How Can the Rapture Occur After the Tribulation When Matthew 24:31 Shows the Elect Are Gathered From Heaven?

When Matthew 24 says the angels gather together the elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other, it is not saying that the elect are in heaven. They are gathering the elect from the north, south, east, and west. They are gathering them from all over the sky. The term heaven is actually used in reference to the sky more than the spiritual dwelling place. Remember what happens at the second coming though. People all over the world both dead and alive will rise from the earth and the angels are gathering them together to Jesus Christ who will be in one place. Many have believed that the rapture is an instantaneous translation from here to God but 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 clearly shows us that the change is what is instant. We will instantly become immortal but we do not rise in the blink of an eye. We will ascend like Jesus did and if you look in Acts 1 you will find that the disciples literally watched Jesus ascend. So the passage is definitely not saying that we are already in heaven. If you would like a better clarification just look at Mark 13:24-27. In verse 27 we find that the angels gather them from the four winds and that they gather them from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.