In the Bible, those who are "taken away" in the flood of Noah were the evil ones
Remember that the pre-trib rapture philosophy is from the 19th century. Christians before KNEW that they would need to live through the tribulations - and as Ephraim wrote - they prayed for the strength to get through it
That's one of the ways we know this isn't the 2nd Coming...At the 2nd Coming many of the evil ones will again be taken away...