1 Thes 4 and the Rapture

The central proof text used for the pre-tribulational Rapture doctrine is 1 Thes 4:13-18:

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

It may surprise the reader to discover that there is no mention in this passage of the tribulation. Look hard to find it. The passage describes the Second Coming of Christ, not some secret rapture of the church. Why?

1 - Jesus is bringing the church with Him. That makes no sense if he is simply returning back to Heaven. Also if this was at the start of the tribulation, as Smith claims, it demonstrates that there is a noticable passage of time in the sequence of events in Heaven. Our souls are not fast forwarded as Smith claims.
2 - If there is a tribulation mention it is in the word "remain". Remain from what? Either it's people who are still alive due to the time passage or people who remained through the Tribulation. Either way, it doesn't support this passage as pre-trib.
3 - The resurrection of the dead is described here. That happens at the last day, according to Jesus in John 6:39.
4 - Smith assumes that Jesus is descending and then ascending back into heaven in this passage. Acts 3:21 says that Jesus remains in Heaven until the time He returns to restore all things. There are no descents down for the church in the middle.
5 - The concern addressed in this passage was for the dead in Christ. Clearly the audience understood the Second Coming of Christ, the judgment and the resurrection, but what was the order and what about the already dead? Would they be raised or would those who were alive the only ones who would be changed? Paul's point is that the dead are first. Not only are the dead going to be raised, but they get to be with GOd in the meanwhile.
6 - Note the prepositions. Jesus is coming with the dead saints for the living ones. The dead He will reunite with their bodies and He will raise them. The living won't have to die, they will be changed.
7 - There is a trump here. Where are the Trumps? At the end of the book of Revelation. They are the sign of the final battle and that it's over. God is victorious.
8 - This passage makes a connection that is not always obvious at our distance from the events. Some could ask, "So what if Jesus was raised? How does that ensure I will be raised?" Paul says that if we believe Jesus is raised then we believe His words that He will raise us up too. More than that, here's just how and when He will do it.

In conclusion, there's nothing in the central passage about the timing of a return of Jesus before the tribulation and everything in the passage about the Return of Jesus at the end of human history. Why take this as a pre-tribber proof text? Is that honest, really?