Is AFP slated to be removed from future versions of macOS?

I have seen forum posts out in the wild that suggest that AFP is "dead". I have seen this question and this post that states SMB is now the "default" protocol for Apple sharing. I am using FreeNAS and it allows you to select either AFP or SMB shares. I mostly use Mac clients, so it would seem that AFP would be the obvious choice, but if AFP is going away in future versions of macOS, then I don't want to be stuck with shares I cannot access and/or file systems I have to migrate from AFP to some other system. So what is fact and what is fiction about the future of AFP? Will it stop working in future versions of macOS? I don't see how this is possible since Time Machine requires it. Can I safely use AFP without worrying about it "dying" on me?