“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31, NIV 1984)
“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:40-44, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “At that time,” appears “immediately after the distress of those days” and the disturbances in the heavens that are noted in the text. But exactly what “the sign of the Son of Man” will be amongst these disturbances is unknown.
Shekinah Glory – The sign that God had abandoned the nation of Israel was the departure of His Shekinah glory from the temple (Ezekiel 10:3, 18; 11:23). Perhaps the sign of the Lord’s return will involve a visible (and if so likely unmistakable) return of His Shekinah glory.
New Jerusalem – Some believe the sign may involve the heavenly city, New Jerusalem, which may descend at this time (Revelation 21:2–3).
Lightning – The sign may be as literal “as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west.”
The Way He Left – It could be as simple as “this same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9–11, NIV 1984).
Whatever it happens to be, the sign will be visible for all to see, “for the Lord will return on the clouds … with power and great glory” (Daniel 7:13, NIV 1984).
He will then send His angels forth to “gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” to separate HIs sheep from the goats. If sequence in the narrative matters, this would seemingly connect with “one [a sheep] will be taken and the other [a goat] left.” This would most certainly involve the gathering of those who become believers during the Seventieth Week (the Great Tribulation) of Daniel and are scattered into various parts of the world because of persecution (Matthew 24:16). It would also involve Church Age saints if the Rapture were a post-tribulation event.
If the sequence in the narrative is not chronological, then “[gathering] his elect” could be a different event from “one will be taken and the other left,” with the latter possibly referring to a pre- or mid-tribulation Rapture. However, nowhere in the Bible is it clearly spelled out that there will be a pre-or mid-tribulation rapture.
My Advice – No matter what the sequence is, you will want to be one who is gathered or taken, not one who is left.
Sources:
Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 78). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
The Brew Is A Musing 