To some people, this is fiction:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
For me, it is truth. The words fill me with deep longing. I count myself among those who belong to Him, including the men and women who saw Christ with their own eyes. I am a sister in Christ to the apostles Peter and Paul. I am a member of a body of believers that spans the globe. We are hopeful. We are waiting, watching, welcoming…
