Is the Gathering of the Elect from the Four Winds (Matthew 24:31) Describing the Rapture of the Church?

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

This passage certainly contains imagery reminiscent of the rapture passages of scripture in the Thessalonian Epistles and 1 Corinthians 15. But it creates some chronological questions about the timing of the event. Jesus clearly says that the event described in Matthew 24 happens in conjunction with the return of the Son of Man to set up the Kingdom—not before or somewhere in the middle of Daniel’s 70^th week. So, the passage does require some further study.

Audience of the Book of Matthew

Almost all Bible scholars agree that the intended audience of the book of Matthew is Israelon. Jesus’ birth story is filled with descriptions of answered prophecy. The Sermon on the Mount is focused on living in the Kingdom. It not only expresses what God truly expects of His people, but is intended to give the Jewish people a longing for the Kingdom. When the disciples are sent out in Matthew 10, they are specifically instructed NOT to go to the gentiles, but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and they are to preach that the Kingdom is at hand.

The miracles Jesus performs in the book are intended to communicate His Messianic identity, and at the Triumphal Entry, Jesus chooses to ride a donkey’s colt into Jerusalem identifying Himself with the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The evidence for Matthew focusing on the Jews and describing the offer of the Kingdom to the Jews is overwhelming.

Jesus’ previous discussion

In Matthew 23, Jesus excoriates the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jerusalem for their hypocrisy, destruction of the people of Israel spiritually, and that they refused to come under the favor and protection of the Messiah (Matthew 23:37). The impending crucifixion of their Messiah brings the wrath of God down on this generation of Jews. Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1) and that He will be absent from them until His future return (Matthew 23:38).

The point of this is that the entire context is exclusively about Israel and its rejection of the Messiah. Jesus is not discussing the the Church at all.

The Question of the disciples

In response to all this, the disciples ask two obvious questions. When will these things be and what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). It seems clear from their question that they considered these events close to one another chronologically. However, it is a mistake to think that they understood correctly. They made an understandable logical jump, but Jesus Himself never said that these two events—the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of Jesus at the end of the age—were close chronologically.

The rest of Matthew 24 is the answer of Jesus to the second question. Some believe He also might be answering the first question, but there are many things described in Matthew 24 that are missing from the history of the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. Also, there is a key prophecy that Jesus mentions that makes it impossible to believe that Matthew 24 is describing the events of 70 AD.

Jesus points to Daniel

False Christs, false prophets, wars and rumors of wars, famine, pandemics, and geological disasters all describe events that begin the end of the age time period. There will also be persecution—in this context it seems to be focused upon the Jews and believing Jews in particular. Since the entire context of Matthew is about the Jews and the persecution is for my name’s sake (Matthew 24:9) it is possible that this could be persecution of the Jews by the corrupt Church for killing the Christ—a practice that has been reality for centuries—or it could be persecution of believing Jews by unbelievers because of their faith in Christ. It could even be both.

In Matthew 24:15 Jesus mentions the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:27 and 12:11-13). Because Jesus speaks of this as a future event, it cannot be the sacrilege that Antiochus Epiphanes committed in 167 BC. It is yet a future event. While the destruction of the Temple occurred in AD 70, a similar desecration of the Temple did not occur then. Also, John describes the Abomination of Desolation as a future event in Revelation 12:14-17. John was writing around 90 AD, 20 years after the Temple had already been destroyed.

The odd little phrase whoever reads, let him understand (in Matthew 24:15), seems to be Matthew urging the readers to go back to Daniel’s prophecy and study further. Daniel’s prophecy holds the key to understanding Matthew 24. And Daniel’s prophecy is about the Great Tribulation period, or Daniel’s 70^th week—a seven-year period in the future in which God wraps up his final dealings with Israel and with the world before the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. The prophecies of Daniel and the second question of the disciples are about the same time period.

Daniel points to the resurrection of Old Testament saints

The other passage in Daniel that mentions the Abomination of Desolation describes a resurrection of Old Testament saints—especially those that perished in the diaspora without ever returning to the Land of Promise.

And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:11-13)

Daniel will not return to Jerusalem with the remnant of promise. He will remain in Persia and die (rest) there. But at the end of the age, he will arise to claim his inheritance in the land. This occurs roughly 3.5 years after the Abomination of Desolation, which according to Daniel 9:27 happens at the mid-point of Daniel’s 70^th week.

Here in Matthew 24, Jesus affirms a resurrection of Old Testament saints which is a special comfort to those who died in the diaspora like Daniel.

In Matthew 24:31 Jesus says that angels will gather the elect of God from the four winds of the heaven. What would the disciples have thought Jesus was speaking of here? Jesus says this as if he is connecting an Old Testament promise to a specific point in the timeline—and He is.

Consider Ezekiel 37:7-14.

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’ ”

This is one of the most widely known of all Old Testament prophecies. Its stark imagery and precious message meant that it was considered dear, especially to those who were living and dying in the diaspora. In the Old Testament, being scattered to the four winds indicates judgment (Jeremiah 49:36, Daniel 7:2, Zechariah 2:6, Daniel 11:4), and being gathered from the four winds would indicate restoration (Ezekiel 37:7-14). While there was already a diaspora in Jesus’ day, there would be a significant scattering of the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The nation would cease to exist and Israel would be scattered throughout the world.

The “four winds” imagery would have brought this passage to the disciples’ minds. At some point in the future there will be a resurrection of believing Israel. They will be taken back to the land and will enjoy both their inheritance in the land and the presence of the Messiah as they receive, in full, everything promised to them by God. Matthew 24:31 is describing the moment of the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom for Israel.

Conclusion

Because of these factors, we conclude that Matthew 24:31 is describing the resurrection of Old Testament saints in particular. The book of Revelation might add Tribulation saints to this number. We would have to find evidence from other passages of scripture to see the rapture of the New Testament Church here. We dare not assume that the rapture of the Church and the resurrection of Old Testament saints happen simultaneously unless there is further biblical evidence to indicate so.

But that is another study from other passages of scripture.

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