Answer: No!
Here is why?
Out of his own mouth Jesus said at Matthew 16:28:
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Jesus said this more than 2000 years ago to people standing in front of him. Obviously everyone that heard him say this is no longer living. So how can people who have been dead now for over 2000 years “not taste death” BEFORE they “see” the Son of Man coming? It is obvious that Jesus was speaking of a different kind of “death” and a different kind of “seeing.”
Does 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 say that people will be alive when Christ returns? No!
The Apostle Paul was discussing the topic of the resurrection of the dead with his congregation. He mentioned two types of people: (1) Those who have fallen asleep (dead) in Christ and (2) those who are dead but alive in Christ.
Both classes of people – those who have fallen asleep in Christ and those who are alive in Christ are BOTH dead! Those who have fallen asleep in death are those who did not know Jesus. Those who are alive are persons who knew Jesus before they died. That is why we read at Acts 24:15,
and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
NOTE: Christ sacrificed his life for everyone one. It was a free unconditional gift to all of mankind. Even people who existed before him. So there will be people who are dead in Christ.
The “wicked” are the persons who have fallen asleep in Christ. The righteous are those who are “alive” in Christ. BOTH will be resurrected.
In other words, those who have fallen asleep are “dead in Christ” and those who are considered alive are “alive in Christ.” Both are actually dead and BOTH will be resurrected.
When the Apostle Paul said that “We shall not all sleep” he was not referring to the kind of death we all will have by growing old, getting sick and dying. He was referring to sleeping in the Second Death. The only time one can be subjected to the Second Death is when they are resurrected from the dead.
At 1 Thess 4:15-17, the Apostle Paul is telling us about the two resurrections from the dead: Those dead in Christ and those alive in Christ. He is telling us that the “dead in Christ” will be resurrected first. THEN he says the next ones to be resurrected are those who are “alive” in Christ.
So those who are left until the coming of the Lord are dead as well! It is just they will not be resurrected first. Those who were born and died first will be resurrected first. It is like first come, first served. Persons all down through time who lived and died first are resurrected before any of us today who will die.
That is why the Apostle Paul said, “… we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.”
In other words, EVERYONE is dead! Those born last and who will die last (people today and in the future) are the ones left until the coming of the Lord. They are dead and will be resurrected AFTER those who died first in the past.
READ 1 THESS 4:15-17 VERY CAREFULLY !!!
THE CHURCHES ARE TEACHING THIS INCORRECTLY!
Christ’s kingdom is a part of God’s kingdom. No imperfect person can enter into God’s kingdom. They must be “born again” from the dead. In other words, they must DIE and then be resurrected in order to qualify for even seeing it, no less entering into it.
Plus, all of mankind is under Adam’s curse. We all MUST die. (Genesis 2:17)
Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus that unless one is “born again” he will not be able to see God’s Kingdom.
In other words, Jesus was telling Nicodemus that unless a man dies and is resurrected from the dead, it is not possible to be in a position to see God’s kingdom. (John 3:3-4)
So, no one will be alive when Christ returns. Please note, the world will NEVER see Christ again because he is no longer a man. Jesus said at John 14:19:
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
Jesus said his disciples would see him not with their literal eyes, but will see him in another sense: by faith that Jesus is alive. What is faith? Is it seeing with your literal eyes? No! (Hebrews 11:1)
Additionally, we walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) So the “seeing” is with the eyes of faith. Remember, both God and Christ are Spirit. They cannot be seen. (Col 1:15, John 1:18)
So if anyone teaches that people will see Jesus again, they simply do not understand Jesus’ teachings. They are relying on what they can “see” with the physical eye. It is not possible to worship God or believe in him by using the physical eye because God is invisible. We see him and his son by faith. (John 4:23-24)
Does 1 Cor 15:51 teach that people will be alive when Jesus returns? No, it does not. Read beginning at 1 Cor 15:50. It says flesh and blood (things that can be seen) cannot reside in heaven. So that means that Jesus is not flesh and blood in heaven. So how can he be seen with the physical eye when he returns?
When the Apostle Paul said that “we will not all sleep, but will all be changed” he was not referring to Jesus’ return because Jesus’ return takes place BEFORE the last trumpet blast. (The seventh trumpet).
The Apostle Paul was teaching that not all persons who are resurrected will enter into the Second Death (Lake of Fire or eternal sleep). He says they will be changed. Changed how? SAVED for EVERLASTING LIFE !!! They will have passed the test of being faithful.
Jesus said at Matthew 10:22 that:
You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
So no one is saved until they have endured faithfully to the end.
And the end has not arrived yet has it?
So no one today is saved.
The religious organizations today are not listening to Christ. They are listening to themselves. (Luke 9:35)
They defend at great length, the teachings concocted by men and they even pass them off as truth or something from God.
They are like the Pharisee Nicodemus who did not understand Christ when he spoke about being born again. (John 3:3-4)
Only the devil would teach a lie that people will be alive when Jesus returns; and the devil has many human agents saturating the earth who plant the seeds of untruth.
I speak this to you out of love. People who love you will tell you the truth no matter how unpopular or unpleasant it is.
Those who speak untruth, do not love you. They are have another agenda: The agenda of wicked one which is to corral the masses of people into religious organizations in order to feed and fatten them up with lies before their slaughter.
