I, too, am a 'pre-trib' believer.
I must say, though, that the word 'tribulation' is not accurate for what will follow the rapture of the saints. After God pulls His children from the earth, He will then pour out His wrath upon creation. This is what is called 'the Great Tribulation' and why people have such a hard time understanding when the rapture will happen, what Revelation is saying, and so on. It should actually be termed "the Time of Jacob's Trouble", which is talked about in Daniel.
The Bible tells us we will have tribulation, so when they speak in Revelation and elsewhere about the tribulation, they are talking about that which we face here and now, not the time of the anti-Christ and the wrath of God. I tell you now that the wrath of God is nothing to sneer at. He has withheld His wrath, but in Revelation, when the vials are poured out, there is the wrath of God.
If you study the book of Revelation, you will see that all but the last seal has been broken, the one referred to here:
Revelation 6:12-17 - When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood. And the stars of the sky dropped to the earth like a fig tree shedding its unripe fruit out of season when shaken by a strong wind. And the sky rolled up like a scroll and vanished, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place. Then the kings of the earth and their noblemen and their magnates and their military chiefs and the wealthy and the strong and [everyone, whether] slave or free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,And they called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on (before) us and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the deep-seated indignation and wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it?
This is when the rapture of the church will occur, once this seal is broken and the sun/moon/stars do as it says. Then the wrath of God begins. This is before the anti-Christ rises to power, you will notice. The reason that this is where I believe that the Rapture happens is because of what Jesus said in the New Testament.
Mark 13:22-29 - False Christs (Messiahs) and false prophets will arise and show signs and [work] miracles to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (those God has chosen out for Himself). But look to yourselves and be on your guard; I have told you everything beforehand. But in those days, after [the affliction and oppression and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; And the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great (kingly) power and glory (majesty and splendor). And then He will send out the angels and will gather together His elect (those He has picked out for Himself) from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of the earth to the farthest bounds of heaven.Now learn a lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts forth its leaves, you recognize and know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, you may recognize and know that He is near, at [the very] door.
So, as you can see, the moon/stars/sun occurrence is mentioned here by Christ first, before the Revelation was given to John on Patmos. Here, in this Scripture where Jesus speaks, we see that the elect are gathered after that seal is broken and the stars fall like figs and the Son of Man appears in the sky. Rapture.
Now, as you may have noted, there is a verse here that was quoted earlier to try to show that the rapture doesn't happen until after the wrath of God is poured out on creation. Yet, in context, we see that the tribulation spoken of is what we see already daily. Namely "False Christs (Messiahs) and false prophets will arise and show signs and [work] miracles to deceive
and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (those God has chosen out for Himself)." It is not speaking of the wrath that is to come, but of the tribulation we face today.
There is much more, but I don't like long posts and I think this has passed even my level of tolerance.
I will say this, though. The key is to be prepared either way. No one knows the day or hour, but we are called to watch the signs. We must be prepared to die for Christ as we live for Him. The one thing that matters is your life and your heart, for regardless of when the rapture is to occur, if you are His, you are going. You don't need to know if it is pre-, mid-, or post-Jacob's Trouble. You do, however, need to be living for Christ. The rest will take care of itself.