My view has tons of hope! It's what the Scripture teaches. Other Christians will say it doesn't because they don't understand it and they want a future second coming and a carnal, physical kingdom. They want to be raptured. The church is poisoned today with an escapist mentality.
Death was swallowed up in victory in 70 A.D. on the last day. Read Psalm 116. It is a short Psalm. It explains the death of Rev 21: 4 and 1 Cor 15: 54 that you quoted. It is not physical death. It is spiritual death. Separation from God's presence forever.
In Psalm 116 notice how "death", "crying", "sorrow" and "pain" are all mentioned. The same things you find all mentioned in Rev 21: 4. This is spiritual death. Notice how verses 3 and 8 the Psalmist thanks God for delivering him from death. Is this physical death? No, he says in verse 15 that "precious in God's sight are the death of His saints". Verse 15 is referring to physical death. The Psalmist in Psalm 116 is thanking God for saving him from spiritual death. Separation from God forever. The entire Psalm is about that.
In 70 A.D. the resurrection took place and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel etc.. along with all the Christians who had fallen asleep in the Lord entered heaven. Sleep is being separated from God. Christians who die after 70 A.D. don't sleep. They go immediately to heaven. That is some pretty good hope!
You are thinking about it all wrong like 99% of Christians have for 2,000 years. It is not a physical kingdom and Jesus said that in Luke 17: 20-21. God has never been worried about physical death. He is worried about spiritual death and wants no one to perish.
1
Corinthians 15:51-54 -
51 Behold, I shew you
a mystery; We shall
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For
THIS corruptible must put on incorruption [this is "the dead in Christ"],
and THIS mortal must put on immortality [this is the "we which are ALIVE and remain unto"].
54 So when
THIS corruptible ["the dead in Christ"] shall have put on incorruption, and
THIS mortal [the "we which are ALIVE and remain unto"] shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
So in the later 2 Corinthians 5:2-4 passage (and wider context), ONLY the "THIS
mortal [the "we which are ALIVE and remain unto..."] is being covered in these specific verses:
2 For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon [with our glorified bodies, APART from having to DIE FIRST] with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that
being clothed we shall not
be found naked [that is, being "absent from the body" for a time, UPON our DEATH].
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would
be unclothed [same as bracketed insert in verse 3], but
clothed upon [same as bracketed insert in v.2], that
mortality [the "we which are ALIVE and remain unto..."] might
be swallowed up OF LIFE. [this is speaking of when, as STILL-LIVING members of "the Church which is His body" are "changed" APART from having to DIE first; i.e. this occurs at "our Rapture"--a physical/bodily "change"--and the "Rapture" pertains SOLELY to "the Church which is His body," NOT to all other saints of all OTHER time periods: not to OT saints, not to Trib saints, not to MK saints]
Martha well-knew of "resurrection" at the last day; but the ABOVE ^ was unknown to her (until it was later revealed and explained via the NT epistles [1Cor2:10a,16b])
