The Witnesses Resurrected

^11 (A)Now after the three-and-a-half days ^(B)the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And ^[a]they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” ^(C)And they ascended to heaven ^(D)in a cloud, ^(E)and their enemies saw them.

^6 (A)And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For ^(B)the^[a] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for ^(C)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And ^(D)to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, ^(E)for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ^(F)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, ^(G)“These are the true sayings of God.”

¹⁶ For ^(A)the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with ^(B)the trumpet of God. ^(C)And the dead in Christ will rise first. ^17 (D)Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them ^(E)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus ^(F)we shall always be with the Lord.

⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a ^[a]mystery: ^(A)We shall not all sleep, ^(B)but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ^(C)For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and ^(D)this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ^(E)“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and ^(G)the strength of sin is the law. ^57 (H)But thanks be to God, who gives us ^(I)the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.