When Jesus walked on the earth in human form, He plainly told His disciples that He would depart and then return for them one day. When He did return, He would take them back to heaven with Him (what modern Christians refer to as “the Rapture”). For example, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said to His eleven faithful apostles:

Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:1-3, emphasis added).

Clearly implied by Jesus’ words was the possibility of His return during the lifetimes of the eleven. In fact, after hearing what Jesus said, they would have simply assumed that He would be returning for them within their lifetimes.

Jesus also repeatedly warned His disciples to be ready for His return, again implying the possibility of His return within their lifetimes (see, for example, Matt. 24:42-44).

The Millennium is a term that refers to the time when Jesus will personally reign over the entire earth for a period of one thousand years (see Rev. 20:3, 5, 7), which occurs after the seven-year Tribulation. Isaiah foresaw Christ’s governmental reign over the earth almost three thousand years ago:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called…Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore (Is. 9:6-7, emphasis added).

Similarly, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that her Son would reign over a never-ending kingdom:

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end ” (Luke 1:30-33, emphasis added).^[1]

During the Millennium, Jesus will personally reign from Jerusalem’s Mt. Zion, which will be raised in elevation above its present height. His rule will be one of perfect justice for all nations, and there will peace over the whole earth:

In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war (Is. 2:2-4).

Zechariah predicted the same:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.” Thus says the Lord, “I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain”….Thus says the Lord of hosts, “It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will also go.’ So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “In those days ten men from the nations of every language will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'” (Zech. 8:2-3, 20-23).

The Bible teaches that believers will actually be ruling and reigning with Christ during those one thousand years. Their level of responsibility in His kingdom will be based upon their faithfulness now (see Dan. 7:27; Luke 19:12-27; 1 Cor. 6:1-3; Rev. 2:26-27; 5:9-10; and 22:3-5).

We will be clothed in our resurrected bodies, but there will apparently be natural people living in mortal bodies who will populate the earth at that time. Furthermore, it seems that the longevity of the patriarchs will be restored, and that wild animals will lose their ferocity:

I will also rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people; and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred. And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred shall be thought accursed….The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain. (Is. 65:19-20, 25; see also Is. 11:6-9).

There are many references to the future Millennium in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. For further study, see Is. 11:6-16; 25:1-12; 35:1-10; Jer. 23:1-5; Joel 2:30-3:21; Amos 9:11-15; Mic. 4:1-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 14:9-21; and Rev. 20:1-6.

Many of the Psalms also apply prophetically to the Millennium. For example, read this passage of Psalm 48:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mt. Zion in the far north, the city of the great King. God, in her palaces, has made Himself known as a stronghold . For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. They saw it, then they were amazed; they were terrified, they fled in alarm. Panic seized them there, anguish, as of a woman in childbirth (Ps. 48:1-6, emphasis added).

When Jesus sets up His administration in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium, apparently many of the rulers of the earth who survive the Tribulation will hear the report of Jesus’ reign and will travel to see it for themselves! They will be shocked by what they see.^[2]

For other Psalms that refer to the millennial reign of Christ, see Ps. 2:1-12; 24:1-10; 47:1-9; 66:1-7; 68:15-17; 99:1-9; and 100:1-5.

^[1] This scripture illustrates how easy it can be to make a wrong assumption about the timing of prophetic events by reading into what scripture actually says. Mary could have easily and logically assumed that her special Son would be reigning on David’s throne within a few decades. Gabriel told her she would give birth to a son who would reign over the house of Jacob, making it sound as if Jesus’ birth and reign would be two seamless events. Mary would never have imagined that there would be at least 2,000 years between them. We also should be cautious of making similar assumptions as we try to interpret prophetic scripture.

^[2] From looking at other scriptures, it seems that the Millennium will begin, not only with believers populating the earth, but with unbelievers as well (see Is. 2:1-5; 60:1-5; Dan. 7:13-14).

Let’s begin by considering the 24^th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, a section of Scripture that is foundational in regard to the events of the end times and the return of Jesus. Coupled with the 25^th chapter of Matthew, they are known as the Olivet Discourse, because those two chapters are the record of a sermon Jesus delivered to some of His closest disciples^[1] on the Mount of Olives. As we read it, we’ll learn about many events of the end times, and we’ll consider what Jesus’ disciples, those to whom His discourse was addressed, would have concluded about the timing of the Rapture:

And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:1-3).

Jesus’ disciples wanted to know about the future. Specifically, they wanted to know when the temple buildings would be destroyed (as Jesus had just foretold), and what would be the sign of His return and the end of the age.

