Paul
says that
(1)the resurrection
of the dead will precede the second
coming.
According
to Paul, the Lord will command those who have
suffered
human death to rise. Only then
(2) will
those still living at the end of
time join the
resurrected dead. Both groups together
(3) will
be witnesses to Christ's coming.
1
Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord himself, with a word
of command, with the
voice of an archangel and with the
trumpet of God, will
come down from heaven, and the dead in
Christ will rise
first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. Thus we shall
always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another
with these words.