For God didn't appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Greek word translated "asleep" in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 is from the same root as the one translated "sleep" in 1 Thessalonians 5:6 where the reference is to spiritual lethargy. It is a different one from the word translated "asleep" in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 where the reference is to physical death. [Note: Constable, p. 707.] God will snatch away all Christians whether watchful or unwatchful at the Rapture. [Note: See Thomas R. Edgar, "The Meaning of ’Sleep’ in 1 Thessalonians 5:10," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 22:4 (December 1979):345-49.] This statement refutes the partial rapture theory, the view that God will rapture only watchful Christians. Moreover it is another indication that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation since the Tribulation is a time when God will pour out His wrath on those dwelling on the earth (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10).