In Matthew 24, Jesus gives one continuous teaching. He speaks about deception, trouble, persecution, and then His visible return.
He says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days… they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29–30). The order is simple. Tribulation first. Then His coming in glory.
Then He says, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect” (Matthew 24:31). The angels gather, but it is still His coming. In the Bible, angels often carry out the King’s command. When the Son of Man comes, He sends His angels. That does not mean He is absent. It shows His authority.
The gathering “from one end of heaven to the other” does not prove they were already living in heaven. In Scripture, “heaven” can mean the sky or the visible heavens above the earth. It can simply mean from one end of the earth to the other under heaven. Jesus is describing a complete gathering of His people everywhere.
Now about “as the days of Noah were” (Matthew 24:37–39). Jesus explains what He means. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. His point is suddenness and unprepared hearts. He does not say Noah was removed before trouble. Noah was preserved through it. The flood came, judgment fell, and the righteous were kept safe by God.
The same with Lot. Lot was removed from Sodom before fire fell (Luke 17:28–30). In both examples, the emphasis is not on a secret coming, but on sudden judgment and the need to be ready.
When Jesus says, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (Matthew 24:40–41), the context must guide us. In the flood story, the ones “taken” were taken by judgment. The ones left were Noah and his family who remained alive. So the pattern suggests separation at the time of judgment, not necessarily a secret event years earlier.
The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1–13 also speaks of readiness. The bridegroom comes once. There is no mention of two separate arrivals years apart. The wise were ready and entered. The foolish were shut out. The lesson is simple: be prepared, for you do not know the day or the hour.
Now concerning the seven years from Daniel 9:27, the “one week” prophecy is often connected to end-time teaching. But in Matthew 24, Jesus does not clearly divide His coming into two different visible returns. He speaks of one coming “after the tribulation.”
In Revelation 19, Christ appears on a white horse with power and glory. That matches the language of Matthew 24:30. It presents one glorious appearing where He comes in victory.
About the bride and bridegroom: Jesus does call Himself the bridegroom (Matthew 9:15). The church is pictured as a bride (Revelation 19:7–8). But Scripture does not clearly state that the bridegroom comes secretly seven years before the visible coming in glory. That idea is built by connecting many passages together, but Matthew 24 itself presents a single visible coming after tribulation.
In the end, Jesus’ main message in Matthew 24–25 is not to argue over timelines. It is this: watch, endure, be faithful, and be ready. Some focus strongly on escaping tribulation. Others focus strongly on going through it. But Jesus repeats one command again and again: “Watch therefore” (Matthew 24:42). Be ready for Him.
The heart of the teaching is not fear, and not debate. It is faithfulness.
