From my own research, especially holding pre-trib views because that's what I was taught until a fellow Christian told me to just read those verses especially the famous one of being caught up in the air, you realize the getting caught up in the air is at Christ's second coming so after the Tribulation period.
Leading up to Jesus' return to the earth to end the age and establish His millennial kingdom, the wrath of God (the tribulation period), will take place via the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments. Since Jesus has already experienced God's wrath on behalf of every believer, satisfying it completely, then we cannot and will not go through the time of God's wrath, which will come upon the whole entire world.
But another view if you take wrath into consideration, is one called pre-wrath, so we go through the non wrath parts, but even then it's hard to reconcile the getting caught up in the air verse which happens at the very end, and I always though who are all these saints that die during the tribulation period, given only a handful of people get saved say literally 144,000..... Where is the mass prosecution and murder of Christians?
Jesus, as the Lamb, is the One who will be opening the seals, which lead into the trumpets and bowl judgments. The opening of the first seal is the start of God's wrath. And since Jesus is the One who is opening them, then He is responsible for carrying out God's wrath. And since the first seal initiates God's wrath, then the church must be gathered prior to the first seal being opened.
But if you research it a lot pre-trib is actually the weakest argument, the way I look at it also is plan for going through everything, and if god spares you earlier great! but if you're mentally expecting to be raptured you might have a faith crises during one of the hardest times in human history.
Actually, Pre-trib is the strongest position! When a person believes, he/she is credited with the righteousness of Christ and reconciled to God. God's wrath no longer rests upon the believer and therefore, believers will not be left on the earth to go through the time of God's wrath. The church is the Lord's bride. He is not going to first beat up His bride and then gather her afterwards.
The Lord promised believers that He was going to the Father's house to prepare places for us and that He would come back to get us so that we could be where He is, i.e. the Father's house which is in heaven. I Thess.4:16-17 is the detailed account of the fulfillment of John 14:1-3 which is the gathering of the church.
Everything that God does is a legal process. Since Jesus already satisfied God's wrath on every believers behalf, then that requirement has been taken care of. Most people who claim that the church is going to be on the earth during the time of God's wrath, don't understand the severity and magnitude of said wrath. Nor do they understand the difference between the trials and tribulations which come at the hands of mankind and the powers of darkness vs. God direct wrath that He will be pouring out.
Believers are not guilty of God's wrath, because Jesus has already experienced it for us. It's been satisfied.
We are told by Jesus and the apostles many times, to be watching and ready for His return to get us. Regarding Paul's detailed account of the gathering of the church, he said to comfort each other with those words. In writing to Timothy, he also referred to our being gathered as the blessed hope. That said, if the church was to go through the wrath of God, we would have no reason to comfort one another and it would be no blessed hope. Those who believe in a post-trib gathering would have believers in Christ being punished right along with the wicked, as though there was no difference. But you brothers are not in darkness so that this day should take you by suprise.
Believers will be gone before that first seal is opened.
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