Looking at it in retrospect, we know that the temple buildings were completely demolished in 70 A.D. by general Titus and the Roman armies. We also know that Jesus has not returned yet to gather the church to Himself, so those two events are hardly simultaneous.

^[1] Mark 13:3 names four who were present: Peter, James, John and Andrew. Incidentally, we find the Olivet Discourse also recorded in Mark 13:1-37 and Luke 21:5-36. Luke 17:22-37 also contains similar information.

The end of the Millennium marks the beginning of what Bible scholars refer to as the “Eternal State,” which begins with a new heavens and new earth. Jesus will then turn everything over to the Father, according to 1 Corinthians 15:24-28:

Then comes the end, when He [Jesus] delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For “He has put all things in subjection under His feet” [Ps. 8:6]. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He [the Father] is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. And when all things are subjected to Him [the Father], then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.

Satan, who had been bound for the duration of the thousand years, will be released at the end of the Millennium. He will then deceive those who are inwardly rebellious toward Jesus but who have been feigning obedience to Him (see Ps. 66:3).

God will permit Satan to deceive them in order to reveal the true condition of their hearts so that they can be rightfully judged. Under his deception, they will gather together to attack the holy city, Jerusalem, intending to overthrow the government of Jesus. The battle won’t last long because fire will come down from heaven to consume the surrounding armies, and Satan will be cast permanently into the lake of fire and brimstone (see Rev. 20:7-10).

That future gathering for battle is foretold in Psalm 2:

Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed [Christ]; “Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury; “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My Holy mountain.” “[Jesus now speaks] I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord; He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

Later in that same letter, Paul wrote:

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him , that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thes. 2:1-2).

First, note that Paul’s subject was Christ’s return and the Rapture. He wrote of our “gathering together” to Him, using the identical words as Jesus used in Matthew 24:31, when He spoke of the angels who would “gather together” His elect from “one end of the sky to the other.”

Second, note that Paul equated those events with “the day of the Lord,” just as he did in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:2. That couldn’t be more obvious.

Paul then continued:

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed , the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God (2 Thes. 2:3-4, emphasis added).

The Thessalonian Christians were being somehow misled that the day of the Lord, which according to Paul must begin with the Rapture and the return of Christ, had already come. But Paul plainly stated that it could not come until after the apostasy (perhaps the great falling away of which Jesus spoke in Matt. 24:10) and after the antichrist declares his deity from the Jerusalem temple. So Paul clearly told the Thessalonian believers that they should not expect Christ’s return, the Rapture, or the day of the Lord, until after the antichrist’s declaration of deity.^[1]

Paul next describes Christ’s return and His subsequent destruction of the antichrist:

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2 Thes. 2:5-10).

Paul stated that the antichrist will be brought to an end “by the appearance of His coming.” If this “appearance” is the same as His appearance at the Rapture mentioned just nine verses earlier (see 2:1), then the antichrist will be slain at the same time that the church is gathered to meet the Lord in the air. Corroborating with this is the record of Revelation chapters 19 and 20. We read there of Christ’s return (see Rev. 19:11-16), the destruction of the antichrist and his armies (see 19:17-21), the binding of Satan (see 20:1-3) and the “first resurrection” (see 20:4-6), in which believers who were martyred during the seven-year Tribulation come back to life. If this truly is the first resurrection in the sense that it is the first general resurrection of the righteous, then there is less doubt that the Rapture and Christ’s wrathful return occur at the same time as the destruction of the antichrist, as Scripture plainly tells us that all those who have died in Christ will be bodily resurrected at the Rapture (see 1 Thes. 4:15-17).^[2]

^[1] This dispels the theory that Jesus’ words in the Olivet Discourse only have application to Jewish believers who are born-again during the Tribulation because all those who were born again before the Tribulation will supposedly be already raptured. No, Paul told the gentile Thessalonian believers that their Rapture and return of Christ would not occur until after the antichrist makes his declaration of deity, what occurs in the middle of the seven-year Tribulation.

^[2] Some say that this resurrection spoken of in Revelation 20:4-6 is actually the second part of the first resurrection, the resurrection that occurred during Christ’s first return at the Rapture. What warrant is there for this interpretation? If the resurrection of Revelation 20:4-6 is actually a second resurrection, why wasn’t it called “the second resurrection”?

The prophet Daniel revealed that the antichrist will actually take a seat in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem during the midpoint of the seven years of tribulation and proclaim himself to be God (see Dan. 9:27, which we will study later). It is this event that Jesus had in mind as He continued His Olivet Discourse:

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath; for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.^[1] And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short” (Matt. 24:15-22).

