will be. When he does this, he will gather his elect to himself, taking them, leaving the others. Then, he will sit on his throne and judge all the nations. Any and all opposition to him is pointless, as Rev 19 tells us.
Let's look at some of these other verses and see if they all link back to the Olivet Discourse:
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. -1 Corinthians 15:23–26
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” -1 Corinthians 15:51–54
This is telling us that when Christ comes at that trumpet blast, we will be given new bodies, but not just us! Those who are dead will be resurrected and given new bodies as well! Paul tells us that when this happens, death will be defeated. And when death is defeated, Christ has 'finished' his reign and will hand his Kingdom over to God the Father.
What other passages talk about the 'Rapture'?
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. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. -
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
It's the same account, really. The Lord shall descend with a cry and a trumpet blast. The dead go first, then those alive. We know from Corinthians that this is when we receive our new bodies. See how each account gives us just a bit more info?
Where else can we look? Right after 1 Thess 4 this comes, and logically must be about the same event:
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. -1 Thessalonians 5:1–3
Again, we see this in the Olivet Discourse...people will be living as in the days of Noah, eating and drinking, but 'sudden destruction' will come upon them like labor pains. This is clearly the same event that is talked about in Matt 24.
since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. -2 Thessalonians 1:6–10
Now we start seeing the judgement Jesus talks about in Matt 25, as well as in Rev 19.
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. -2 Thessalonians 2:1–8
Here we see a reference to our being gathered to Christ at his coming, and the Antichrist's demise at his return. We also see that Christ's return will not come until both the rebellion and the man of lawlessness is first revealed.
Finally:
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. -2 Peter 3:7–13
It is clear here that the 'day of the Lord', the same day that will bring the earth and heavens being burned and melted, will be the same day that is seen coming upon us "like a thief", which is clearly described throughout scripture as Christ's return.
And then we get to Revelation 19. Revelation being a book primarily about Christ triumphing, then yes...we should expect nothing less than seeing him return on a magnificent white horse to judge his enemies in wonderful finality. We have, most clearly, what will happen, elswhere in scripture.
seems to have blown a gasket or two.
