Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
The Body of Christ/His Church eagerly awaits the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ. When He comes the dead in Christ will rise first.
Can we find this Resurrection spoken of by the Lord in Revelation?
Is there some relevance here ?
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
The hour is coming, (2)
and now is,(1) when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, (2) in the which
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;
and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
John 5:22, 24-29 KJV
What I mean is is there a difference in those who are dead on Christ and those who have been given life in Christ ? It seems we don’t have to be in this judgement
“And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up
the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:12-15 KJV
if we subject ourselves to his judgement now so is there a difference in the living in Christ
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. “
and the dead in Christ who come out of thier graves and are judged by their deeds not having remission of sins like these folks who are alive after they pass through the world and didn’t receive the mark of the beast and worship false gods
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,
These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are
they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall
dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:9-10, 14-17 KJV
I’m actually asking your thoughts about this because I always respect your thinking as a brother is there something about accepting the gospel now while we are alive on the earth , that keeps us from being those that are dead and later called out of the grave ?