First of all Paul is speaking about those who have died.....those who "sleep in death". If they are 'asleep in death', how do they accompany Jesus when he returns?
It would be the same as when Jesus woke up Lazarus.
John 11:1-15 New International Version (NIV)
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them,
“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
When it says..."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."...who are these ones who will "rise first"? Are they the same as the ones who were sleeping in death?
According to the Bible
...and the dead
in Christ will rise first."
What does being IN CHRIST mean?
Romans 12:5 New International Version (NIV)
so
in Christ we, though many, form
one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
According to Paul, those who are in Christ form one body. What is this body?
Colossians 1:18 New International Version (NIV)
And he is the head of
the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Who is the head of the body? Who is this beginning and firstborn from among the dead?
Ephesians 5:23 New International Version (NIV)
For the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Those who are dead
in Christ are members of the
Church of Christ.
So people who were baptized in this Church are the ones who will be raised first when Christ returns - dead or alive. They are not judged. They passed from death to life. Jesus Christ was the ransom for their sins.
Romans 8:1 New International Version (NIV)
Therefore, there is now
no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus,
Revelation 20:6 New International Version (NIV)
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and
will reign with him for a thousand years.
People not belonging to his Church will also be raised but that would be on the second resurrection.
Who are these people?
They maybe Pagans, Catholics, Atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Irreligious, Protestants, Buddhists and so on and so forth.
That is when the books will be opened. The books of works and the books of life.
In order for an individual to be saved, his name must be written in the Book of Life.
It would be really really bad if not.
Revelation 20:12-15 New International Version (NIV)
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Daniel saw in vision the coronation of the "son of man" in heaven, being given power and authority as King and to begin his reign. (
Daniel 7:13-14) Since Daniel's prophesies pertain to the "time of the end", this is when Christ was to return. These last days were to be identified by a "sign" that would alert his disciples that his rulership had begun. If Christ's coming was a spectacular physical event, then what need would there be of a sign to indicate that it was taking place?
Daniel indeed saw it.
But Jesus said these in:
Matthew 28:18 New International Version (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.
Luke 4:6 New International Version (NIV)
And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor;
it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
So the spectacular physical event or the sign is no longer needed - Jesus has it.
We see 1914 as the beginning of the last days of this world when those features of the sign would be seen in all the world, but Jesus said that "the end is not yet"
Yes, I agree with you that in 1914 marked the beginning of the last days - or the ends of the earth.
These were taken from jw.org website:
https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-teach/are-we-living-in-the-last-days/
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE LAST DAYS
6, 7. How are Jesus’ words about wars and food shortages being fulfilled today?
6
“Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” (
Matthew 24:7) Millions of people have been killed in wars during the past century. One British historian wrote: “The 20th century was the most murderous in recorded history. . . . It was a century of almost unbroken war, with few and brief periods without organised armed conflict somewhere.” A report from the Worldwatch Institute states: “Three times as many people fell victim to war in [the 20th] century as in all the wars from the first century AD to 1899.” More than 100 million people have died as a result of wars since 1914. Even if we know the sorrow of losing
one loved one in warfare, we can only imagine such misery and pain multiplied
millions of times over.
7
“There will be food shortages.” (
Matthew 24:7) Researchers say that food production has increased greatly during the past 30 years. Nevertheless, food shortages continue because many people do not have enough money to buy food or land on which to raise crops. In developing countries, well over a billion people have to live on an income of a dollar or less a day. The majority of these suffer from chronic hunger. The World Health Organization estimates that malnutrition plays a major role in the deaths of more than five million children each year.
8, 9. What shows that Jesus’ prophecies about earthquakes and pestilences have come true?
8
“There will be great earthquakes.” (
Luke 21:11) According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an average of 19 major earthquakes are expected per year. These are powerful enough to damage buildings and crack the ground. And on an average, earthquakes strong enough to cause total destruction of buildings have occurred yearly. Available records show that earthquakes have claimed over two million lives since 1900. One source states: “Improvements in technology have only slightly reduced the death toll.”
9
“There will be . . . pestilences.” (
Luke 21:11) Despite medical advances, old and new diseases plague mankind. One report says that 20 well-known diseases—including tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera—have become more common in recent decades, and some types of disease are increasingly difficult to cure by means of drugs. In fact, at least 30 new diseases have appeared. Some of them have no known cure and are fatal.
MEANWHILE IN THE EAST, ALSO IN 1914 JULY 27...
Isaiah 24:15 New International Version (NIV)
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands of the sea.
Isaiah 42:10 New International Version (NIV)
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from
the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
you islands, and all who live in them.
