Will believers who are alive at the coming of the Lord be raptured before those who have died in Christ?
No. The Word of the Lord declares that believers who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede or go ahead of them who are asleep. Therefore, those alive at His coming are not raptured before those who have died in Christ.
Les explains that Paul did not want believers ignorant concerning those who are asleep, meaning those who have died in Christ. He gives the qualifications for being in the rapture: if you are alive when it happens and have believed with all your heart that Jesus died and rose again. Then in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, Paul says by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede or go ahead of them who are asleep. So the living will not be raptured ahead of the dead in Christ. Les also notes that in this passage the name Jesus and God are used interchangeably, showing that the God coming with the saints is Jesus.
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.
More Questions
Who does 'we who are alive and remain' refer to in 1 Thessalonians 4:15?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 'we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord' refers to the body of Christ.