The 3.5 years in Daniel refers to the Great Tribulation, not the full 70th Week (Dan. 9:27), which is 7 years. The whole period is God’s eschatological wrath (Rev. 6:1–17), not just the last half.
The Church is not appointed to wrath (1 Thess. 5:9).
The restrainer must be removed before the Antichrist is revealed (2 Thess. 2:6–8).
Tribulation saints are real — Revelation clearly distinguishes those who come out of the tribulation (Rev. 7:14) from the Church already in heaven (Rev. 4–5).
Pretribulationism isn’t a “simple expedient” — it’s a biblically consistent view that preserves the distinctions between Israel, the Church, and God’s prophetic timeline.