Matthew 24 is explicit as to the time of Jesus' second return..(immediately after the tribulation of those days). As we see in verse 31, it also places the gathering together of his elect at this same time.

    The "straw" here is the belief that the elect are only the 144,000 Jews. How consistent is that with the rest of the book?...Not very.

    The Book of I Peter, Chapter one...1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:...

    The address was made to strangers from different countries, and Peter referred to them as elect.

I Peter 5:13... The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

Romans 11:7... What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for: but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

    It is obvious, then, that the Elect are those who, through faith in Jesus, have become Christians...the children of God. Elect, as specified by these scriptures, does not mean any particular nation or race, but all the born-again Christians.