Will We Know One Another in Heaven?

Had a question this week about this topic, so here is a lesson on this subject. Hayward

 

A lot of discussions and probably a lot of misinformation have been going on for a long time about this topic.  And it is still going on today.  But we should have a good feeling on this subject.  

 

A great preacher of the South, must have felt this way when he said: “I believe in recognition in Heaven as surely as I believe there is a God. If consciousness, character, love, memory, fellowship, are in that life, why should there be any question about it? May God help me for your sakes to take the doctrine of Heavenly Recognition out of the area of surmise and speculation into the region of absolute certainty?”

 

The belief in recognition and reunion in the afterlife is a universal one. It prevailed among very educated philosophers and poets of old, among uneducated pagans, and it is voiced by the peoples of the world in our own day. The universal, instinctive belief is that we shall know each other in the future life. Someone has expressed the yearning of his heart in the following verse:

 

When the holy angels meet us
As we join their happy band,
We shall know the friends that greet us
In that glorious spirit-land.
We shall see the same eyes shining
On us as in days of yore.
We shall feel the dear arms twining
Fondly, round us as before.

Heavenly Recognition in the Old Testament

 

An encouraging theme repeated in the Old Testament supports the concept of Heavenly Recognition:

“Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre,” (Genesis 25:8).

 

When Abraham died, he was buried in a cave in the land of he had travelled to after to leaving his birth place at the request of God. He purchased the field to be certain he had a burying place at his death, but it was not the in the land of his ancestors. Therefore,  this Scripture does not mean that his body was gathered/taken to the place of his ancestors for burial  that he had left many years before.  We notice also that Abraham was gathered to his people before his body was buried.

 

“Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 25:17).

 

 ^“Then he (Isaac) breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people…….. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” (Genesis 35:29).

 

“When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 49:33).

 

“Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.” (Numbers 20:24).

 

^“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites.  After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,…” (Numbers 27:12, 13).

 

We can see here that the scriptures say the same about Aaron’s’ death as it did about  Abraham’s.

The same is true also of Moses.  Scripture says both were gathered to their people.  And later in Deuteronomy  we see Moses was buried “….  in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.” (Deuteronomy34:6). As we study the lives of other Old Testament characters where scriptures say they were “gathered” to their people, we will find that it meant more than merely being buried with them. They were gathered to their loved ones in the home of departed spirits with not one moment of loneliness between their memories on earth and their joining them in Heaven. A blessed recognition! A hallowed reunion!

 

The attitude of David at the death of his child shows that Israel’s King believed in Heavenly Recognition. He had fasted and wept in the hope that God would be gracious to him and allow the child to live. But when final word was received that he was dead, David ate food, wiped the tears away from his eyes, and found comfort in a hope that he expressed in these words: “But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:23). Would there be any comfort for David if he had to go to his child whom he would not know?

 

Here we need to note the writer here says that he does not believe there will be infants in Heaven as such. All bodies in Heaven will be perfect. There will be no old age or infancy in the home of the blessed. In an earlier writing the author of this lesson said that no infant who dies will be lost and sent to Hell. However, he goes on to say, they will not appear in their resurrected bodies as infants, for infancy is an immature stage and an imperfect state of existence. Adam and Eve were not infants when made, but adults. What a tragedy if weak and helpless infants were to be doomed to an eternal state of weakness and infirmity! We encounter no problem here in a parent recognizing its child in Heaven. When we think of Christian mothers who have died giving birth to a child, and the child growing to full maturity and becoming a Christian, we still believe that the mother shall recognize her son or daughter even though her last view of the child was in its infancy.

