It's kind of precious how you think we're the confused ones here.
Something that often strikes me about your style of Bible discussion is how dependent on your own feelings your interpretations of scripture are. You tend to use expressions like, "I just don't think," and "it doesn't make any sense to me," when you are arguing your view of this doctrine or another. I don't believe the Bible is a book you can read subjectively. We need to say, "I believe this because the Bible says so."
For example. I believe that Enoch was raptured -- and by that I mean I believe that the Lord chose not to let Enoch face death, but instead translated him instantly from his human state into a spiritual state, and from earth to Heaven -- because the Bible says so.
There are just eleven verses in the Bible that mention Enoch. But they say he was raptured.
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
God took Enoch could mean that God waited until the end of his long years, and then let Enoch die, but that's not what the Bible says.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
The Bible says that Enoch didn't see death, but that he was translated by God. Rapture is an act of God that allows a believer to bypass death.
Elijah was also raptured.
2Ki 2:11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Like Enoch, he didn't die, but was taken into Heaven.
I think you're stuck on some of the attendant activity surrounding the rapture of the Church, and you can't see what the rapture actually is.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
That's not the Rapture. Those are the immediate precursors to the rapture of the Church. The word that is used to describe what we call the Rapture is
harpazō, which means
to seize, carry off by force, to seize on, claim for one's self eagerly, to snatch out or away. Nothing in there about the dead rising first, or the trump of God. Those things are part of the Rapture of the Church, but not a part of all raptures that have taken place, or will take place.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
That's the Rapture. Just like when Enoch, Elijah and Jesus Christ were translated by God, from the earth, to his side in Heaven, without facing death, so will the Church be,
and so shall we ever be with the Lord, praise God!
This is exactly what I was talking about. I think, I kinda thought, and "I don't have any reason for it" are the last things anyone should be saying when they're explaining something in the Bible. Those verses are in there for a reason. Use them.
I gave reasons, based on scripture, why I believe the 24 elders are the Church. In context, the number of elders has to be symbolic. The song they sing to Jesus Christ in Heaven says that they are redeemed
by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. As Red pointed out, that's more than 24 people! The so-called Table of Nations in Genesis 10 lists 70 nations.
How do you squeeze 70 different peoples into 24 representatives? You don't. You have a symbolic number of elders that represent the Church. The 24 elders also sing that Jesus Christ has made them kings
and priests, and if we look in
1 Chronicles 24 we see that the Aaronic priesthood is divided into 24 courses of service. It may be that each of the elders represents one course of service in God's Temple. That number fits better than adding the number of apostles to number of tribes of Israel.
Israel is disqualified anyway. Their redemption and restoration to God have not yet occurred. The 24 elders are the Church.