This honest question was posed. "Just
curious, because I am pretrib, what do you do with verses like Matt
24:36 that says "as it was in the days.of Noah..."
If we are going at the end of the tribulation, and all the horror show
that is happening on earth at that time is going on, how would people
be marrying and partying? Aren't they all hiding in caves and hoping
rocks will fall on them? And at that point, would it really be like
Jesus coming would be some surprise? The way I read it, people are
doing normal life when the rapture happens"
The entire chapter of Matthew 24 is our guide for the times of the end.
Matthew 24:1 As
Jesus left the temple complex and was walking away, his disciples came
up to him to call his attention to the temple buildings.
2 In response Jesus said to them: “Do you see all
these things? Amen, I solemnly tell you this: No two stones here will
be left standing together; all are doomed to be torn down!”
3 While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately. “Please tell us,” they said, “ when will these things take place? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the culmination of the age?” This is the only place Yeshua is asked this specific question so we need to pay attention.
4 In answer Jesus said some very important things:
“Make sure that you don’t let anyone deceive you!5 There will appear in my name, you see, many imposters, claiming, ‘ I am the Messiah!’, and they will deceive many, many people.
6 Now you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure áµ–you
aren’t alarmed, for these things must take place, but its end is still to come.
7 Nation will rise against nation and ‘kingdom against kingdom,’ you see, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these events, by contrast, will signal the beginning of birth pains. These events are not THE EVENT that signifies the end of this age.
9 “At
that time people will hand you over to be punished and will kill you,
and you will be hated by all the Gentiles because of my name;
10 at that time many will fall away and hand one another over and hate one another.
11 There will appear many false prophets, and they will deceive many people.
12 Things will become so wicked, in fact, that the love of most will grow cold.
13 He who endures to the finish, however, will be saved.
14 And this gospel about the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole empire as a witness before all the Gentiles, and then its end will come.
15 “In light of these things, when you see the ‘abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken about through Daniel the prophet, stationed near the holy place (let the reader take careful note), Yeshua wants us to take careful note because the abomination is THE EVENT that signals the start of the tribulation and therefore the 3 and 1/2 year period that culminates this evil age. Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 speak of it and Paul speaks of it in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2.
16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17 If someone happens to be on the roof of his house, he must not come down to gather his belongings in the house.
18 Likewise, if someone happens to be out in his field, he must not turn back even to get his precious cloak.
19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers at that time!
20 Pray that your flight won’t take place in winter or on a Sabbath,
21 because
there will be at that time great trial and distress, such as has not
occurred from the beginning of the world until now, nor will ever occur
again.
22 In
fact, if that time had not been cut short, no one would survive. That
time will be cut short, however, because of the chosen ones.
Mercy is always in play, even at this time when war and disease are wiping out large portions of humanity and lawlessness is running wild, God is still putting a time limit on evil, like he put limits on satan in his quest to destroy Job, in this case it is a time limitation so that the chosen ones do not fall away. 23 At that time, if anyone, to you, says, ‘Look! The Messiah is over here!’ or ‘Here he is!’, don’t believe it!
24 For
false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the chosen ones.
25 Remember, I have warned you ahead of time.
26 “So then, if people say to áµ–you, ‘Look! The Messiah is out in the wilderness!’, don’t go out! Or if they say, ‘Look! He’s in the inner rooms!’, don’t believe it!
27 As
when lighting comes from the east and shines light as far as the west,
you see, this is how it will be when the Son of Man comes.
28 Wherever there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.
29 “But suddenly, after the trial and distress of that time, other translations say "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 heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken’! This is the Day of the Lord spoken of many, many times in scripture, also called the Day of God, the Day of Messiah or just That Day.
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the land ‘will mourn’ when they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.
31 And
he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, the final trumpet of 1st Corinthians 15:52 and they will
gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens
to the other. The gathering of His chosen ones is the rapture and the timing is, AFTER the tribulation of those days.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and start sprouting leaves, you recognize that summer is very near.
33 In the same way, you, too, when you observe all these things, recognize that he is very near—right at the door!
34 Amen, I solemnly tell you this: This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.
35 It is heaven and the earth that will pass away! My words, however, will never pass away.
36 “Now in regard to that day and appointed time, no one knows it—not the angels in the heavens, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 Just as it was in the time of Noah, you see, this is how it will be when the Son of Man is about to come.
38 Indeed,
just as people were, in that time before the flood, simply enjoying
life, marrying and giving daughters in marriage, right up to the day
Noah entered the ark,
39 and
didn’t realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them
all away—this is how it will be when the Son of Man is about to come.So the key is these people that are marrying and giving in marriage and in Revelation celebrating the temporary death of the two witnesses are staunch unbelievers who are doing their best to go on with their "normal" lives even with all the disease and war that is going on. This type of people existed in Noah's time and will exist at the end of this evil age. Right at the very end Yeshua will appear and at that point they will be begging for death and hiding under rocks, but up until that appearing they put up a brave front.
40 At that time there will be out in the field two men; one will be taken, and one will be left.
41 Grinding grain at the millstone will be two women; one will be taken, and one will be left.
42 In light of these things, stay awake and be watchful, since you don’t know in what day your Lord is going to come.
43 But understand this: If the master of the household had recognized in which watch of the night the thief was about to come, he would have stayed awake and not allowed the thief to break into his house.
44 That is why you, too, must yourselves be prepared. For it is in an appointed time you don’t suppose that the Son of Man is going to come.
45 “Who
then is the trustworthy and wise slave, whom the master put in charge
of his household slaves to give them their food at the appointed time?
46 Blessed is that slave whom the master, upon his arrival, finds doing exactly that.
47 Amen, I solemnly tell you this: The master will indeed over all his possessions put that slave in charge.
48 But suppose that slave is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with the drunkards—
50 the master of that slave will come in a day that the slave is not anticipating and in an appointed time he doesn’t recognize
51 and cut him in two; that slave’s portion he will make the same as the punishment he assigns to the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. We are called upon to be faithful to the end. Over and over it says this in Revelation that we are to persevere to the end. There is no scripture that speaks of a pre-trib rapture. People in Syria are being crucified and having their heads cut off right now, do you think you could convince them that they will be raptured before it gets really bad?! This doctrine, this teaching only flies in a country where religious freedom is still maintained and the jails are not filled with people who refuse to deny Yeshua.
One last scripture portion 2nd Thessalonians 5:1-6 5:1 Now as for the set times and the appointed seasons, brothers, you really don’t need to have anything written to you.
2 You yourselves, after all, know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to arrive how? Like a thief in the night.
3 When
people are saying, “peace and security,” then there will fall upon them
disaster, suddenly, like birth-pains on a pregnant woman, and they will
certainly not escape.
4 But as for you, brothers and sisters, because you are not in darkness, that Day should not overtake you like a thief.
5 All
of you are people of the truth who live in the light, you see, and
belong to the daytime. We do not belong to the nighttime, nor do we
belong to the darkness.
6 So,
in view of these things, we must not be sleeping like the rest of
mankind, but must be watchful and awake and have self-control.
