After re-reading this entire thread, I edited my post, Maid. Your pastor sounds like a good guy and if you love the church, then, by all means, go there! It's hard to find a really good, Gospel-preaching church.
That being said, I'm a minister, myself, and I tend to lean toward pre-trib or at most mid-trib for this reason: It doesn't fit the character of God for His righteous followers to go through His wrath. He got Lot and family out of Sodom and Gomorrah, Noah and his family out of the Flood, and Rahab out of the battle of Jerico. Scripture says in 1 Thes. 5:9 "For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation (rescue, safety) by our Lord Jesus Christ."
In Matthew 3, we see John the Baptist having a baptismal service after he had preached and had an altar call. Some of the Pharisees and Sadducees had come to be baptized without praying the "Sinner's Prayer" and John the Baptist got ticked. He knew that they were just trying to escape the wrath of God. John challenged them to turn from their sins and serve God. In verses 11 and 12, John speaks prophetic words. He says, "I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God. But Someone is coming soon Who is far greater than I am, so great, I am not even worthy to be His slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!"
Then listen to this! "His winnowing fan is in His hand and He is ready to separate the chaff (the sinners) from the grain (the righteous). Then, He will gather the grain into His garner (a repository, a granary, in essence: Heaven) Afterward, He will thoroughly purge (perfectly cleanse the threshing floor - the earth), burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Why does he use the picture of Jesus harvesting wheat in this prophecy?
I always wondered what the Angel shouted to Jesus just before He raptured us. As in 1st Thes. 4:15-16: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (rise before) them which are asleep (dead). For the Lord, Himself, shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the call of the archangel and with the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then, we (who have believed in and served Jesus) will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Then, I found out what the angel said to Jesus, right before He raptured the church. In Revelation 14:14 it says: "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man (Jesus), having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And an angel came out of the temple (of God in Heaven), crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, 'Thrust in Your sickle and reap: for the time is come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!' And He, Who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
The next verse goes on to say that, after that, another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, who also had a sharp sickle in his hand. An additional angel, who had power over fire cried to the angel with the sickle loudly saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe." Then, the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the winepress of the wrath of God."
Revelation chapter 16 tells about the seven vials of the wrath of God. The first is a grievous sore from the mark of the beast. The second is the sea turning to blood. The third is the rivers and springs of water turning to blood so there is no fresh water. The fourth is the sun scorching people with great heat. The fifth is darkness and pain in the place from which the beast rules. The sixth is the drying up of the Euphrates River so that the way is clear for the armies of the East to cross over. When the seventh vial is poured out by an angel, a loud Voice is heard from out of the temple of Heaven, from the Throne, saying, "It is DONE!" And then, thunders and lightnings and an earthquake such as the earth has never seen since men have live upon it will happen.
Babylon will be split into three parts from the earthquake, when God pours out His wrath upon it as God remembers all of Babylon's sins and He makes her drink the cup that is filled with the wine of His fierce wrath. Because of the earthquake, all of the islands everywhere will disappear and all of the mountains will be leveled! Hailstones that weigh 75 pounds will fall from the sky in a horrible storm.
Frankly, I don't want to be here when all of this happens. I don't believe we will be. But only if we keep our robes (our lives) pure before the Lord.
