The Rapture and the rising of the dead in Christ

Excellent question, Emily! I have wondered about this myself. Strictly speaking, I don't know the answer. However, from the context of I Thess 4:16 which you quoted, I see the possibility of at least a brief pause between the two, such that we will actually see the dead rise first (if we're in a location to do so), and then we will go up shortly after. Yes, I think it's possible, though I could also see it being so sudden that there isn't enough time to react.

I had never thought of these verses in that manner. I had always put the two consecutively without a pause. I mean since it all is said to happen in the twinkling of an eye, i just assumed it was the dead rise first, then we which are alive and remain...How long will we remain? I must digress a tad...Saturday I passed the cemetary where my brother was laid to rest 6 months ago. I thought to myself "wouldnt it be "cool" if I could see him rise? I keep thinking to myself it would really amazing if we heard the trumpet and had like a couple minutes to actually realize it was about to happen. How our earthly bodies and minds would actually react or feel!?
As I realize more and more that we are rapidly approaching the possibility of the Harpazo! I think about these things from a practical standpoint. I know I participated in another thread where we discussed the amount of people that will be missing in an instant. What I dont think we touched on was the amount of grave that MAY be opened. If the rapture is follows the same pattern as Matthew 27:52 then there will be millions of grave opened and unearthed. I'm off topic now

How cool would it be for there to be enough time between the raising of the dead and the harpazo of the living to see the dead walking about and interacting with the living before being taken up?

Talk about a 'zombie apocalypse'! haha

Not to mention what a witness that would be!

Well I can't be dogmatic on this, but it appears that God uses the actual molecules from our old body to make our new body--that we are transformed, as it were. His body was clearly missing from the tomb at His own resurrection, so I think that is the pattern we will see with the great resurrection--the actual body will be used.

So the question comes up, what about people who have their bodies cremated and sprinkled in the sea? What about people who die in horrific explosions and there are simply no remains to be found? What about those who are eaten by wild beasts, crabs, sharks, etc.?

I think that is part of what God addresses through Paul in II Cor. 5:1, which you have quoted there. No matter how bad it is, if a body isn't available intact, God will one way or another compensate for it. If the original molecules are so distributed throughout the world as to be untraceable--either God will trace them down wherever they happen to be--possibly resulting in some sharks that die from sudden internal injuries from having too many molecules ripped out of their cells-- or, God will compensate by constructing the body anew. He know the blueprint for each one of us, after all--He designed each one of our DNA, and He won't have too much trouble bringing it about.

I must say, speaking of DNA, I believe we will all still have our own DNA when we are resurrected, but our DNA, like our bodies, will likely be perfected. We will have a physical body, but it will transcend the normal laws of nature as we understand them now. Either our new body will do so by its very nature, or else we will be able to over-ride the laws of nature, as Christ did on multiple occasions even before He had His glorified body (walking on the water, etc.).

The problem is, DNA varies across the body. The reproduction of cells causes small mutations in DNA, which eventually causes aging over time. Also, which molecules? Humans are like waves; we constantly change molecules, but we have the same form. Our skeletons are completely replaced after seven years. Which molecules would he use? Also, remember, once Jesus ascended, he was transformed into the form seen in Revelation. We might have bodies that use new, better ways to hold information than DNA. After all, we won't reproduce anyome, so God will have to change some things.

Does RNA change? I never was a biology guy...

RNA is created from DNA, I think by a process called transcription (not 100% sure that's the name). That RNA is then used by ribosomes to manufacture proteins for the cell. So, if DNA changes, the RNA that is newly created is also changed.