Samuel23,
Regarding the gathering of the church, explain the following:
Rev.19:6-8 reveals the bride receiving her fine linen, white and clean, which takes place in heaven and at the wedding of the Lamb. Who is the bride?
Rev.19:14 reveals the armies in heaven following the Lord "out of heaven" as he is returning to the earth to end the age. Who are those armies following the Lord out of heaven?
Notice that the armies that are following Christ out of heaven are wearing the same fine linen, white and clean that was previously given to the bride.
In describing the Lord's return to the earth to end the age, Rev.17:14 identifies those who will be with the Lord when he returns, which are those "called, chosen and faithful followers. These are the same who received the fine linen and are shown following the Lord out of heaven riding on white horses.
These armies following the Lord out of heaven wearing their fine linen, white and clean, are the individuals of the church who those of the dead in Christ who will have been resurrected and the living in Christ who will have been changed and caught up. This is that army that is following Christ out of heaven.
In order for the church to be receiving fine linen at the wedding of the Lamb and then follow the Lord out of heaven, it demonstrates that the church must already be in heaven.
There is no need to wave a magic wand here. It is by cross-referencing and comparing scripture that we understand that the Lord is going to gather His church prior to the 1st seal being opened, which initiates His wrath and which we are not appointed to suffer.
God does not punish or destroy the righteous with the wicked. And we therefore believe that the Lord will keep His promise and come to get the church prior to His wrath being poured out, seeing that the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments will affect the entire planet. Those promises are that Christ rescues us from the coming wrath and that we are not appointed to suffer God's wrath.
In opposition, you who believe that the Church is gathered when Christ returns to the earth to end the age, are truly not believing that Christ took upon himself the wrath that all believers deserve and that because you believe that we will go through that wrath.
In addition, you are not looking for the blessed hope, the appearing of our Lord to gather His church. Consequently, it would be no blessed hope if he was to gather the church after his wrath. Nor could we do what Paul said to do, which is to comfort one another with the hope of his appearing to gather us.
It is important to understand that the gathering of the church is a separate event vs. the Lord's return to the earth to end the age.
It is also Important to discern between the trials and tribulations that Jesus said believers would suffer, which comes at the hands of mankind and the powers of darkness vs. God's coming, unprecedented wrath. The first one happens because of our testimony of Jesus and the word of God. While the latter will be directly poured out upon a Christ rejecting world and those who continue to willfully live according to the sinful nature.