The Rapture happens just before the Tribulation, so that believers will not have to experience any of its disruption and pain.

The main difficulties with pre-trib are contained in the Olivet Prophecy of Jesus. In Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus describes the terrible destruction and loss of life of the tribulation period.

The disaster is believed to be so intense that no human (Christian or non-Christian alike) would remain alive, except that God shortens the duration of the disaster for the sake of the believers.

Jesus then continues by describing his return towards earth immediately after the terrible devastation. From this passage, it is obvious that the rapture will follow the Tribulation.

Sorry folks, but it's pretty clear exactly where this minority theology originated: it was first formulated by Anglo-Irish preacher John Nelson Darby in the 1830s.

It exploded in popularity in the United States with the publication of The Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. It became even more popular in mid-20th Century America thanks to the popular writings of Hal Lindsey.

And it got an even bigger shot in the arm in the 1990s and early 2000s with the publication of the wildly popular Left Behind books and movies.

No advocate of The Rapture Creed has ever been able to show that any Christian ever believed this stuff prior to the 1830s, or has been able to point to any non English-speaking source for where it comes from.

It is a theology that is only about 170 years old, and it is almost entirely an American creed. Furthermore, while it is almost entirely American, it is rejected by the vast majority of American Christians, including Orthodox, Catholic, and mainline Protestant.