This is a more specific elaboration concerning the tribulation Jesus had spoken of earlier (see 24:9). When the antichrist declares that he is God from Jerusalem’s temple, unimaginable persecution will break out against believers in Jesus. In declaring himself to be God, the antichrist will expect everyone to acknowledge his deity. Consequently, all true followers of Christ will immediately become official enemies of the state to be hunted down and killed. That is why Jesus said the believers in Judea should flee for the mountains without any delay, praying that their escape not be hindered for any reason.

My guess is that it would be a good idea for believers all over the world to flee to remote places when that event occurs, as it will probably be one that is televised around the globe. Scripture tells us that the whole world will be deceived by the antichrist, thinking he is their Christ, and they will give him their allegiance. When he declares himself to be God, they will believe him and worship him. When he speaks blasphemies against the true God—the God of the Christians—he will influence the entire deceived world to hate those who refuse to worship him (see Rev. 13:1-8).

Jesus promised eventual deliverance for His own people by “cutting short” those days of tribulation; otherwise “no life would have been saved” (24:22). His “cutting short” those days for “the sake of the elect” must be a reference to His delivering them when He appears and gathers them in the sky. Jesus does not tell us here, however, how long after the antichrist’s declaration of deity that deliverance will occur.

In any case, we note once more that Jesus left His listeners that day with the impression that they would live to see the antichrist declare his deity and wage war against the Christians. This stands in contrast to those who say that believers will be raptured to heaven prior to that event. If you had asked Peter, James or John if Jesus would be returning to rescue them prior to the antichrist’s declaration of his deity, they would have responded, “Apparently not.”

^[1] If the rapture of the church occurs at this precise point in the seven-year Tribulation as some say, there would be no need for Jesus’ instructions for believers to flee for their lives because they would all be raptured.

Jesus continued:

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matt. 24:29-31).

The images of this section of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse would have been familiar to the Jews of His day, as they are images right from Isaiah and Joel that speak of God’s final judgment at the end of the world, what is often referred to as “the day of the Lord,” when the sun and moon will be darkened (see Is. 13:10-11; Joel 2:31). Then all the world’s inhabitants will see Jesus return in the sky in His glory, and they will mourn. Then Jesus’ angels will “gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other,” indicating that believers will actually be caught up and gathered to meet Jesus in the air, and it will all happen at the sound of “a great trumpet.”

Again, had you asked Peter, James or John at this point in the Olivet Discourse if Jesus would return for them before or after the time of the antichrist and the great tribulation, they would have certainly replied, “After.”

Although Jesus foretold that believers would lose their lives (see 24:9) not all apparently will, because He promised that those who endure to the end will be saved (see 24:13). That is, if they don’t allow themselves to be deceived by the false Christs or false prophets and resist the temptation to abandon their faith and fall away, they will be saved, or rescued, by Christ when He comes back to gather them in the sky. This future time of tribulation and rescue was also succinctly revealed to the prophet Daniel, who was foretold,

And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life” (Dan. 12:1-2).

Salvation will still be graciously offered even during those days, as Jesus promised that the gospel would be proclaimed to all the nations (literally, “ethnic groups and tribes”), giving one final opportunity to repent, and then the end would come.^[1] It is interesting that we read in the book of Revelation what could very well be the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise:

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters” (Rev. 14:6-7, emphasis added).

It is thought by some that the reason an angel will proclaim the gospel then is because by that time in the seven-year tribulation, the Rapture will have occurred and all the believers will be gone. But that is, of course, speculative.

^[1] This promise is often pulled from its context, and it is frequently said that before Jesus will return, we must complete the task of world evangelism. But within its context, this promise is speaking of a final proclamation of the gospel to the entire world just before the end.

The apostles who wrote New Testament letters certainly affirmed their belief that Jesus might return within the lifetimes of their first-century readers. For example, James wrote:

Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (Jas. 5:7-8, emphasis added).

There would have been no reason for James to admonish his readers to be patient for what could not happen within their lifetimes. He believed, however, that the coming of the Lord was “at hand.” Contextually, James wrote at a time when the church had been suffering persecution (see Jas. 1:2-4), a time when believers would naturally long for the return of their Lord.

Similarly, Paul certainly believed that Jesus might return within the lifetimes of many of his contemporaries:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thes. 4:13-18, emphasis added).^[1]

From this we learn also that when Jesus returns from heaven, the bodies of deceased believers will be resurrected and, along with believers who are alive at His coming, will be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air” (the Rapture). Because Paul also stated that Jesus would bring with Him from heaven those who had died “in Him,” we can only conclude that at the Rapture, the spirits of the heavenly believers will be joined with their just-resurrected bodies.

