Brothers,
we do not want you to be ignorant about those who
fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who
have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose
again and so we believe that God will bring with
Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we
who are still alive, who are left till the coming of
the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have
fallen asleep. 16 For
the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. 17 After that, we
who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever.
Therefore
encourage each other with these words.
FirstThessalonians 4:13-18
Therefore
we are always confident and know that as long as we
are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7
We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I
say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at
home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our
goal to please him, whether we are at home in the
body or away from it. Second Corinthians
5:6-9