1 Corinthians 15:51 ¶Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
What do you apply this moment to? A time prior to great tibulation? Or a time post great tribulation?
Why this matters is simple. Obviously, this only gets fulfilled one time. And right before it is fulfilled, some of those it is being applied to are in a 'sleep' state prior to this. Which means prior to this moment in question, the ones being changed are still asleep, thus still in a disembodied state, thus haven't put on bodily immortality yet.
1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
If one applies this to a time prior to great tribulation but applies 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 post that of great tribulation, we then have a major contradiction going on. Obviously, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, clearly means rise from a sleep state, thus rise from a death state, thus rise from a disembodied state, to that of a bodily immortal state, the same state Christ has been in for the past 2000 years.
But if 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 comes later, there is no one to fulfill rising from a sleep state to that of an immortal bodily state if the dead in Christ already did those things before great tribulation began.
Except Pretribbers don't want to be intellectually honest here and admit that it makes zero sense, in regard to those that sleep in Christ, to apply 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 before great tribulation, and then apply 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 after great tribulation.
