Wrong premise will yield wrong conclusion.
Pre-Trib and Mid-Trib Rapture is a teaching of man, not Scripture.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Paul is teaching that the gathering and the appearance would occur together, at the same time. Likewise, the Appearance is not pre-tribulational because the anti-Christ (man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition) must come first.


2 Thessalonians 2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

Paul places the Appearance in the last day(s) of the anti-Christ's life, for Paul shows the anti-Christ being destroyed by that Appearance:

Matthew 24:29-30
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The Appearance is not an invisible or secret pre-tribulation coming, as it is defined in Matthew 24:29-30 as the arrival of the Son of Man upon the clouds "after the tribulation of those days”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Pre-Tribulation Rapture presumes the Day of the LORD must arrive before the 70th Week because the Rapture must occur by surprise..."as a thief." Therefore the Church will be taken by surprise. But if this were true, why did Jesus give signs (to believers) of his Parousia, for signs are given that we (believers) might not be taken by surprise? Those who are slated to be taken by surprise like a thief in the night are those living in "darkness.", non-believers, not the Church.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
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 them which are asleep. 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: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The "voice of the archangel" is a reference to the post tribulation uprising of the archangel Michael in Daniel 12:1-2:


Daniel 12:1-2
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

This is parallel with passages referring to the first resurrection.


Revelation 20:4-5
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Revelation Chapter 20:4-5 depicts the brutal killing of Christians by the anti-Christ. If Christians are seen being killed by the beast, then they must be enduring the tribulation while that occurs. Therefore, if they are killed in the tribulation, their subsequent resurrection must occur some time after the tribulation begins. Furthermore, because the resurrection of Christians who will live and die in the tribulation is called the "first resurrection," there could not by any means whatsoever be a resurrection prior to the tribulation.

Since the rapture is undeniably connected to the resurrection of the Church, there can be no such thing as a pre-tribulation rapture.

Politcal Correctness Promotes Inclusion

Politcal Correctness promotes awareness of unconscious bias (presupposed) to avoid offending others, thus diluting absolute truth. Remove plain speaking and you remove clear thinking.

How does that equal inclusion? Absolute truth excludes the masses... "many are called, few are chosen". PC is dilution of absolute truth, to benefit the mass.

Proverbs 1:4 "To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion." (KJV) Naive people believe everything, lacking convictions. Spiritual ignorance is presented as sophisticated “tolerance” due to the inability to discriminate between truth and error.

Proverbs 14:15 “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps” (NIV). Political Correctness removes absolutes, truth becomes subjective, speech and thought patterns are altered by propogation of the maxim that standing firm in your beliefs is disrespectful of others and must be avoided to make up for past inequities and injustices.

Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." People with convictions are considered bigots. Politically correctness mandates one be open-minded and uncritical of what other people think or believe, promoting tolerance and societal inclusion.

Brooks Atkinson (Once Around the Sun): “People everywhere enjoy believing things they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know.”

We will be held accountable for what we believe.

Hell - Eternal Suffering or Annihilation?

Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." KJV

Jesus changed words in Mt 10:28, showing the difference in what man can do to man and what God can do to man. Man can kill the body: "And fear not them which kill (apokteino) the body," Man cannot kill the soul "but are not able to kill (apokteino) the soul:" But fear Him (God) who can do both: "but rather fear him which is able to destroy (apollumi) both soul and body in hell."
KJV Jesus uses one Greek word (apokteino) for what man can do and another Greek word (apollumi) for what God can do.

Parallel with Luke 12:4-5: "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." KJV Luke 12:4-5 indicates that while man can kill the body, God can kill the body, then afterward cast into hell. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" KJV

Eternal absence from the presence of the Lord certainly constitutes destruction (olethros, from a primary ollumi (to destroy; a prolonged form); ruin, i.e. death, punishment:--destruction. Strongs Greek, of which the base is contained in apollumi) but not annihilation.

The Mega-Church Phenomena

Key point in churches and ministry… shepherding. With megachurches, the shepherding is lost in the presentation. Megachurches want to be seen as "serious Christianity" but through an extraordinary religious expression. This “expression” results in a creation of nontraditional formats that are acceptable to today’s churchgoer who may be turned away by traditional religion. It is appealing to the masses at the cost (often) of scriptural roots and integrity. It is to attract seekers and the unchurched through current avenues with which they are familiar… big attractions, special effects and the message (which is often): you can have it now, at no cost. It is non-denominational and often with a vague doctrinal statement.

Today’s society (in the big cities) is certainly tailored for this methodology and probably thrives in the comfort of being with a multitude, where they can feel a part without stepping out. The Billy Graham Crusades of the 70’s (70,000+ stadiums filled to capacity) were evidence of the “Big Tent” effect.

I find it interesting, coming from a rural 50-80 member church community, that most of the megachurches, such as Willow Creek Community Church, employ a small community approach in a focused “group therapy” environment, returning (in a fashion) to the small community within the big state. It’s appeal is a user-friendly atmosphere without guilt. But I see a loss of true Christian community fellowship and connectivity (how can you know 20,000 members of a church?) and the resulting dilution of scriptural guidance from associate “pastors” (often laity who are sincere but suspect in qualifications).

Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen”. The danger I see in the megachurch phenomena is the lack of individual accountability.