In Matt 24:34, Jesus says "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." A generation is not thousands of years . . . not one thousand, not two. A generation in the bible generally is 40 or 50 years. 70 AD is still within the generation to which he spoke.
Lest anyone doubt, I thank God for the faithfulness of my parents in bringing me up in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord".
John wrote "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" in about 68 AD, according to all but a few who want him to have written it in 95 AD. John wrote "The Apocalypse", as some want to call it because of our modern day idea of what "apocalypse" means, (while in fact it means "revelation" in the Greek) at least 2 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, contrary to what Tim LeHay says about this.
John wrote to the seven churches in Asia Minor. I believe that there is nothing written by John to them that they did not fully understand and comprehend. John did not write about black helicopters, nuclear explosions, or anything that our 20th or 21st century minds try to concoct out of it all. John, like Jesus some 30 + years before, described it as imminent.
All of what to us seem strange descriptions of things or events in John's "Revelation" are found in the Old Testament and were know to the recipients of his letter in that day. And if we read "Revelation" with out reading "Genesis" etc, we are reading in a fog.
Back to Matt 24 - as you have so aptly pointed out, being left behind is the blessing - those taken in Matt 24:40 & 41 were taken to judgement.
Also, you pointed out, that as in the days of Noah . . . Noah and those with him in the ark were taken through the flood, implying that those to whom the book of Revelation applies prophetically, will be taken through, not out.
The Pre-TRib Rapture ("Rapture" is not a word to be found in the Bible) belief that is dominant in many fundamental/evangelical circles, dates to about 1825. A young woman in Scotland, a follower of Edward Irving, reportedly had a vision that suggested this concept. A man in England, John Nelson Darby, a former priest in the Church of Ireland, and one of the men who were responsible for the beginings of the Plymouth Brethren movement, learned of this and went to Scotland to interview the young woman. Darby popularized this belief, and Scofield, who admired Darby and his writings (but was not associated directly), promoted this belief in his notes in the "Scofield Reference Bible".
My great grandfather in England was contemporary with Darby and was associated with him. For may years I was taught and believed "Pre-Trib". We are told that the Bereans searched the scriptures to show that these things (what they were being taught) were so. God grant us all the wisdom to search the scriptures and rely on the understanding given to us by the Holy Spirit as we search.
May I add it might be wise to keep your wallet in your trousers and don't send the manic glory hallers any money unless you are dead sure you want to flush your hard earned cash down the proverbial toilet?
But hey, maybe its just me.
No, but the concept sure is. The rapture is the being 'caught up' which is discussed in 1 Thess. 4. We know it will happen. Only real debate among Christians is when that might occur.