In the previous post, we looked at how Jesus described His coming while addressing the signs of the end and of His coming. This was the first return of Jesus mentioned in the entire chapter, following the signs He said would precede His coming. Jesus said, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matthew 24:29–31).
Paul echoed this when he addressed the same subject, the appearing of Jesus. Paul said: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). Paul refers to the return of Jesus, just as Jesus did. Paul mentions the trumpet, just as Jesus did. Both Paul and Jesus describe the saints being gathered from the earth to meet Jesus in the air or sky. Same appearing. Same trumpet. Same saints caught up to Jesus in the air. And Jesus Himself places all of this after the great tribulation.
Some, however, argue that Jesus’ appearing in Matthew 24:29–31 refers to the same event described in Revelation 19:11–21, where Jesus comes from heaven on a white horse with His armies in white linen (which I believe include His saints – Revelation 19:8 & 14) following Him, and they descend to the earth. Yet, this claim directly contradicts what Jesus actually describes in Matthew 24. In Matthew 24, just as we as in 1 Thessalonians 4, Jesus appears in the sky without His saints following Him from heaven on horses. Rather, His saints are gathered up to Him from the earth (Matthew 24:29-31). Additionally, in Matthew 24, all the tribes of the earth mourn when they see the sign of the Son of Man in the sky. In Revelation 19, by contrast, the kings of the earth and their armies gather to wage war against Jesus when He arrives with His saints on white horses. Even the direction of movement differs: in Matthew 24, the saints are gathered from the earth up to Jesus in the air, while in Revelation 19, the saints come down with Jesus from heaven and alight on the earth. Matthew 24 and Revelation 19 share no meaningful parallels and cannot describe the same event. What Jesus describes in Matthew 24:29–31 is, in fact, precisely what Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17: Jesus’ appearing, followed by His saints being gathered to Him in the sky—the rapture of the church.
Earlier in the same discourse, Jesus made clear that His saints would be on the earth enduring persecution, prior to His appearing (Matthew 24:4–28). How do the saints on earth, end up in the sky? Paul answers this directly: at the sound of the trumpet, the saints will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. This aligns perfectly with Jesus’ own words. And according to Jesus, all of this takes place after the great tribulation (Matthew 24:15–21, 29–31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), which disproves the pre-tribulation rapture position.
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
April 8, 2026
A Very Important Message:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, because the Bible says, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be taught and trained to grow in the ways of God. God bless you.