What Will Happen to Christians Prior to Jesus' Return? Matthew 24:29-35

Matthew 24:29-35

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the distress of those day“‘the sun will be darkened,  and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (See Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 30) “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[ will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. (See Daniel 7:13-14).  31 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. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 

These verses confirm what I said yesterday that chapter 24 is referring to the "end times" and not the temple being destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.  You can see by what is happening that it is like nothing that has ever happened before. It is almost impossible to think that they happened 40 years later from when Jesus taught this.  We also see Jesus quoting the Old Testament reminding us that Jesus' primary audience is the Jews, and the Old Testament gives us a lot of info regarding the end times, especially in the book of Daniel.  

Jesus use the term "Son of Man".  The term occurs 80 times in the New Testament and 32 times in Matthew. and is a term Jesus implies to himself.  It occurs once again in Daniel again showing Jesus' reliance on the prophet for end times teaching.  This is clearly referring to the second coming of Jesus.  The Son of Man coming is what kicks off the tribulation, after the church has been raptured to heaven.  You can see it in the language in "When they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."  

Paul uses this language in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, 

"Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

The pre-tribulation rapture is also spoken of with the verse, "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." 

When Jesus says this generation will not pass away until these things have happened, it led the early church to believe that His return and the consolation of Israel was imminent.  But again it is clear that these events were not fulfilled in A.D. 70, as some commentators write.

Guzik says, "This statement of Jesus is one of the central reasons many have looked for all or most of the events of this chapter to be fulfilled in A.D. 70, approximately 40 years after Jesus spoke these words. Yet as previously argued, to assert this is to greatly stretch the most natural interpretation of the abomination of desolation, of the severity of the great tribulation, of the cosmic signs, and of the coming of the Son of Man. It is better to let those passages have their most natural meaning and to fit this promise into that framework."

What have you been taught about the return of the Son of Man's return also called the "second coming"?  Why do these passages make it clear that Christians will be raptured to heaven before the Great Tribulation?  Since Jesus is the one saying these words, why should what he teaches be the basis for our teaching on the end times more than anything else?   (By the way the book of Revelation backs up everything Jesus is teaching)