“Once in the Clouds, Once to the Mount of Olives”

Have you heard this argument? “You can believe in Pre-Tribulation Rapture, because Jesus comes once on the clouds, and once to the Mount of Olives.”

The Mount of Olives (Garden of Gethsemane in the center)

The Mount of Olives is a mountain running north south, just east of Jerusalem. Its first Biblical reference is in 2 Samuel 15:30-31, when David fled Jerusalem during the rebellion of his son Absalom, and advisor, Ahithophel. Jesus was known to frequent the area, and sleep there (Jn 7:53-8:1) during visits to Jerusalem. The garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed, is on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22:39-53, Mk 14:32-46). Jesus also ascended from the Mount Olives (Ac 1:9-12).

The idea is that He appears in the clouds, gathers the Christians, and turns back to heaven. Then, after the Tribulation, He returns to the earth, touching down on the Mount of Olives.

“Once on the clouds” is in reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which they believe is about a pre-Tribulation “rapture” of the Church:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NKJV)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 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.

Zechariah 14 talks about His feet touching the ground at the Mount of Olives:

The View of Jerusalem from the Summit of the Mount of Olives

Zechariah 14:3-4 (NKJV)
3 Then the LORD will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:29-31 (and Mk 13:24-27, Lk 21:25-27) that He is coming on the clouds after the Tribulation.

Matthew 24:29-31 (NKJV) (emphasis added)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Since Jesus tells us He will come on the clouds after the Tribulation, we cannot faithfully argue that Jesus’ coming on the clouds in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 implies pre-Tribulation. It’s not unreasonable to expect He will descend from the clouds and eventually touch down at the Mount of Olives—the very place from which He left. In fact, this is the implication of the angels’ prophecy in Acts 1:11.

Revelation 1:7 is another passage about His coming on clouds. The nations see Him and mourn, in agreement with Matthew 24:30. This would not happen in a secret catching up of believers, such as implied with the Pre-Tribulation teaching.

Revelation 1:7 (NKJV)
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.