Arcturus,
You state:
How is this for a twist?
We do not get to be with the Lord relatively speaking....HE gets to be with us as we are HIS temple He is not ours!
Worldly theology always gets the cart before the horse so to speak.....He he he hee!
Forgive me but I don't understand the difference? For instance... if you and I were in a room together... and I stated "I was with Arcturus" I don't believe that would be a statement of ownership, but rather a statement of proximity.
Even Paul states in 2 Cor. 5:8, that his preferences is TO BE WITH the Lord.
Or what about... 1Th 4:16-17 (Rotherman's)
"Because, the Lord himself, with a word of command, with a chief-messenger’s voice, and with a trumpet of God, shall descend from heaven,—and, the dead in Christ, shall rise, first, After that, we, the living who are left, together with them, shall be caught away, in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:—and, thus, evermore, with the Lord, shall we be!"
Notice Paul again makes the statement that "evermore, WITH THE LORD, we shall be.
Again, I appreicate the imput, but I do not see a difference.
God's Peace.
Josh