Thank you for your response (your first post). There is one thing that's true about the scriptures you posted. That is, they are both about the end of times, however each of them is about two very distinct events. Simply put, one speak of the second coming and the second of the rapture of the church.
As we discuss this subject, I ask that you try to stay on topic as much as possible. This is because, as you may already know, the eschatology of the Christian faith is very profound and contains many details. Your view of the end of times is the result of how you understand and interpret these details. Based on the two "biblical things" you wanted to prove, I would like us to concentrate on the timing of the rapture of the church and try not to deviate from that.
You are correct, Matthew 24:29-31 is at the end of the 7-year tribulation period. However, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 is not.
Let's look at the details and the characteristics of each which, by the way, is what I really wanted you to do. I want you to explain the scriptures and not just post them. It is not enough to post them, as anyone can post scriptures, because just posting them do not prove your point. I want to read your understanding of the scriptures. Scriptures are and will always be true. However, man's understanding of them are very often misleading.
Matthew 24: 29)
“Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 30)
And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31)
And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
Here we see that:
- After the tribulation of those days (we will get into what those days are later on)
- The sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light.
- The stars will fall from the sky.
- The powers in heavens will be shaken.
- There will be mourning among all the peoples of the earth.
- The son of man will be seen on the clouds with power and great glory.
- The sending out of angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet.
- The angels will gather God's chosen ones from all over the world.
Vs.
1 Thessalonians 4: 15)
We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17)
Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
Here we see that:
- The Lord will come down from heaven
- The voice of "the archangel."
- The trumpet call of God.
- The resurrection of dead. (The Christians (dead in Christ) will rise from the graves.)
- Those who are still alive on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
When we look at the details of each passage, we see that there are a lot of similarities between the two. However, there are also a lot of differences showing a clear distinction between the two. One of the key points between the two passages is that 1 Thessalonians speaks of the resurrection of the dead. Matthew 24 speaks of no such thing. The second key point is the identity of those who were will be risen. Notice that the scripture says "the dead
in Christ" will rise. We understand that those who will be risen are Christians and not anyone from the Old Testament as they did not die "
in Christ." This clearly indicates that this is a "partial" resurrection. By partial, I mean that only the Christians will be risen. In other words, the Church.
When we look at Revelation 14, the second coming of Christ, we see no resurrection of the dead until after the devil is chained in Revelation 20.
Revelation 14:1-2 (Read the whole chapter)
Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2)
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
As shown here, there is no resurrection of the dead which means that at the second coming of Christ, there will is no resurrection of the dead. This is consistent with Matthew 24 but not with 1 Thessalonians 4.
Further more, when we read Zachariah 14, we see that the Lord will come with
his saints. Zachariah 14 is also consistent with Matthew 24 and Revelation14, but not with 1 Thessalonians.
Zachariah 14: 4-5 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. 5)
You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.
Since I must be going, I won't list the details of Zachariah 14, but I will mention them. We see that when the Lord comes on the second coming, though He will come from the Clouds, He will not stay on the air and there is no "meeting with Him" in the air like 1 Thessalonians. Verse 4 says that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives splitting it into two. This is probably what will cause the earthquake.
In Summary, the two scriptures you post are indeed about the end of times, but each one speak of two very specific events. The one in 1 Thessalonians speak of the rapture of the church at a time that is not the second coming (We will get into when that time is later since I want to stay on topic here), and the other one speak only of the second coming. The evidences of this claim are found within the scriptures I provided.
I had to cut this post short, but I will of course add to it later on tonight.
God Bless!