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“I however, will continue to ‘Watch the Day Approaching’ like I was admonished to by The Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is impossible to watch for the approaching day (of the Lord) unless it is preceded by signs. And these preceding signs prove that the pre-trib concept of imminence is not biblical.

Christ’s return is imminent in the sense of being certain. He will come. But that Day (of the Lord) will NOT come until certain other things come first. This includes the apostasy and revealing of the antichrist at the abomination of desolation in the MIDDLE of Daniel’s 70th week, according to Second Thessalonians 2. So, the idea that He might return at any moment (right now before all the signs have happened) is not biblical. Those who watch for His coming will know when His coming becomes imminent, in the sense of being at any moment.

Luke 21:28 NKJV
Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

The word “begin” in this passage indicates that when the actual signs happen, they will happen quickly. This also seems to be the context of the “this generation” comment in the same discourse.

Matthew 24:33 NKJV
So you also, when you see ALL [emphasis added] these things, know that it is near—at the doors!

Watching is the key to not being surprised at Christ’s coming:

Revelation 3:3 NKJV
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

I Thessalonians 5:4-6 NKJV
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

We do not know the day or hour now. But when we see the signs He gave us we will know the hour. We will not be surprised when the Day of Christ comes. We do not quit our jobs, forgo having jobs, marriage, families, etc. now. We do not stand outside looking up at the sky and think He might return at any moment. But when the signs have occurred we will be looking up with any-moment anticipation.

Acts 1:10-11 NKJV
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

“Yet... Elon Musk [and] others... will tell you about colonizing Mars, the Moon, and creating space colonies... That will never happen if you believe Scripture because the Book of Revelation states over and over again that the final 28 Judgements... will happen on ‘Earth Dwellers’. That phrase is used over and over again.”

There are already people living off-planet (on the space station) full-time. Likely, there will never be a time between now and Christ’s return in which there are no humans at all living off-planet.

I was raised in the pre-trib rapture belief. My father also believed, when he was younger, that God would not allow man the power to go to the moon. But he turned out to be wrong and had the humility to admit he was wrong.

When the Great Tribulation begins I wonder how many pre-trib rapturists will admit their error or how many will become part of the apostasy and time of betrayal during which “Christians” will betray one another to the antichrist and his minions.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.

Matthew 24:9-15 NKJV
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand)...
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Who does Christ identify as the ones persecuted? And why?

They are persecuted for His name. That means they are Christians. (Not making the point that they are church-age believers necessarily from this passage alone. That is a separate issue.) That is, they identify as followers of Christ. Are they? Certainly, some are. Yet others fall away. Others betray one another (i.e. other “Christians”). And many of these nominal Christians even hate each other. And these things will, apparently, happen during the first half of Daniel’s 70th week, before the Great Tribulation begins in the middle of this “week”, at the abomination of desolation, when the antichrist is revealed.

It is important that the Gospel not give the hearers the wrong idea that repentance and faith in Christ will result in escaping trials, tribulations, temptations, persecutions, adversities, and hardships. These things are promised to come, but faith in Christ not only means relying on Him for forgiveness, and help in overcoming sin, but also the power to endure despite the many challenges that will inevitably come to the believer. The way out is the way through, so to speak.

Acts 14:21-22 NKJV
And when they [the apostles Barnabas and Paul] had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”