We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go ⌞into his kingdom⌟ ahead of those who have already died.
The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life.
I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: From now on those who die believing in the Lord are blessed.” “Yes,” says the Spirit. “Let them rest from their hard work. What they have done goes with them.”