(Isaiah 34:4 KJV) And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig tree.
(Isaiah 34:8 KJV) For [it is] the day of the LORD'S vengeance, [and] the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
What is in view here is the day of the LORD as can be seen in these cross reference verses below:
(Isaiah 13:6, 10 KJV) 6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD [is] at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. ... 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
(Isaiah 34:15 KJV) 15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
The gathering of vultures in Isaiah 34:15 above can only be seen as being associated with the day of the LORD.
(Matthew 24:3 KJV) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The disciples wanted to know how to identify the coming of Christ Jesus. The coming of Christ is the subject here.
What is in question is the teaching that Matthew 24 and Luke 17 concerns the rapture of the church, the body of Christ.
(Matthew 24:14 KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Jesus and the twelve preached the gospel of the kingdom, the kingdom on earth in which Christ will reign with the remnant of Israel over the nations (Isiah 9:6-7).
(Matthew 24:21 KJV) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
It is Israel that will endure the tribulation (Daniel 12:1 Jeremiah 30:7).
(Matthew 24:27 KJV) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is plainly said to be in view.
(Matthew 24:28 KJV) For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
I see the eagles of Matthew 24:28 as being related to the vultures in Isaiah 34:15; both are associated with the coming of Christ and the day of the Lord.
Luke below also says the eagles will be gathered together at this time:
(Luke 17:37 KJV) And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together.
(Matthew 24:29 KJV) 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:
The stars fall just as in Isaiah 34:4.
(Revelation 6:13-14 KJV) 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Revelation 6 above, just as Isaiah 34:4, describes the stars falling and the heaven departing as a scroll at the opening of the sixth seal:
[Revelation 19:17-19, 21 KJV] 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ... 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The day of the LORD is in view above and the fowls were gathered for the supper of the great God; plainly the passages that state the presence of fowls are relating the coming of Christ and subsequent wrath of the LORD.
Here below are verses in consideration to determine if these verses are wrongly applied to the "rapture".
(Matthew 24:31 KJV) 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.
(Isaiah 11:12 KJV) And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Israel is the elect gathered in Matthew 24:31 and Isaiah 11:12 above.
(Matthew 24:40-41 KJV) 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[Luke 17:34-36 KJV] 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two [women] shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two [men] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
These verses above do not relay the "rapture" of the body of Christ; these above verses portray the coming of Christ at the end of the world. When Christ comes he will separate the believers from the unbelievers; the believers will enter the kingdom on earth, but the unbelievers will face judgement.
(Matthew 13:29-30 KJV) 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
(Matthew 13:40 KJV) 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The believing remnant of Israel will exist along with the unbelievers until the end when Christ returns.
(Isaiah 34:8 KJV) For [it is] the day of the LORD'S vengeance, [and] the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
What is in view here is the day of the LORD as can be seen in these cross reference verses below:
(Isaiah 13:6, 10 KJV) 6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD [is] at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. ... 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
(Isaiah 34:15 KJV) 15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
The gathering of vultures in Isaiah 34:15 above can only be seen as being associated with the day of the LORD.
(Matthew 24:3 KJV) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The disciples wanted to know how to identify the coming of Christ Jesus. The coming of Christ is the subject here.
What is in question is the teaching that Matthew 24 and Luke 17 concerns the rapture of the church, the body of Christ.
(Matthew 24:14 KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Jesus and the twelve preached the gospel of the kingdom, the kingdom on earth in which Christ will reign with the remnant of Israel over the nations (Isiah 9:6-7).
(Matthew 24:21 KJV) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
It is Israel that will endure the tribulation (Daniel 12:1 Jeremiah 30:7).
(Matthew 24:27 KJV) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is plainly said to be in view.
(Matthew 24:28 KJV) For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
I see the eagles of Matthew 24:28 as being related to the vultures in Isaiah 34:15; both are associated with the coming of Christ and the day of the Lord.
Luke below also says the eagles will be gathered together at this time:
(Luke 17:37 KJV) And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together.
(Matthew 24:29 KJV) 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:
The stars fall just as in Isaiah 34:4.
(Revelation 6:13-14 KJV) 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Revelation 6 above, just as Isaiah 34:4, describes the stars falling and the heaven departing as a scroll at the opening of the sixth seal:
[Revelation 19:17-19, 21 KJV] 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ... 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The day of the LORD is in view above and the fowls were gathered for the supper of the great God; plainly the passages that state the presence of fowls are relating the coming of Christ and subsequent wrath of the LORD.
Here below are verses in consideration to determine if these verses are wrongly applied to the "rapture".
(Matthew 24:31 KJV) 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.
(Isaiah 11:12 KJV) And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Israel is the elect gathered in Matthew 24:31 and Isaiah 11:12 above.
(Matthew 24:40-41 KJV) 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[Luke 17:34-36 KJV] 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two [women] shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two [men] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
These verses above do not relay the "rapture" of the body of Christ; these above verses portray the coming of Christ at the end of the world. When Christ comes he will separate the believers from the unbelievers; the believers will enter the kingdom on earth, but the unbelievers will face judgement.
(Matthew 13:29-30 KJV) 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
(Matthew 13:40 KJV) 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The believing remnant of Israel will exist along with the unbelievers until the end when Christ returns.
