Dear Doves,

1 Thessalonians 4:16
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST."

The 'dead in Christ' have the 'honored position' of 'rising first' on the day of 'resurrection and rapture'. The resurrection of the 'dead in Christ' will happen before:

1 Thessalonians 4:17
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (the 'dead in Christ') in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we (both the dead and the living in Christ) ever be with the Lord."

OBVIOUS CONCLUSION:

The Lord does not love us "we which are alive and remain" any more than our brothers who are "the dead in Christ" and were not spared from 'tribulation' on earth during their lifetimes; so why should we think that we will be spared from 'tribulation' during our lifetimes. God does not love us more than "the dead in Christ".

Our brothers, "the dead in Christ" never suffered the "WRATH OF GOD" during their lifetimes, and "we which are alive and remain" will also never suffer the "WRATH OF GOD" in our lifetimes either. Now for 'tribulation', that is something else alltogether.

Come Lord Jesus!

Bruce Warner