1 Thessalonians: Forever and Ever

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. - 1 Thess. 4:13-18 NIV

Can you see that reunion?  With a loud command, the  Lord Jesus himself will lead the great cloud of witnesses, with the trumpet blaring and the voice of the archangel.  The graves will be thrown open to demonstrate how little power death has, and the heavenly throng will be joined by those who have gone on before.  Then those so are still here, on this earthly sphere, will rise into the heavenly clouds, leaving these shattered temporal bodies behind.  All the artificiality will be abandoned.  There will be no need for crutches, wheelchairs, contact lenses, hearing aids, heart stints, or artificial hips.  They will be left behind along with our checkbooks, credit cards, iPads, and iPhones.  All the designer handbags and shoes, sporty cars and utility vehicles will be abandoned.  If anyone left behind wants them, they can have them.  We, all of us either dead or still alive, who have accepted the testimony of Jesus Christ as being true, will be with the Lord forever. Forever and ever, forever and ever, Amen!