 

Heavenly Recognition in the New Testament

 

The scene on the Mount of Transfiguration is generally accepted as strong evidence of Heavenly Recognition. After death the spirit is “clothed” with a spirit body that is recognizable. This fact was in evidence when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into the Holy Mount known as the mountain of transfiguration. “There he (Jesus) was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.  Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.   (Matthew 17:2-3). These two Old Testament saints did not appear as angels or ghosts, but, Luke says: “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.” (Luke 9:30). Not only were Moses and Elijah recognizable by our Lord, but they were also recognized by the apostles. Peter certainly knew them, for he said: “…… Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4) When we recall how the disciples with earthly, limited vision could recognize the two saints from Heaven, certainly when we arrive there in our glorified bodies and with heavenly vision, we will be able to recognize people we associated with on earth.

 

In Luke Jesus tells of a rich man and a poor beggar. “….the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.  The rich man also died and was buried.  (Luke 16:22) The rich man went to Hell, “….  he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16:23). Here is a case that proves both recognition and remembrance in the future life. If, in the eternal residence of the lost with its limitations of spiritual wisdom and perception, there is feeling for and recognition of loved ones, how much greater will be the perception and knowledge of our loved ones in the eternal Home of Believers where awareness is not limited!

 

Heaven is revealed as a social place, where enjoyment and fellowship are explained as the example of a feast. Jesus said: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8:11). So if Jesus said this about these great patriarchs knowing each other at this holy feast, then so will the saved from all ends of the earth.

 

The Apostle Paul believed and taught that Heaven was a place of mutual recognition for the children of God. Paul wrote: “After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!  Yes, you are our pride and joy.” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20). There is no mistaking what Paul had in mind. He fully expected to meet the converts from Thessalonica in Heaven, and furthermore, he looked forward to being able to distinguish them from others who had found Christ during the years of his ministry. By the Holy Spirit, Paul taught also that those who were saved under his teaching and preaching would know him. He says, “even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:14).  Heaven is our home, and all who go there are one family with God as their Father. How sad if we had to live throughout eternity as strangers! It would not be home.

Paul also writes, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Today our knowledge is confined to what God has given us in His Bible, and how we do praise Him for that marvelous revelation in His Word! In Revelation 22:3-4, we read “his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. they will see His face, …..” This is very special scripture.  It is the culmination of the revelation of God. 

 

To “see the face of God” will be an incredible moment and experience, and it is not unreasonable to suggest that this is more than what man has experienced in the past. It is first important to understand the context of Revelation 22:4.  This experience will take place in the New Heaven and New Earth.  This means that the verse is for believers, and that the believers will be in their resurrected bodies.  So we will all be “different”.  Paul calls this “the change”.  ^“What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.   But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.  For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). 

 

But, as the following verse from the old hymn “Face to face with Christ, my Savior”, syas, what we will be really excited about is seeing our Jesus “face to face”

.

Face to face! O blissful moment!
Face to face--to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.

 

Part 2 - 7 Things Christians Should Hear Often

PART 2


4) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)

Good works have a definite place in the plan of God for His people. But they are the results–the fruits, the evidence–of our salvation, not the means. They are important as James, brother of Jesus writes, “Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” (James 2:20) Strong words. One wishing to become a member of the military does not do so by wearing a uniform and saluting officers. But once he is officially inducted, he then wears the uniform, obeys commands, and salutes officers.

What good works does the Lord want to see in our lives? Scripture answers that again and again in places like Micah 6:8 – “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”  Jeremiah 22:16 – “He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord.” And of course, Matthew 25:35-36: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” A preacher tells a story of the time his church in uptown Charlotte NC was bringing in the homeless from the park across the street and feeding them breakfast before the morning worship service. A woman who had belonged to that church for generations and resented the presence of the unwashed in their services, approached Pastor Harold one Sunday and said, “Pastor, why do we have to have those people in our church?” He said, “Because I don’t want to see anyone go to hell.” She said, “Well, I don’t want them to go to hell either.” He said, “I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about you.”

5) If you have faith, we will pray.

In fact, nothing tells the story about our faith like our prayer life. Nothing.

