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Premillennialist view of 1 Thessalonians 4:16

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5 answers
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I've read books on [Premillennialism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premillennialism) (including [Left Behind](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind)) and heard many people preach on the topic but I've never heard an explanation of [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%204:16-17&version=NIV1984) : > 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and **the dead in Christ will rise first**. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. That is, I have heard of those **who are alive** suddenly being Raptured but no mention of the **dead going first**. That is, in this verse it appears to consist of *two separate events*: first those who are dead, and then the living. For that matter, the Rapture is often depicted as a silent affair but here there is a *"loud command"* and a *"trumpet call"*. **Has any prominent premillennialist discussed this issue?** *(On Wikipedia's [Rapture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture) page this verse is mentioned but the explanation of the "dead rising first" is not discussed.)*
Asked by Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE (17875 rep)
Oct 19, 2012, 05:25 PM
Last activity: Dec 19, 2020, 05:29 PM