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Using OT imagery, Paul describes the Parousia as a coming with authority and power, heralding the resurrection of the dead in Christ. After this, the dead in Christ will join the living and together join the Lord. Christians will share in the coming of Christ to earth. The stress is upon the eternal unity between Christ and his body, the church.
Paul is not contrasting the dead in Christ with those who are dead but not in Christ. He says nothing about the resurrection of the latter anywhere. There is therefore no support whatsoever in this passage for any idea of a “first resurrection.” As Bruce astutely observes, “It is precarious to draw inferences from Paul’s silence about his views on the nature and timing of the resurrection of those who are not in Christ” (p. 105). Equally slender is the biblical support for the doctrine of the “rapture.” Since the mid-nineteenth century, this single verse has been the cornerstone of the dispensationalist view of the Lord’s return.
The pastoral intent of the teaching is summed up in v.18. Bruce (p. 103) cites a pagan writer who ends a letter of condolence with the words, “So comfort one another.” No word of hope is included. Could one find a more poignant reminder of the contrast between the lostness and hopelessness of those outside of Christ and the hope of the Christian?