Consider that we are praying to a Lord we have never seen and cannot prove. We say things to Him we would say to no one else and we believe that He hears. Furthermore–and this is the clincher–90 percent of the requests we make, we’ll never know whether He answered them or not since He may choose to do so in subtle ways or another time. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.   For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) But there we go, praying to Him day after day, as though He were occupying the chair next to us and everything we do today is dependent on His presence and guidance. Hey, it really is.

Pastors keep prayer before their people by encouraging them to pray at the altar during the services, or maybe by having a prayer room at the church, and by encouraging prayer for specific people, needs, events, and concerns.

6) A church exists by evangelism and missions as a fire exists by burning.

Sharing our faith is not an option, not for the gifted only (although admittedly some are more fluent and effective than others in this), and not to be done sporadically. Jesus said “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  (Matthew 28:18)

Churches must be creative in finding ways to* mobilize their members in spreading the faith, must be aggressive in supporting those who are getting it right and doing it well, and must be alert to the distractions which would push evangelism down the list of priorities in the church’s ministries.

7) The Bible is the inspired word of God and the spiritual nutrition of believers.

Life has a way of pushing God’s Word out of the mind of believers.  The process seems to be the same for everyone, and works like this….

We go a few days without reading our Bible and soon, we find ourselves resisting the inner urge to get back to it.  The more we cave in to that laziness that resents picking up the Word and opening it, the more we will find ourselves saying (or thinking, or both): “I’ve read the Bible. I know it already. There’s nothing new there. It’s boring.”

Those are all lies straight out of hell and straight from Satan. We really do not know the Bible. We have not read it. (We may have read “at” it, but there is a world of content there which we have not yet understood. It is not boring. If anything is boring then it is us, not the Word.

Job said, “I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.” (Job 23:12)  Jesus said to the devil, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

David said this about a Godly man’s “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” (Psalm1:2) I still believe that “medicating” should have been translated “cogitating”. J

If we keep telling people these things, they will eventually “get it”.  

Repetition is a great teacher. In fact, it may be the best teacher on the planet.

7 Things ChristiansShould Hear Often - PART 1

Hayward’s note:  We only covered first 3 in class.  Another very good discussion.

“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you ….” (2 Timothy 1:6)  “Remind everyone about these things….” (2 Timothy 2:14).

Sometimes we need to hear things over and over before they really “sink in”.  This can be especially true about Spiritual things.

“Remind you….” is a phrase that shows up a lot in the letters of the Apostle Paul.

The most important spiritual truths need to be emphasized again and again if the hearers are to truly learn them and benefit from them.

Here are seven biblical truths hopefully will help us “get it.” (The list is not meant to be exhaustive. You’ll think of other essential truths that need hammering home again and again.)

1) Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the only Savior.

That is the theme of so much Scripture anyway, isn’t it?  How could we not keep the focus on the Lord Jesus–His identity, His life and ministry, His teachings, His being over the church, and His place in our lives–if we are being true to the Word?

We need to hear –over and over again; the theme never wears out–”Why we make so much of Jesus.”  Recently in North Carolina the state legislature voted to make a certain Baptist preacher their chaplain, then firing him when he refused to take “In Jesus’ name” out of his prayers.  And they call this “political correctness”.  Go figure. (Note: Many a New Testament prayer did not use the actual words “in Jesus’ name” and we should not feel ours must always, either. However, if someone asked me to say a prayer but leave out Jesus, then I’m gone!

Jesus Christ is Lord, for now and for eternity, and no one else is.

We should always stay focused on the Lord Jesus with people we are around.

2) The Church is an essential part of the Lord’s plan, for now and forever.

And we are most definitely not referring just to our local congregation. As important as that is–this will come as a surprise to a many–the Kingdom of God is more than our church.

When Jesus saved us, He knew something we were about to find out: “We cannot live this new life in isolation. We need the family of God.” They hold onto us, we hold onto them. They instruct and nurture us; we turn around and do the same for others. This need for interaction has been God’s plan from early on.

“…..I will build my church,….” the Lord said in Matthew 16:18. It’s His and He builds it.  The Christ-follower who claims to be able to live for Christ better without the church is insulting His Lord. The church-leader who would run the Lord’s church “for Him” is asking for big trouble fast.

