It's not the only passage in the bible
1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 (NASB 2020) — 15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
What does 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 have in common with Revelation 19:1-21? Surely not the language. What is this word "precede" all about? Precede in what? The answer is precede in resurrection. There are two groups of people here. Those who are asleep in Christ, meaning dead and buried, and those who are physically alive when he comes. Both are meeting together with Christ in the air in a glorified body, according to the text and the body of doctrine concerning the gathering and the translation of the church of Jesus Christ..
Now, search the scriptures. Look high and low and you will not find an unsaved man who has died and been buried described as a man who is asleep. Unsaved men are dead. Only saved men are said to be asleep when they die.
Here are some things in 1 Thess 4 that are not in Rev 19.
Resurrection.
The Lord shouting
The voice of the Archangel
The sound of a trumpet
life
The Lord meeting the glorified saints of both groups in the clouds
caught up in the clouds
The resurrected going to be with Jesus Christ forever
Here are some things in Rev 19 that are not in 1Thess 4:15-17.
A white horse
Heaven opened
Judgement
War
The armies of heaven on white horses
A sharp sword coming out of the mouth of God
Smiting the nations with the sword and ruling over them
The fierceness and wrath of almighty God
The flesh eating birds eating the bodies of dead men
Death
There is nothing in the words of these scriptures to suggest they are describing the same event.
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Acts 3:
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [him] go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23
And it shall come to pass, (
it has not come to pass yet) that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
The tribulation described in Revelation has this end for Israel, a baptism of fire for the sake of purging out the chaff from among the wheat.
Matt 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from
the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
They were baptized with the Holy Ghost in Acts 2 but they have not yet been baptized with fire. I know that because the purging has not taken place and most of them are Christ rejecters at this very day. The unquenchable fire is the tribulation, the wrath of God.
