1 Thessalonians 4:15

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. [The facts here set forth were revealed to the apostle by direct revelation, as at 1 Kings 20:35; and he had many such revelations (1 Corinthians 11:23; Galatians 1:11-12; Galatians 2:2; Ephesians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:1). Paul declares that the living shall not go before the dead to meet the coming Lord. The "we" in this verse has led many to think that Paul expected to be alive when Jesus came, but conversely the "us" at 2 Corinthians 4:14 proves that he expected to be then dead, and the schedule of events which at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 he says must take place before the coming, favors the latter view. The truth is, Paul uses "we" as a mere word of classification, as we might do in a sentence like this: "We of the United States now number eighty odd million; a century from now we will number--" etc. This would not imply that the writer expected to be then alive.