Peter also believed that the coming of Christ was imminent when he wrote his first epistle:

Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ….The end of all things is at hand ; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer….but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (1 Pet. 1:13, 4:7, 13, emphasis added).^[2]

Finally, when John wrote his letters to the churches, he too believed the end was near and that the readers of his day might well see Jesus’ return:

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour ….And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming ….Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 2:18, 28; 3:2-3, emphasis added).

^[1] A few other scriptures that show Paul’s belief that Jesus could possibly return within the lifetimes of his contemporaries are Phil. 3:20; 1 Thes. 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes. 2:1-5; 1 Tim. 6:14-15; Tit. 2:11-13; Heb. 9:28.

^[2] Other scriptures that indicate Peter’s conviction that Jesus’ could return within the lifetimes of his contemporaries are 2 Pet. 1:15-19; 3:3-15.

An argument that is often used against the idea of the Rapture occurring near or at the end of the Tribulation is that such a return would not be a surprise as Jesus (supposedly) said it would be, because such a return could be anticipated by the events of the Tribulation. There must be a pre-tribulation Rapture, they say, otherwise the believers would not need to be ready and stay alert as Scripture says they should, knowing that it could be seven years or more before Jesus returns.

Against this objection, however, is the fact that the entire point of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse was to insure that His disciples would be ready for His return at or near the end of the Tribulation, and He revealed to them numerous signs that would precede His coming. Why is the Olivet Discourse punctuated with so many admonitions to be ready and to stay alert even when Jesus knew that His return had to be at least several years away from the time He originally spoke those words? Apparently Jesus believed that Christians need to be ready and stay alert even if His return is still years away. The apostles who in their letters admonished believers to be ready and stay alert for Jesus’ coming were only imitating Jesus Himself.

Additionally, those who believe that it is only a pre-tribulation Rapture that justifies any admonitions to stay ready have another problem. According to them, Christ’s first return precedes the end of the Tribulation by seven years. So Jesus’ first alleged return really can’t happen at just any time–it must happen exactly seven years before the end of the Tribulation. Thus in reality, there is no need to expect that Jesus will return until world events are in place to begin the seven years of Tribulation, events that can certainly be anticipated and ascertained.

Most who subscribe to a pre-tribulation Rapture, if they are honest, will say that they know Jesus will not return today or tomorrow due to the political situation in the world. There are still prophesied events that must be fulfilled before the seven years of the Tribulation can begin. For example, as we will soon learn from the book of Daniel, the antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for seven years, and that will mark the beginning of the Tribulation. Thus the Rapture, if it occurs seven years before the end of the Tribulation, must occur when the antichrist makes his seven-year agreement with Israel. Until there is something on the political horizon that will make that scenario possible, there is no need for pre-tribulation Rapture theorists to expect that Jesus will return.

Moreover, for those pre-tribulation Rapture proponents who believe that Jesus will also return at the end of the Tribulation, that means the exact day of Jesus’ alleged second return could be calculated. Once the Rapture occurs, anyone could calculate what Jesus said only the Father knows by just counting ahead seven years.

Again, from what Jesus actually did say, He clearly did not want His return to be a complete surprise. In fact, He wanted it to be anticipated by certain events of the Tribulation. Simply put, Jesus did not want His disciples caught off guard, as would the world. He continued His Olivet Discourse:

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.^[1] Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matt. 24:37-44)

Again, Jesus’ obvious concern was that His disciples be ready for His return. That, in fact, was the primary reason for everything He said before and after this point in the Olivet Discourse. His many admonitions for them to stay ready and alert are not so much of an indication that His return would be a complete surprise, but an indication of how difficult it will be under the adversity of the time to remain ready and alert. This being so, those who are expecting an any-time, pre-Tribulation Rapture, thinking they are more ready than other Christians, may actually not be ready for what they may well face. If they expect no tribulation and then find themselves in the midst of worldwide persecution under the reign of the antichrist, the temptation to fall away may overwhelm them. Better to be prepared for what Scripture actually teaches will occur.

And again, if you asked Peter, James or John when they could expect to see Jesus return, they would have told you of all the signs that Jesus told them would occur just prior to His return. They would not have expected to see Him before the tribulation period or the rise of the antichrist.

^[1] It doesn’t really make any difference if the person who is suffering judgment in these examples is the one taken or the one left to remain, as if often debated. The point is that some will be ready for Christ’s return and some will not. Their readiness will determine their eternal destiny.