Here’s the real short edition:
1. Occam’s Razor
Which answer is more simple? That the narrative of Revelations describes an intricate political conspiracy that can only be illumined through cryptic numerology from prophecies of Daniel where every time he says “weeks” it is actually supposed to mean something else (years, generations, 7 years, etc.) to make everything fit? Every few years a new full-length book comes out explaining how this is supposed to all line up.
OR
That all but the last couple chapters of Revelation describe the early persecution of the church, the folks John was actually writing to?
2. Defeatist Strangeness
I believe the gospel is the story of Jesus Christ redeeming all of creation. Letting it all go to hell for a few years in theatrical fashion just doesn’t jive with the theology of the victory of Christ, pretty much anything Jesus spoke in the gospels (check the red letters), and plenty of other more solidly grounded theologies. When you look at the big picture view of the Bible, with all it’s promises and God dealing with man, the rapture/tribulation looks like something somebody duct-taped onto the right-hand edge of a mural.
3. Recent novelty
The rapture is a young idea. It’s virtually unheard of before the 19th century. Even today, internationally, it is largely a contemporary American belief.
4. Smart guys think otherwise.
Pick your favorite apostle (they never articulated it), early church father or reformer. Origin, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc. Despite its popularity in some circles, plenty of smart (and completely orthodox) guys today (N.T. Wright, etc.) think it’s ridiculous.
So there you go. I’m too tired to go into details. I’m also pretty wary of ever bringing this up in real conversations. Smile and nod is the standard practice most of the time.