3) Salvation is all about the cross.

Salvation is not by works of righteousness but humility, repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on Calvary.

The threat to turn salvation into a matter of works will never go away. It’s grounded in man’s way of thinking, his human (and thus self-centered) reasoning.  From what we read about most other religions of the world teach variations of “do this and you’re saved” or “do not do this and you are saved.”  Only one religion proclaims that everything necessary has already been done and our task is to repent and receive it through believing in the Lord Jesus!

One pastor says that when people tell me they believe their good works will get them to Heaven, I ask, “Then, what was the point of the cross? If all God had to do was tell us ‘Y’all be good now, you hear?’ then He sure went to a lot of trouble for nothing by sending Jesus into this world to die on a cross for our sins.”  (They have no answer since they have never given these things the first thought. If we need further evidence of man’s sinful heart, there it is.)

Celebrate the grace of God, always, with our church family. Keep them at the cross.

 

PART 2: Can we still believe in Romans 8:28?

We continued on Part 2 of this Sunday,  We again had a great deal of discussion.

 Can we still believe in Romans 8:28?

So many things in life seem unexplainable. Why does a tornado destroy one house and leave another untouched? Why does one brother excel while another struggles all his life? Why does a tumor come back when the doctor said he thought he got it all? The list of such questions is endless. Seen in isolation, they make no sense whatsoever. If there is a purpose behind such tragedy, we cannot see it.

 

Our danger is that we will judge the end by the begin­ning. Or, to be more exact, we judge what we cannot see by what we can see. When tragedy strikes, if we can’t see a purpose, we assume there isn’t one.

 

But the very opposite is true. We ought to judge the begin­ning by the end. Here is where Romans 8:28 gives us some real help. Paul says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good.” The phrase work together in Greek is where we get our English word synergy from it. And what is synergy? It is what happens when you put two or more elements together to form something brand new that neither could form separately. It’s what happens when I make a big pot of Brenda’s enchilada soup.  I put a bunch of different ingredients in the soup.  Several I would never eat by themselves – hominy – ugh, Rotel – hot, so I don’t think so, cumin, no way. But all combined together make for a great pot of soup.  That’s synergy–the combination of many elements to produce a positive result. (BTW:  See end of lesson for recipe.)

 

That’s what Paul means when he says that God causes all things to “work together." Many of the things that make no sense when seen separately are in fact working together to produce something good in our life. There is a divine syn­ergy even in the darkest moments, a synergy that produces something positive. And the “good” that is ultimately pro­duced could not happen any other way.

 

Paul is saying that our experience is like making soup. God begins with the different materials of life, including some parts that seem to serve no good purpose. Like “cumin”.  When putting all the items in the pot and applying heat we get good results.  That is how we must look at life. We must not judge the end by the beginning, but rather the beginning by the end.

 

Can we still believe in Romans 8:28? Yes, we can. But we need a long-term perspective.

 

This is the crux of the matter. Paul says that “all things work together for good.” But what is the “good” he is talking about? For most of us, “good” equals things like health, hap­piness, solid relationships, long life, money, food on the table, meaningful work, and a nice place to live. In general, we think the “good” life means a better set of circumstances.

 

Once again, that’s not necessarily the biblical viewpoint. In this case we don’t have to wonder what Paul means. He defines it for us in the very next verse: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son” (Romans 8:29). That makes it very clear. God has a plan for each of his children. That certain end is the “good” of Romans 8:28. It is that we might be like Jesus.

 

Put plainly, God is at work in our life making us like Jesus. IF we let him! Anything that makes us more like Jesus is good. Anything that pulls us away from Jesus is bad. When Paul says that all things work together for good, he is not saying that the tragedies and heartaches of life will always produce a better set of circumstances. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. But God is not committed to making us happy and successful. He is committed to mak­ing us like his Son so that we can be with him for eternity. And whatever it takes to make us more like Jesus is good.

