1.) We who are born again are not destined for God's wrath. He has promised to keep us from the wrath of God. That's the whole point of salvation.
One of the main supporting reasons given,to sustain the secret rapture before tribulation theory,is that,because Christians are not appointed to wrath but to salvation,then,they have to be taken from the world before tribulation begins.
"For God hath not appointed us to wrath,but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."[I Thessalonians 5:9;Luke 21:36]
One of the promises to the Church in Philadelphia also speaks of then being kept from the hour of temptation to come upon all the world.[Revelation 3:10:See also Romans 2:7-9]
This type of reasoning puts into question God's ability to protect,if Christians have to be taken from the world in order to be protected from tribulations (temptations), perplexities and distress.This is not supported by the scriptures.Jesus asked:
"I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,but that Thou shouldest
keep them from the evil."[John 17;15]
The apostle Paul added:
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man....,but will with the temptation also make
a way to escape,that ye may bear it."[I Corinthians 10:13;See also,II Thessalonians 3:3;Matthew 6:13;26:41;II Peter 2:9]
The promise of the Lord therefore is to keep us in the world but away from evil and to strengthen us to bear temptations,(tribulations) not for us to escape from the world in order to escape these things.Hence to be kept from the hour of temptation is to be enabled by God to bear it.To use the promise to the Church at Philadelphia as a support for a rapture before tribulation is misleading as this promise was made to a Church in Asia in the first century.Also the Church at Smyrna was told to expect tribulation.[See, Revelation 2:9,10]
2.) The Church is told to watch and wait for the Lord's return could be at any time. If we who know the Word of God are here in the Tribulation we will know exactly when the coming of the Lord will be. It will be some 3 and 1/2 years from when the anti-Christ seats himself in the temple proclaiming himself to be God. And yet - no man should be able to tell when the second coming is. Therefore we will not be on earth to see the desecration the anti-Christ brings to the temple.
Where does it say in scripture that the saints will not know the time of the Lord's coming?Scripture clearly says we are not in the dark that the day should overtake us as a thief in the night.
1Thessalonians 5:
4But
ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but
let us watch and be sober.
The saints may not be aware of the exact time but they will be aware that the Lord's coming is near if they remain watching and sober.Not sure where you get 3 and 1/2 years from?
3.) If the "rapture" takes place at the actual physical return of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation as some teach we will all be changed in that moment and put off our mortal bodies. If that happens and the rest of mankind is judged and destroyed as the scriptures say - there would be no people left to populate the Millennium up until the great rebellion against the rule of Christ takes place at the end of the 1000 year reign.
You have not cited the scriptures used to support your theory but some of the known ones are:
Who are the "all" of Revelation 19?
Those who are joined to fight against the Lord are stated clearly:
"And I saw
the beast,and the kings of the earth,and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,and against his army."[Rev.19:19.]
There is no indication that this includes every person or unbeliever on the earth.
The beast and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire; "...These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."[Rev.19:20.]
N.B. No mention is made of any action being taken against a set of persons who were said to have worshiped the beast.It is the remnant who were slain and given to the fowls.[Rev.19:21.] Remnant of what? Of the group mentioned in vs.19, ie."...the beast,and the kings of the earth,and their armies..."
Since the beast was cast into the lake of fire,then the remnant must be,"...the kings of the earth,and their armies.."
This is what is being said in Revelation 19:18.
"That ye may eat the flesh of kings,and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,and the flesh of horses,and of them that sat on them,and the flesh of all men,both free and bond,both small and great."
The "all" is describing the variety or different types of men involved in the slaughter and feast,ie. all types of men as mentioned,and does not refer to every single human being.This explanation is given in vs.18 itself as after saying "all" the word is qualified by the statement following:
"...both free and bond,both small and great."[Rev.19:18.]
If this was not obvious,then as vs.21,mentions a remnant,then this must be the remnant of those mentioned in in vs.19 i.e. those other than the beast.Again this is not the entire population of the earth.
Also:
To use the "sheep and goat judgement" parable of Matthew 25:31-46,to determine the sequence of events in the coming of the Lord,is not a good idea,especially for the pre-trib rapture theory,as this and other parables show only one coming and gathering.There is no hint of a pre-trib.rapture.
The parable shows the final fate of two classes of people and does not indicate this occurs at the start of the millennium.This would rather include the results of the white throne judgement.[Rev.20:11-15;22:1;Matthew 25:31.]
The passage indicates this will happen when the Lord comes in his glory but not that the events depicted occur immediately at his coming.
N.B. The parable of the wheat and tares shows the destruction of the wicked occurs and then the righteous are gathered.This could only refer to events after the white throne judgement.[see,Matt.13:24-30;37-43.]This is what other parables signify; the final solution, not events leading up to it.[see also; Matt.13:47-50; 21:33-43;22:1-14.]
II Thess.1:7-10, is also used as proof that all unbelievers will be destroyed at the coming of the Lord. There are some difficulties which arise with this interpretation.
In the passage,this coming is described as the time when those who are troubled will gain rest from those who trouble them.This would mean that, according to Mr.S' interpretation,these persons would be tribulation saints but Paul addressed this to the Church at the time.He was telling them of how they(the Church) will be delivered from the tribulation they were/would be experiencing.[II Thess.1:3-7.]
According to the theory these are tribulation saints,while according to Paul this is the Church.
But are those destroyed,all the unbelievers of the earth?The context of the passage denies this.
Paul said the persecutions and tribulations suffered by the Church was a token of Gods' coming judgement.[II Thess.1:4,5.]
There will be judgement upon those who troubled the Church.[II Thess.1:6.]
It is they upon whom God will take vengeance and who will be punished with destruction at the coming of the Lord.[II Thess.1:8,9.] This does not refer to all unbelievers of the earth.The vengeance is for what they had done to the Church.As the Lord said:
"Dearly beloved,avenge not not yourselves,but rather give place unto wrath:for it is written,vengeance is mine;I will repay,saith the Lord."[Romans 12:19.]
This theory on a whole also produces something which scripture denies i.e. two classes of saints.One in immortal bodies and another in mortal ones.
Scripture affirms equivalent salvation for all saints.[Galatians 3:27-29.]
The reward at the coming of the Lord is the same for those who came to faith a long time ago and for those who recently came to faith.[Matt.20:1-16.]