Does the church have to be removed before the tribulation with Israel begins?

Les explains that Israel's loss of temple, national state, and sovereign government stopped God's prophetic time clock and began the church age, the age of grace in which Christ is calling out the Body of Christ. During this age there is no time frame, and Christ's return is imminent, so no one knows when He will come; date-setting is false teaching. Les holds that before God can pick up and begin the tribulation with the nation of Israel, the church must be removed. He notes that much current teaching says the church will go into the tribulation, but the church is predominantly Gentile.