 

Everything that happens to us-the tragedies, the unexplained circumstances, even the stupid choices we make-all of it is ingredients for God to make us like His son. He will not give up even when we do.

 

The main problem we have fully understanding Romans 8:28. Our good and God’s good are not the same. We want happi­ness and fulfillment and peace and long life. Meanwhile, God is at work in us and through us and by everything that happens to us to transform us into the image of his Son.

Does that include the worst that happens to us? Yes.
Does that include the things that hurt us deeply? Yes.
Does that include the times when we are heartbroken? Yes.
Does that include the times when we sin? Yes.
Does that include the times when we doubt God? Yes.
Does that include the times when we curse him to his face? Yes.

He is always at work. He is never deterred by us. Noth­ing happens to us outside his control. God use all these things even when we don’t believe it.

 

There are many things we don’t know. We don’t know why babies die or why cars wreck or why planes crash or why families break up or why good people get sick and suddenly die. But this we do know-God is at work, and he has not forgotten us.

 

Can we still believe in Romans 8:28? Yes, but we must properly define what “good” means.

We must understand limitation of this verse. Notice the last phrase of Romans 8:28. It is a promise to “those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” That is an all-important limitation. This verse is true of Christians and only of Christians. It is not a blanket promise to the whole human race. Why? Because God’s pur­pose is to make his children like his Son.

 

This raises a very important question:  Have we ever responded to God’s call?  We either answer “Yes” or “No” to this question.  There is no middle ground.  Until we can answer “Yes”, this verse does not apply to us.

 

Can we still believe in Romans 8:28? It sounds good. We want to believe it.

 

We can believe in Romans 8:28 as long as we keep two things in mind.

 

1. We must not try to explain the unexplainable.

Sometimes in our zeal to protect God, we try to explain why bad things happen to good people. That’s almost always a bad idea. We are like little children looking into the face of an infinitely wise Father. It is not possible that we should understand all he does. It is enough that we love him and know that he is there. We need to be very careful with our feeble attempts to justify the mysterious ways of God. Better to say nothing than to speak of things we know nothing about.

 

2. We must understand that God’s values and our values are not always the same.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.   “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God values His children – their souls and where they will spend eternity.  We tend to value things like houses, jobs, cars, vacation and the list could go on and on. We must understand that we will often not understand at all. Let’s be clear on this point. We are not called to praise God for evil, sin, and death. But we can praise God for the good he can work in the dark­est days of life. Romans 8:28 is not teaching us to call evil good or simply to smile through the tears and pretend everything is OK. But it is teaching us that no matter what happens to us-no matter how terrible, no matter how unfair-our God is there. He has not left us.

 

Can we still believe in Romans 8:28? Let answer this question with another. What is our alternative? If we don’t believe in Romans 8:28, what do we believe in? Fate? Chance? The impersonal forces of nature?

 

This does not answer every question. But it does answer the big question: Does God know what he is doing? Yes, he does, and we know him, and that is enough.

 

 

For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: hdunkin@charter.net. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/

ENCHILADA SOUP

 

2 lbs. ground chuck - Brown meat, drain of grease and add a teaspoon of cumin and chopped onions. Cook until onion is “clear”.  Then add this mixture to pot and then these ingredients:

 

2 cans      -     Pinto beans w/jalepanos (Trappey’s)

2 cans      -     Hominy (white or yellow)

2 pkgs     -      Taco seasoning (El Paso)

2 pkgs      -     Hidden Valley Ranch Party DIP mix

1 sm.can  -     Green Chilies (chopped, El Paso)

2 cans      -     Rotel (mild but can use hotter if desired) This is what will make soup “hot”

2 cans      -     Black Beans (Green Giant)

4 or 5 cups of water *

 

Cook for about an hour.

*My pot will not hold that much water, so I rinse several cans out with water and add to mixture. Then I add more water as it cooks -- if it needs more.