The Sovereign LORD will destroy death forever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone's eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The LORD himself has spoken.

I will not save this people from the world of the dead or rescue them from the power of death. Bring on your plagues, death! Bring on your destruction, world of the dead! I will no longer have pity for this people.

The last enemy to be defeated will be death.

This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal.

For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die.

So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: "Death is destroyed; victory is complete!"

He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.

Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope.

W_ hat we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died.

then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.

He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared."

and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.

the LORD Almighty had said: "If you obey my laws and perform the duties I have assigned you, then you will continue to be in charge of my Temple and its courts, and I will hear your prayers, just as I hear the prayers of the angels who are in my presence.

For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry.

For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry.

Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.

(SEE 15:51)

Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne, surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb appeared to have been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that have been sent through the whole earth.

As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people.

You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they shall rule on earth."

and sang in a loud voice: "The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength, honor, glory, and praise!"

The four living creatures answered, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshiped.

After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd---no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God,

But he said to me, "Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!"

Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory.

All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children.

that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God.

But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free.

My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.