What scripture is used to support a "Pre-Tribulation Rapture"? CLARIFICATION:  For those who believe there will be an event in the &quot;end times&quot; in which believers will be &quot;taken up&quot; to meet Jesus &quot;in the clouds&quot;, and that there is yet to be a &quot;Great Tribulation&quot;, I am curious which scriptures (primarily) are used to support the view that the rapture will happen prior to the tribulation, as opposed to after the tribulation.
REASON FOR THE QUESTION:  I am studying Matthew 24 in preparation for a sermon next Sunday, and came across the following passages (from the NASB):

&quot;...the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them...'  (from v.3-4)
&quot;'...they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you... At that time many will fall away...'&quot;  (from v.9-10)
&quot;'For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.'&quot;  (v.21)
&quot;'But immediately after the tribulation of those days... they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds... And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.'&quot;  (from v.29-31)

Based on these passages, it sounds like the disciples asked what signs would indicate the &quot;end of the age&quot;, and in response, Jesus described a &quot;great tribulation&quot; after which He would &quot;come on the clouds&quot; and &quot;gather His elect&quot;.  I am assuming that both &quot;camps&quot; (Pre-Trib. and Post-Trib.) would have an interpretation of this passage, but it got me thinking... if there was a &quot;Rapture&quot; before the great tribulation, why wouldn't Jesus just say something like &quot;when you notice people disappearing, you'll know the end is here!&quot;  In other words, Jesus is answering their question, but seems to be glossing over the most obvious &quot;sign of the end of the age&quot;, which happens before everything else (in the Pre-Trib view.)
I haven't studied the Pre-Trib. vs. Post-Trib. debate extensively, and was wondering if someone could summarize the arguments from scripture in favor of the &quot;Pre-Trib&quot; view.  (I am aware that any passage can be interpreted any number of ways, but I am specifically looking for the most clear and convincing passages that support this doctrine.)  Thanks!
It's a combination of a couple of things.  

First, there's a passage in Matthew 24:38-41:


  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking,
  marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
  took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of
  Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other
  left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken
  and the other left.


Dispensationalists take this to mean that the Christian will be taken, and the non-Christian will be left.  This passage from Matthew is taken to refer to the same incident that will happen according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17


  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command,
  with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
  God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive,
  who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
  meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.


According to this viewpoint, this is the same incident referred to in the "rescuing" in Jeremiah 30:7:


  Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! There has never been any
  like it. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but
  some of them will be rescued out of it.


That is, they'll be saved from the tribulation.  Revelation 3:10 echoes this:


  Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also
  keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole
  world to test those who live on the earth.


Thessalonians 1:10 is also taken to refer to this time:


  and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,
  Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.


So these verses are all taken to mean the same time period, namely, the saving of the elect from having to go through the tribulation. All of these verses feed into the idea that we will be saved from the tribulation before it happens. 

Incidentally, this interpretation was first systematized by John Nelson Darby in the 1800's.  The reason it's such a popular viewpoint in America today, is because of Darby's work on the Scofield Study Bible, which was the first study Bible to be published in the United States.  Since it's Darby's interpretation of Revelation that is present within the study Bible, many people viewed this interpretation as the "de-facto" interpretation of Revelation and eschatology in general. 

Personally, I tend not to agree with these points (I'm an amillenialist), but having had grown up with this viewpoint, I figured I'm somewhat qualified to answer.