The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. Rom 13:12

The Bible is fascinating in that it uses metaphors in different, sometimes opposite, ways. For example, usually yeast is bad (1 Cor 5:6), but sometimes it is good (Mt 13:33). It is the same with sleep, which is typically a metaphor for death (1 Cor 15:6). And isn’t it the case, from our standpoint here on earth, that the dead appear to be sleeping?

But the most powerful use of this metaphor is when it is reversed, as in Rom 13:12: "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here." Here, the perspective is from heaven. This life is as a dream in the night, and it is nearly over. This life is compared with the darkness because it is dark, compared to the New Heavens and New Earth where the Lord God himself will be our light. This life is compared with the night because it is as a hazy dream compared with the new life which is truly life. When we "wake up" in heaven, it will be as waking up from a dream.

So we do not grieve as those without hope (1 Thess 4:13), because when our loved ones die in Christ, they will wake up and see their Savior’s face (Ps 17:15).