Some arguments from
Revelation page (On the "Pre Wrath" thread I started by arguing that the rapture is actually MID-wrath, by its placement in Rev. 14, after the seals and 6 trumpets, but before the 7th ("last")trumpet and bowl judgements. This seems to be the most clear timing of the rapture.)
The popular pre-tribulational theory...betrays a purely Americanized church that in their own words don't believe that God would ever do such a thing to us (leaving us on the earth during the reign of Antichrist). Christ had told us to watch and pray that we be counted worthy to escape all these things. (Luke 21:36) He didn't say that if we were saved, we would all automatically be taken away from it all. (The fact that the Philadelphia church is specifically promised to be "kept from the hour of testing" seems to point to special protection of some, rather than the immediate rapture of the whole church before any of the seals or trumpets).
People quote 1 Thess.5:9-- "We are not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation from our Lord Jesus Christ". But this scripture is obviously talking about salvation. The so-called "tribulation saints" who get saved after the pre-trib rapture won't be appointed to [God's eternal] "wrath" [in Hell] either, but they will still suffer the human portion of the "wrath". And besides, they will be spared from the final divine wrath of the bowl judgments, anyway.
People suggest Paul's "last" trump is not the same as John's 7th trump because Paul wrote before John and didn't know about the seven. But it was the same God who inspired both, and he revealed a "last" trump to Paul (suggesting it was the end of a series), and further revealed all seven to John, in his more prophetically detailed "Revelation". The point is, could any trumpet before the 7th Trumpet truly be considered the
last trump? And if anyone suggests that this harvest is just a special second rapture for the "tribulation saints" who had been "left behind", from an earlier rapture, no two raptures are ever mentioned.
There is absolutely no proof that the Holy Spirit is "he who now restrains...until he be taken away"(2 Thess.2:7-10), implying that the Church goes with Him, before the Antichrist arises. That is just an interpretation that was just arbitrarily plugged in there. For all we know it could be Satan. He keeps his plans hidden (to prolong his time on earth) until Christ forces him to come out with his plot so that all may be fulfilled. It has also been suggested that it could be an angel. Even if it was the Spirit, where do we get this idea that the Spirit is only where the church of this age is? The left behind "tribulation saints" will have the Spirit, won't they?
That the Church is not directly mentioned in a the bulk of Revelation (another "proof" that we won't be here)is because this prophecy is primarily about the world scene. There are many references to "the faithful", but of course, these are said to refer to the "tribulation saints".
The best argument would seem to be Christ's warning about his coming as "a thief in the night"; "at an hour when you think not" (Rev. 3:3, Matt. 24:36-51). This is called "immanence". But the whole context is watchfulness. The reason people are caught off guard in the first place, is not just because they are doing wrong, but also because they are not WATCHing. And this suggests that there were signs that one could observe to know that the end was near. (Matt. 24:32, 33, 16:2,3, 2 Peter 3:10) And then Christ goes on to tell us to watch and pray. Our escaping is based upon our WORKS, while the rapture is attached to our salvation, which is based on FAITH. Meanwhile, it's the pre-trib theory that may actually fulfill it's own proof-text. People will go through all of the seals and trumpets (rigorously engaged in the politics of the 2-horned system all the way), and say "these can't be the fulfillments of the end times prophecies-- We're still here!". And thus Christ's coming truly will be in an hour they know not!
I've even heard that if the rapture wasn't pre-tribulational, we would not be able to "comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18) But we forget that the 1st century Christians Paul wrote to were already in tribulation-like circumstances. The beginning of the seals and trumpets would simply mean to them that this world was almost over, and that they only had a short wait, (ch. 6:11) and this would be a comfort to them. But not to us. We today are so cozy in this country, and so enmeshed in the monetary system (people who believe mark of beast will be some sort of electronic card now use them themselves, etc.) But God never promised us it would always be like this.
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Which Dispensation is "parenthetical"?
Pre-tribulationism is driven by Dispensationalism, which divides history into the age of "Law", and the age of "grace", or the Church age. A problem is, that people describe the church age as some sort of parenthetical period, like an afterthought, that God stuck in the middle of his true scheme, the age of Law. Then, the Church is raptured, returning the world to the age of Law (Salvation is no longer by faith in Christ, but by keeping the Law, including avoiding the mark of the Beast; seems to explain certain OT passages where God says He will punish people in the last days for breaking the Sabbath and other ceremonial laws). So this theory is used to undergird pre-tribulationism. But actually, just the opposite is true: God's true plan is grace. It was the period of Law that was the parenthetical age begun a few thousands of years after man's creation, to show man that He was fallen (Gal. 3:19, 24, Rom. 3:20) and therefore in need of more than just a system of law, or God's direct presence in the Temple. And keep in mind, the OT scriptures were aimed at Israel, before it was fully revealed that God would bring in a new dispensation. This would explain the references to OT commandments in last-days prophecies.
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The reason why the rapture is now and not later, is because the tribulation and trumpets were humanly (and perhaps somewhat naturally) carried out afflictions that partly fulfil the wrath of God. God allows His people to be on earth, not comfortable (remember, He never promised that), but still protected. But now, we are getting ready to see the last 7 plagues, or "bowl judgments" (KJV: "vials"), which are divinely carried out, and from which no protection will be possible. So for this God will completely remove all His people from the earth, and they will now be with Him. From now on, no more groups of faithful are seen on the earth, and no more repentance is witnessed. All who will ever be redeemed in this dispensation are now redeemed. (Jer. 8:20)
PS. I notice that the UBB codes are added at where the cursor is now instead of at the bottom. This is a great help!
I am currently on the fence between premill and amill/partial-preterist thinking, leaning quite heavily to the latter.
