There may be others, but the three listed are most common. The authors of such OPs think their straw man one line opener will prove a point; and it does just that! It proves the author of such a strawman or red herring post is:
(1) not well read in the scripture
(2) can't get out of Mat. 24.
(3) not well versed in church history
(4) teach there's no gap between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel's 70 wks, Dan. 9.
Evidence:
In a criminal court trial, evidence is presented to establish guilt or innocence. The so called 'smoking gun' along with eye-witness testimony are two witnesses that prove one side or the other is right. In a civil court trial it is the preponderance of evidence weighed in the balances of justice that proves who is right or wrong. Don't go looking for the smoking gun scripture that states the rapture takes place here in .... you won't find it. However, if you study, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the pre tribulation, He will.
Many folks run to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 and say here is the rapture and they are right; and then the post trib folks start insisting that Paul means the Second Advent and they are rights. So which is it?
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 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.
3 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;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
'That day,' verse 3, refers back to 'day of Christ' in v. 2. The day of Christ is not the day of the LORD. The prophet Amos makes it very clear that if you are looking for the day of the LORD, you are in for a surprise.
Amos 5: 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it
Examining 2 Thes 2 further we find 'a falling away first,' happens before the day of Christ's rapture. That falling away is not an immediate event that starts on the 1st Tuesday of next week and ends in a fortnight. The man of sin is revealed at some point in the gradual falling away.
The man of sin shows up during the falling away and starts to oppose God and exalt himself. When this man starts to exalt himself, the rapture is near. How do we know? Because the man of sin at some point after exalting himself, then goes and sits in the temple of God - Jewish Temple in Jerusalem - shewing himself that he is God.
How do we know its a rebuilt Jewish temple? Because Paul already said in 1 Cor. 3:16-17 that believers are the temple of God. In order for the man of sin to enter your bodily temple, he must first boot the Holy Spirit out.
Therefore the events talked about in 2 Thes 2:1-12 refer to both events: pre tribulation rapture and Second Advent. Rightly divide the words of truth.
There are measures of proof:
(1) The scriptures are a measure of truth.
a. If you don't have faith in the scriptures being true, you have doubts, then you start looking up word definitions in the Heb/Gr dictionaries
b. However, you were not told to look up word definitions or look for the original meanings or original autographs.
c. You were told to compare spiritual things with spiritual things, 1 Cor. 2:13
d. search the scriptures daily, Acts 17:11
e. study to shew yourself approved ... rightly divide the words of truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
(2) The Holy Spirit is another measure
Jesus states in John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
a. God is not the author of confusion, 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
b. peace, Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
c. steadfast, 2 Thes. 2:2 don't be shaken in mind or body
d. it is the office work of the Holy Spirit to convict and enlighten. The Holy Spirit works inside out. Humans try and fail to work outside in.
(3) Israel vs the Church is a measure
God intended the nation of Israel do three things:
(a) record and keep his word - they did.
(b) bring for the Christ - they did.
(c) evangelize the world - they didn't
a. The NT church body did not replace the OT promises made to the nation of Israel.
b. The OT promises made to the nation of Israel were not transferred to the NT church.
c. the NT church body composed of Jew and Gentiles was hidden from OT prophets and revealed to the world by Paul, Rom. 16:25.
(4) The Kingdom of God vs the Kingdom of Heaven is another proof
a. you are born again, spiritually, into the Kingdom of God, John 3:16
b. the Kingdom of Heaven is a physical and visible earthly kingdom, 2 Sam. 7.
(5) The pre tribulation rapture vs Second Advent is a measure
a. the pre tribulation rapture is a physical event, 1 Cor. 15, as well as a spiritual event, 1 Cor. 2:13;
b. whereas the Second Coming, Rev. 19 is a physical event, Rev. 1:7, 19:11-17. (The pre trib rapture and Second Advent Rev. 1:7, separated by a comma)
c. The pre tribulation rapture unites (the dead - spirits - in Christ) with their immortal bodies.
d. the pre tribulation rapture removes (the living - physical - in Christ) from this present world, and changes their mortal bodies into immortal
e. The pre tribulation rapture at the same time, does what no other event can do: It unites the entire NT church body, from the genesis of the church to the rapture into one body, Eph. 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
(6) Judgment Seat of Christ and Great White Throne Judgment
a. Raptured saints are judged at the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Cor. 5:10
b. Tribulation saints are judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, Rev. 20:11-15
c. These judgment listed are at the least 1007 years apart.
(7) One Church body is a measure
Did you catch the false information the post trib scripture twisters teach when they say: "The church goes into the tribulation." Their false testimony is in their preaching and thinking that the dead in Christ are NOT members of the NT church. In their false misunderstanding only the living are the NT church. Such false teaching is NOT found in the word of God. Therefore, when they say the NT church must go into the tribulation, they divide and or eliminate a portion of the Lord's body.
(8) Second Advent is a measure
Why is the Second Coming a physical event, as well as a measure that the pre trib rapture is not the Second Advent
a. Because the Second Advent is the physical event the opening act for Jesus to established his millennium reign from Jerusalem.
b. Acts 1:9-11 Lord wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to: (1) Israel (2) the church (3) Rome?
c. What the bible describes at and after the rapture as well as at and after the Second Advent are not the same.
So now what?
The truth of the matter is, it is not my responsibility to prove the truth to anyone. It is my responsibility to know the truth, stand for the truth, provide the measures for proof, be ready to give account for the hope that live in me. As the old saying goes: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. We may provide all the reasoning and scripture available to anyone; it is up to the person to accept the truth. What a person does with scriptural truths is between them and God. With every post made in a social media Christian group, the one posting ought to have peace in their heart that what they are making available is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What we believe or refuse to believe about the truth does not change the truth. It will change whether we hear God say to us: "Well done" or "I don't think I would have told anyone that!"
