1 Thessalonians 4 doesn’t teach a pre-trib rapture, Paul clearly says in verse 14 that those who are still alive at the ‘Coming of the Lord’ will be raptured or caught up. There is nothing in 1 Thessalonians that A)limits this to the Church before the tribulation, & B)Tells us where we are going afterward. It simply says: “to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”. To claim we’re going back to Heaven reads into the passage what isn’t in there.
To better understand this passage and its place in prophecy we need to try and find other passages in the Bible that describe the same thing with all (or as many) of the same characteristics as we can. Fortunately we have such a passage in Matthew 24 and here Jesus clearly places this event after the tribulation.
JB
I agree that 1 Thess teaches about the rupture, but it does not mention pre- mid- or post-tribulation. There are other passages that teach a pre-tribulation rapture. My favorite is Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” which seems to indicate 2 separate events: the rapture (blessed hope) and the glorious appearing that we all agree will take place after the rapture. Anyhow, books have been written on the subject and I know from experience that I won’t change your mind if you are not a pre-trib person.