In verse 20, we see that before Paul says that those who will be purged from all iniquity (meaning sin) will be sanctified, he tells us that in a great house (the house of God perhaps?) there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth. Isn’t this verse telling us along with many others that in God’s family are those who have been purged of sin and those who haven’t yet? I think so. Now look: The believer is to purge himself. It is up to us to be righteous by purging our sin. We have to kill it, remember.
Then the next group to be caught up with christ at the rapture ( remember we who are alive will not precede those who are dead in Christ) will be those who did die to self rule while alive ( the sanctified, the righteous or the overcomers). I believe that only the overcomers will be raptured.
Then the unthinkable happens I believe. The saved, but still serving self at the time of His catching us up, will be cast into the great tribulation with the unbelievers (Rev. 2&3). They are saved and will be sanctified, but because they refused to do it while they had the chance, they will be martyred during the great tribulation for their faith. They are the beheaded saints. They refused to purify their own hearts, they were double- minded, so now He will do it. We must be pure in heart to see God.
I know that 144,000 Jews are taken to a safe place until Christ comes, but the others who were saved but not sanctified before Christ catches up the church will have to have to experience a death like every other believer ever has in order to be sanctified, or considered righteous or holy (“We must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom of God” ; Acts 14). The flesh must be killed one way or another to be purified. And since these saved but not sanctified believers are alive at the rapture…a very peculiar group…they must now enter the great tribulation to die. Death frees us from sin. Again, blessed are the dead who die on the Lord. This means that those who were not sanctified but died a physical death before the rapture are blessed indeed. But so are the beheaded saints. They will also die in the Lord. This group is more accountable than any group in history because they were flooded with truth and still snubbed it by remaining double-minded. They will have lost so many rewards in Heaven; so many because they loved their lives and would not lose them. They did not desire righteousness. They would not learn righteousness while they had the chance, so now they will. He will do it.