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Matthew 24:29-31

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Does this refer to the sixth seal in the Book of Revelation 6:12-17? Is this the rapture or the so-called Harpazo?

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    This question lacks clarity and detail. Why do you think it is 'the rapture' ? (And what do you mean by that terminology ?) What is 'Harpazo' and why do you think this is relevant to the above passage ? Please see the Tour and the Help (below, bottom left) as to the purpose and the functioning, of this, an hermeneutic site. Please also see the structure ans tenor of other questions. Welcome to SE-BH.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Sep 11, 2023 at 19:29
  • The harpazo is Greek for rapture or the ''caught up''.
    – user59037
    Commented Sep 11, 2023 at 19:33
  • This is a great question in principle, but to write it well, @NigelJ is right. It seems that you are asking for an opinion, which we try to avoid. Maybe you want to re-word this, "Is there hermeneutical evidence/reason to think it is the rapture?" We focus on the objective process of Bible interpretation here. So, try to word your questions so they focus on that. The trouble with unfulfilled prophecy is that no one can know for certain; we can only do what we can with understanding what we can, which involves that objective process of understanding.
    – Jesse ♦
    Commented Sep 13, 2023 at 23:17
  • @ Jesse - Unfulfilled prophecy is a swamp that many get mired in, true. But that does not excuse the ignoring of specific interpretations by Jesus Himself. Is there hermeneutical evidence/reason to think it is the rapture? This can easily be answered--not by human subjective speculation--but by the interpretive words of Jesus! This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled! The atmospheric imagery Jesus used referred to the 70 A.D. destruction, which was in that generation. No pointing to an alleged rapture 2,000 years later---and counting. Obj. herm.
    – ray grant
    Commented Oct 28, 2023 at 0:09

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The word "ἁρπάζω" is a verb (not a noun) and does NOT appear anywhere in Matt 24 or in Rev 6. The ONLY place it refers to the rapture of the saints in in 1 Thess 4:17.

However, the sixth seal does have a series of verbal parallels with Matt 24 such as:

Sixth Seal Matt 24
Great earthquake, Rev 6:12 Earthquakes, Matt 24:7
signs in sun, moon and stars, Rev 6:12, 13 Sun Moon & Stars, Matt 24:29
signs in the sky and earth, Rev 6:14 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. Matt 24:30
nations distressed, Rev 6:15, 16 Nations morn, Matt 24:21, 30
Jesus returns to judge, Rev 6:17 Who can stand? (see Like 21:36)
angels gather elect, Rev 7:1-3 angels gather elect Matt 24:31
saints have passed through tribulation Rev 7:14 saints have passed through tribulation Matt 24:10, 21, 22

More than this we cannot say.

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  • Thank you, so from your perspective the gathering of the elect whereby Jesus send his angels is not the rapture? matt 24.30 and matt24.31 might refer also to Daniel 7:13 In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.The cross reference from matt 24.31 is 1 thess 4.16 followed by 1 thess 4.17
    – user59037
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 23:15
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    Did is very helpful, +1, but it doesn't directly answer the question. This does provide a lot of vital information for the process of understanding the passage, though. Thank you for helpful answers like this, even if not the most direct.
    – Jesse ♦
    Commented Sep 13, 2023 at 23:19
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Master Teacher Jesus ought to have the final word on any interpretation. And here in Matthew Jesus spoke as to the timing of the fulfilment of this metaphoric passage. A few verse following, He specifically stated that this generation (first century) shall not pass away till all these things happen. There is no equivocation here.

He was saying that Matthew 24:29-31 had to happen sooner rather than later! Within that generation (40 years). And...it did happen just as He said. This had no reference to an end-time event---neither an alleged Rapture, nor a Second Coming.

Prophetic Language What throws off modern Bible readers is their lack of knowledge concerning Jewish prophetic imagery. In the Old Testament, which was the only Bible the Apostles had, these meteorological signs were common in describing the fall of a nation, and the conquest of wicked rulers by the wrath of God. This is how the disciples would have understood Jesus's words.

Traumatic Downfall In this case of Matthew 24, it was the disastrous conquering of Judea by the Romans and the Destruction of the Temple--by the wrath of God (see Matthew 23)--that these sky imageries represented. Here again, it is Jesus's limitation of the timing of this prophecy that must direct our interpretation of this passage, not any modern prophetic system of thought.

There is a Second Coming in our future, but that is dealt with later in the New Testament! Maranatha!

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