Why would anyone who can read believe in this 1Thes 4 "rapture" thing? 1Cor 15:52 says it will happen at the Last Trumpet. How in the world can people equate that to pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation, given the last Trumpet ushers in the full Kingdom of God according to Rev 11:15?
Let me come at your question another way. Notice that pre-trib, mid-trip, and postmillennialism all have the same thing in common. They are all positions made in American and held to by Americans! I believe all 3 positions are rooted in a comfortable American bias. If you go to almost any other country i the world and tell the Christians there that they will be raptured before the tribulation- or if your Postmill that there will not be a tribulation... They will all look at you like you are insane. Their response will be, "What are you talking about, we are experiencing the tribulation right now!" all around the world saints are dying in the masses. The current statistics are 400 Christians are martyred a day. More Christians have died for the faith in the past 100 years than all of church history combined. Personally, I am Amill and so I don't believe in a literal 7 years of tribulation though it could be. Personally, I believe it is not beyond the realm of possibility that everywhere else has entered the tribulation and it is just now beginning to hit America and it is coming rapidly.To answer your question, I think it takes an American Elitist presupposition being read into the text to arrive at a position of the Church missing the tribulation. Furthermore, I think those who hold to it are also lacking insight into what is going on around the world. Interesting question, that's the most I can answer for now :^)